The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed

Over in our Discord community, we were thrilled to host our very first panel discussion with the brilliant bestselling author, Stephen Aryan.Also joining me on the panel were three great writers from our community, Isa Ottoni, Joshua Parker and Jonny Altair. Our chat focused all on worldbuilding. We discussed our challenges and headaches, took questions from our community and tackled some of the biggest issues and talking points.Stephen also tells us all about his approach to building worlds and how he crafted the incredible setting for his brilliant new book, The Judas Blossom (out in July).If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed ABOUT ANGRY ROBOT BOOKSThis episode is sponsored by the award-winning publisher, Angry Robot Books. You can learn more about them by clicking the link below:https://angryrobotbooks.com/THE JUDAS BLOSSOMhttps://angryrobotbooks.com/books/judas-blossom/OUR GUESTSStephen Aryan - https://stephen-aryan.com/ | Stephen's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZlaVQ9rks4GaN-x3Jkos0ASounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/@3DSoundStudioRESOURCESGet a free worldbuilding template - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuildingLearn how to start worldbuilding - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding/how-to-start-worldbuildingCheck out the best books on worldbuilding - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding/books-on-worldbuilding

In this episode, I welcome three members from our writing community, Isa, Josh and Jonny, for a chat about our community writing groups. Not so long ago, Josh approached me about setting up some writing groups through our Discord community. These small groups of around 5 or 6 people meet regularly and are matched by genre, time zone and how regularly you can meet.  We have about 6 or 7 groups running at present and you can join one too. Just click below to join our Discord community and head to #writing-groups. In this episode, we discuss the benefits being in a group has given us. We explain how they work, how to join one, and how to approach editing and taking feedback.JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY (DISCORD)https://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSJonny Altair - Twitter - @JonnyLeeAltairIsa Ottoni - https://www.instagram.com/isa.ottoni.writes/Josh Parker - Ontheedgebusiness.wordpress.comSounds and editing by 3D Sound Studio (ASMR Specialists) - https://www.youtube.com/c/OdysyxNEW RESOURCESWorldbuilding tips and advice - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuildingSensory language examples - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-writers-toolshed/writing-tips/sensory-language-examples

In the second episode of our mini-series on magic systems, Janina and Lucy from The Fey Fellows Podcast rejoin me for a deeper look at two big examples of magic systems: witchcraft and the systems found in Dungeons and Dragons.We look at their origins and how they've evolved over time to help spark some new ideas. And we also take a look at some key bits of advice for making your own magic system from scratch.If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSJanina Arndt and Lucy Atkinson - The Fey Fellows Podcast - https://www.instagram.com/feyfellowspodcast/ / https://anchor.fm/fey-fellows-podcastSounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/OdysyxRESOURCESUPDATED - Passive Voice Detector And Converter - https://richiebilling.com/passive-voice-checkerNEW - Wizards In Fantasy, With A Name Generator Tool - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-name-generator/wizard-name-generatorNEW - Tips On Creating A Fantasy Castle - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing/fantasy-castle

One thing that I haven't covered an awful lot of, both in blogging form and on the podcast, is magic systems.I'll admit, I'm not a massive user of magic in stories (my current work in progress aside). However, I do love a good magic wielder with Pug from The Riftwar Cycle my all-time favourite. So given this lack of coverage, I decided to tackle things in earnest, starting with a duology on The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed podcast.To help me, I'm joined by Janina Arndt and Lucy Atkinson from The Fey Fellowes Podcast and in this first instalment we talk all about hard and soft magic systems—the two main types that people often discuss.We look at examples of these different magic systems as well as the space in between where writers can find unique and original angles. If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSJanina Arndt and Lucy Atkinson - The Fey Fellows Podcast - https://www.instagram.com/feyfellowspodcast/ / https://anchor.fm/fey-fellows-podcastSounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/OdysyxLEARN MOREUPDATED - List Of Fantasy Publishers - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/writing-tools/list-of-fantasy-publishersUPDATED - List Of Fantasy Short Story Publishers - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/writing-tools/list-of-fantasy-magazinesNEW - How To Create A Literary Theme - https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/how-to-create-literary-themeNEW - How To Write Dialogue - https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/how-to-write-dialogue

I'm delighted to share with you an insightful interview with legendary fantasy author, Juliet E. McKennaIn our chat, we discuss Juliet's new book, The Cleaving, which is a retelling of the Arthurian legend from the female perspective.We chat all about character creation, worldbuilding, plotting, theme and the writing process as a whole.Juliet is also a font of knowledge when it comes to the publishing industry and explains here how it's changed in the 20+ years she's been writing. You're bound to learn something new that hopefully will help you on your own writing journey. If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSJuliet E. McKenna - https://www.julietemckenna.com/ | Buy The Cleaving - https://amzn.to/3FWVCgdSounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome one of the world's top-selling fantasy authors, Amish Tripathi. The BBC has described Amish as "India's JRR Tolkien and Asia's Paulo Coelho" and, for the first time, the books of India's fastest-selling author have been translated into English. We have a very open and honest chat about writing, discussing everything from tackling challenging topics and how to imbue our stories with philosophies and ideas, to creating memorable characters that readers love. If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSAmish Tripathi - https://www.authoramish.com/ | The War Of Lanka - https://amzn.to/3TaCyQWSounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

We're absolutely thrilled to bring you a very special interview with bestselling author and former FBI special agent, Joe Navarro.Joe is a world-leading expert on body language. In his career, he conducted over 13,000 interviews and oozes a passion for the subject that you can't help but admire. Body language plays such a huge role in storytelling, from written fiction to that found on-screen. But it can be underused and ill-understood. To help us better our understanding and appreciation, there's no better person to ask than Joe.In this deeply insightful interview, packed with examples, Joe provides vital guidance and advice for writers to help master this form of communication that's arguably more important than dialogue. If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSJoe Navarro - https://www.jnforensics.com/ | Buy The Dictionary Of Body Language - https://amzn.to/3Y2VNMZSounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/OdysyxUPDATED - How To Write A Flashback Scene - https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/how-to-write-a-flashbackNEW - Books On Worldbuilding - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding/books-on-worldbuildingNEW - How To Plot A Story - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-writers-toolshed/writing-tips/how-to-plot-a-story

I've had a lot of specialists on the podcast in recent months but it occurred to me that I've never really reflected on my own experiences as a lawyer and how that can be applied to writing.When I got to pondering I realised I draw upon these experiences an awful lot. And it was then I began to appreciate just how much scope there is to inject your stories and worlds with conflict.So in this episode, I reflect upon my time working as an accident and injury lawyer. I discuss the impact that injuries can have on a person, from minor ones to major ones, and how you can utilise these ill-used details in your stories, both from a character creation perspective and a worldbuilding one. If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

I'm always keen to chat with book bloggers to get an insight into the latest trends in reading. Fantasy romances, for example, are particularly in demand right now. But as well as that, I'm always keen to chat with reviewers to learn more about their experiences. Above all, I want to know how I, and other writers like you, can forge better partnerships with them.I was delighted then to chat with Blaise Ancona from Under The Radar SFF Books about these very things. Blaise runs both a podcast and a website devoted to highlighting fantasy and sci-fi novels that haven't got the credit they deserve.What began as a lockdown hobby has grown into something quite remarkable. We talk about how it happened and his experiences as a book blogger.  If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.comJOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITYhttps://mailchi.mp/395aa89d6ec0/join-richie-billings-community-of-writersLEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITINGTo join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed OUR GUESTSBlaise Ancona of Under The Radar SFF Books - https://undertheradarsffbooks.com/ | https://twitter.com/undertheradarb2Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx