Tag Archives: world building

Monsters in the Open

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Charles Yallowitz

So, I think the picture above is from a game called ‘Monster Hunter’.  Not sure which in the franchise it is, but seeing videos of this and working on Darwin & the Beast Collector got me thinking about monsters.  Specifically, I was … Continue reading →

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Questions 3: Fictional Plant Creation

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

What you see above is a real plant from mythology?  Okay, that sentence didn’t make the most amount of sense.  The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary comes from Central Asia.  Its fruit was a sheep, which would graze on the area … Continue reading →

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Creating Fictional Plants: 9 Times Out of 10 They’re Carnivorous

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

I realized that I’ve talked a lot about designing monsters over the years.  Always a focus on the animals though.  A plant-based creature might show up at times, but there are still animalistic characteristics.  This seems wrong.  An environment is … Continue reading →

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Do I Need to Use a Dragon?- Short Story Worlds

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

(I end the three big sections by touching on short stories.  These tend to work differently than full novels, so I felt they should get their own entries.  This is part of the one for the ‘World’ section.) Before we … Continue reading →

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Do I Need to Use a Dragon?- Monsters

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

(This subject had to be tackled.  I was surprised how often it came up in conversation.  Maybe I shouldn’t have been.) One of the staples of fantasy is having a world with unique creatures. You may go traditional with orcs … Continue reading →

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Questions 3: The World

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

World-building has to be one of the toughest parts of writing, especially when you aren’t working on Earth.  That’s why Do I Need to Use a Dragon? has a big section on it.  As you can see, Fizzle needed to bribed with … Continue reading →

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Questions 3: Adding a Unique Set Piece to Your City

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

We’ll see how this goes.  Another chance to take some time and flex your creativity if you haven’t been able to all week.  Just imagine a city in any world of your creation.  Then, add a set piece to make … Continue reading →

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7 Tips to Adding a Unique Set Piece to a City

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

It might appear easy to add a quirk to your city.  Some people think they can just slap one on as they move along.  That can work at times, but there are moments where you have to think about what … Continue reading →

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Origins of Monsters

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Creating monsters for a fantasy world can be done in a variety of ways.  None of them are better than the others, so the author can use the one that suits them best.  It doesn’t even have to be one … Continue reading →

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Is It Easy to Write Monsters?

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Fairly certain that I’ve tackled this topic before.  I felt like doing it again because the question still comes up.  Since fantasy authors are known for having strange creatures in their stories, people wonder how they design them.  Is there … Continue reading →

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