#fantasy worlds

[swornsword]

#sword & sorcery #fantasy #dark fantasy #fantasy art #fantasy worlds

[headspace-hotel]

Making this its own post because it really needs to be said:

Worldbuilding is not able to be freely mixed and matched with different plots and characters. YA books are often advertised like "A Cool Type of Story......In SPACE!" or "Some Neat Characters...in a Steampunk Alternate Version of 1809!" or "Basically The Hunger Games...with DRAGONS!" This type of pitch is not necessarily bad but over time its frequent use does create the impression that worldbuilding, character, and plot can be reshuffled and recombined in any way you want. That's not really how it works.

To explain what I mean by the above statement, try to imagine a story that's "The Lord of the Rings...but in the world of the Chronicles of Narnia." Do you see how it doesn't work? "Worldbuilding" and "setting" are not the same. The worldbuilding of LOTR is very deeply involved with the themes, characters, tone, plot, and even more abstract, Doylian things like "how the author's philosophy and beliefs affect his writing." If a story is set in space, but it could be set in a steampunk alternate version of 1809 in a pinch, the worldbuilding probably isn't very good, because apparently none of it is load-bearing.

I think this is a big reason why worldbuilding in YA books has gotten to be so fucking bad—books are blurbed and advertised as exotic re-shuffled combinations of character, plot and setting, which is good for selling books as products, but bad for, uhh...books.

A recent YA book pitch might be something like "A pair of lesbian pirates fight to survive...on a futuristic planet!" or "An art thief is hired to steal a priceless object...in a steampunk version of revolutionary-era France!"

This is good for creating books that SOUND interesting, but that's only because we, as readers, are used to the interplay between plot, character and setting...being actually explored.

In practice, any one of these books will consist of flat characters plunked into a formulaic plot in a world loosely decorated with "holo-screens," Futuristic Nutri-Meal blocks, and "transpo-cars," or fancy wigs, evening gowns, and dirigibles, whatever "aesthetic" the setting calls for.

Whether the characters are eating Dainties Served On a Platter By A Domestic Servant or Futuristic Nutri-Meal Blocks can be swapped out at your whim, just like whether they arm themselves with a sleek miniature photon holo-pistol or a derringer, or whether they ride in a coach drawn by four white horses or a transpo-pod, or whether they treat minor injuries with futuristic medi-gel or Monsieur Gigglewater's Most Excellent Ointment.

The unfortunate fact is, robust worldbuilding cannot be conjured from just vividness and detail, nor is it good based on its novelty alone.

A good book set on a futuristic planet is good in part because the story being told there could not be told the same in a steampunk version of France. There is something about this futuristic planet that makes this story inevitable, that raises the questions that lead us to this story. Fundamentally, good worldbuilding is about asking the questions that imply or require stories.

How is life different on an alien planet? How do people live and love differently? What would this be like? What would this mean?

How does a planet ruled by greedy corporate tech overlords lead to the story of a pirate? How does a pirate's story delve insightfully into the guts of this world in a way that anyone else's story wouldn't? What can a pirate show us about a world that an assassin, a wizard, or a priestess can't? Why is she a pirate? Why did this world make it necessary that she become one? What are the laws that designate her a pirate and punish her as one? What has driven her to place herself outside them? What is this society to which she is a perpetual outsider like? What does it mean to be an outsider here? What does it mean to break or obey the law? What is property? Who decides? Is she motivated by wealth or by independence or by something else? What has taught her how to value these things? What are the stakes, what does she risk? What does that imply about the systems that hold power in this world?

Just as you can't tell the story of LOTR in the world of Narnia without completely overhauling everything that story is, so it is with any story where the world is deeply related to the story being told and the ideas being explored.

A book about an assassin set in a sci-fi world of robots and androids should not be interchangeable with a book about an assassin set in a world of elitist wizard academia. The story of an assassin hired for killing androids with legal personhood is a fundamentally different story than that of an assassin hired to kill rich powerful wizards on the Wizard Board of Trustees at Wizard University. If you can interchange them, your worldbuilding is bad.

#worldbuilding #storytelling #writing #fantasy worldbuilding #fantasy worlds #writing fantasy #writing sci-fi

[omg-snakes]

Okay so this might be one of the more off the wall questions you’ve ever received. So if snakes were people, how would they design their house. If I were a snake man, what kind of floor and wall shapes would be ideal for me to live in. Like I’m imagining a sort of cistern kind of shaped room with a mulch floor but what kind of person has a mulch floor?? What would a person use as flooring if they were a snake?

Uhhhhh hmm...

Okay.

I think a snake people would live in a Hobbit-style house with round doors, small-side-of-average circular rooms with domed ceilings, and tunnel-shaped hallways. Probably a few skylights in common areas. Conversation pit in the living room. It would feel a little cramped to the average person, and might be a bit cluttered. Furniture would be rustic hardwood with stone inlays and overstuffed chairs and sofas with lots of extra pillows. Their bed would be either a cozy hammock or a pillowtop mattress. The floors would be slate tile or sealed concrete with in-floor heating, with fluffy shag accent carpets that a snerson's toes can dig into, but that has good traction and isn't slippy. The bathroom would have a built-in sauna and/or rainfall shower. The kitchen would be embarrassingly small and poorly outfitted. Sneople love to eat but they're not big on cooking.

Lots of plants, polished stones, macrame. Not a ton of wall art (curved walls!) but a few choice pieces may be framed and displayed on tables and desks.

Aesthetic would trend towards plush, cozy, a little witchy but not goth, a little cottagecore but not cutesy, nature colors, natural lighting.

They often prefer passive hobbies like watching movies or playing games rather than arts and crafts, but some sneople find joy in interior design or gardening. When the weather is nice, many also engage in outdoor activities like rock climbing, swimming, fishing, or hiking.

#fantasy worlds #sneople #snake people #snake adjacent #text post #answers to questions

[pagansphinx]

The Awakening Of The Forest (L'éveil de la forêt) • 1939.

Paul Delvaux • 1897-1994 • Belgian • Surrealist

Post #1

Paul Delvaux's canvases contain, among other things, a plethora of female nudes. Like classic nudes, they and their surroundings are painted with precise realism. Unlike classic nudes, however, the women are not posing as such but going about their business within fantasy-filled worlds. They stare vacantly toward the unknown and largely do not engage with one-another. It is as if they are captured in a moment in time. If one were to imagine, though, a Delvaux painting coming to life, these women might very well be engaged in robotic, ritualistic movement - the Stepford wives of a surreal canvas. At times disconcerting, the canvas sometimes include fully-dressed,voiristic men. Enigmatic as they are, Delvaux's women hold a beautiful, enigmatic appeal.

Delvaux's inspiration for his visual imagery came from books he loved as a child. Indeed, the painting above is a recreation of a scene from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. He also utilized his childhood fears and dreamscapes as creative material for his visual narratives.

Though not depicted in this post (perhaps next post) skeletons, trains and train stations, and architecture are common themes in Delvaux paintings.

La pause du jour (The Break of Day) • 1937 • The Guggenheim Museum. [This was the first Surrealist painting Peggy Guggenheim added to her collection.]

Below: Femme dans une grotte (Woman in a cave) • 1936 • Oil on canvas • Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

La Sirène au claire de lune (A Mermaid in Full Moonlight) • 1940 • Southampton City Art Gallery, Britain. [ As a boy, Delvaux loved the story of the Sirens in The Odyssey.]

Le jardin nocturne (The Night Garden) • 1941 • Location unknown

Les grandes sirènes (The Great Sirens) • 1947 • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Hommage à Jules Verne • 1971 • Fondation de Paul Delvaux, Saint-Idesbald, Belgium

La Vénus endormie (The Sleeping Venus) • 1944 • Tate Modern, London

#art #painting #fine art #art nude #bannedonpinterest #paul delvaux #art of the subconscious #20th century art #surrealism #belgian artist #metaphysical art #sirens #mermaid #fantasy worlds #oil painting #mythological painting #guggenheim #art institute of chicago #the metropolitan museum of art #delvaux foundation #jules verne #banned on pinterest #art history

[vestaignis]

Талантливый цифровой художник Сергей Гурский. Talented digital artist Sergei Gursky.

UwU police, arrest this man

Faye

Cook Illustration

Dislyte Illustration

Сергей Гурский - художник, работающий в Mooncolony и проживающий в Ереване, Армения.

Sergey Gursky is an artist working at Mooncolony and living in Yerevan, Armenia.

Источник: /krmplce.artstation.com, /www.iamag.co/the-art-of-sergey-gurskiy/

#sergey gurskiy #artstation #digital art #digital artwork #fantasy #fantasy art #fantasy girl #fantasy worlds #fantasy artwork #живопись #картины #искусство #цифровое искусство #художник #иллюстратор #Сергей Гурский #фантастические миры #фэнтези арт

[princesssarisa]

#poll #lgbt+ #fantasy worlds

[enchantingepics]

Story Prompt 100

Amidst the ruins of a once-grand kingdom, a figure stood tall, surveying the devastation below. The flames licked at the remnants of civilization, casting an eerie glow upon the scene. The one responsible for this chaos, the one they called the villain, reveled in the destruction that lay in their wake.

Down below, amidst the chaos, a lone figure struggled to rise. The hero, battered and bloodied, yet still defiant, met the villain's gaze with a mixture of defiance and resignation. The weight of their countless battles hung heavy between them.

With a twisted grin, the villain approached, their steps deliberate and filled with malice. They raised their sword, not to strike, but to mockingly lift the hero's chin, forcing them to meet their gaze.

"You see, it's not about good or evil," the villain remarked, their voice dripping with disdain. "It's about power. And I have all the power now."

The hero, barely able to speak through the pain, spat out words of defiance. "You're nothing but a monster," they hissed, their voice barely a whisper amidst the chaos.

The villain's laughter echoed across the desolate landscape, a sound devoid of remorse or mercy. "Monster, perhaps," they conceded, their eyes gleaming with a twisted sense of satisfaction. "But a necessary one."

As memories of past betrayals and conflicts flooded the hero's mind, the realization of their own sins washed over them like a tidal wave. Regret mingled with anger, a bitter taste that soured the hero's resolve.

In a final, desperate attempt to defy their fate, the hero uttered a plea for redemption. "Please," they whispered, their voice barely audible above the roar of the flames. "Forgive me."

#story prompts #heroes journey #villainous plots #fantasy adventure #royalty realm #epic quest #character development #villain origins #heroic struggle #medieval adventure #fantasy worlds #royal bloodline #plot-twist #heroic feats #villainous schemes #fantasy fiction #royal family #storytelling #villainy #heroic deeds #creative writing #plot ideas #story ideas #writers community #writing challenge #writing inspiration #plot generator #writing prompts

[euphorictruths]

Bubble Castle- Gilbert Williams

#fantasy art #castles #bubbles #fantasy worlds #otherworldly #dreamy #dreams #mysticism #magic #enchanted #bubble castle #wizard #spirits #supernatural #divine #floating #clouds #afterlife #realms #beauty #beautiful #escape #pretty #art #spiritual #earthy #nature #green #blue #pink

[animasmagic]

#shadow and bone #shadowandbone #magic #grisha #animasmagic #fantasy #mystic #stream #summoners #witches #warlocks #fantasy worlds #strange worlds

[sodas-place]

i keep forgetting that tumblr exists but here’s a siren i just finished :3

#artists on tumblr #artwork #digital art #digital artist #oc #queer artist #my ocs #original art #aspiring author #fantasy #siren #siren oc #siren art #mermaid #mermaid oc #mermaid art #fantasy oc #original fantasy #fantasy worlds

[madametamma]

Instead of creating a whole new language for fantasy races in a fantasy world I like the idea of just taking a language from the real world and making THAT the language of the fantastical people.

The language of Mermaids is Italian. 

Talking animals all know Spanish as their first language.

The smallest pixies have voices too small for humans to hear.  No one outside of their own kind can hear them it so in order to communicate with other races, the pixie folk created ASL.

#Fantasy worlds #fantasy creatures #fantasy races #fantasy languages #languages #Tell me what other languages are the native tongue of certain fantasy creatures

[orphicpoieses]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday!

I just came to realize that I haven’t send a question for Storyteller Saturday… I’m sorry for that…

But today is Wednesday and you know, what this means! An new question!

Since I’m still excited of Project Stardust, my question today will have a similar aesthetic:

What is the source of magic (if you have a magic system) and how important is astronomy in your world?

From the tag list: @writingpotato07 @j-1173 @mirrorthoughts @yourfriendlywriter @andromedatalksaboutstuff @writingbyricochet @dxrlingdaydreams @365runesofwriting @faithfire @eli-writes-sometimes @leafamaranth @midnight-and-his-melodiverse @lockejhaven @blind-the-winds + anyone who wants to answer this question!

#worldbuilding wednesday #fantasy worlds #fantasy worldbuilding #wip: project stardust #writing #creative writing #writeblr #writerblr #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writerscorner #writersociety #literature #writblr

[slumberingcorpse]

Fantasy World: “And after the humans took the elf's land they started slaughtering any elves left behind until pushing them into hiding.”

Me: “God that’s horrible. To think that such hatred can be born just out of greed and the need for power. The destruction of a whole civilization just because of what? Do they look different? Because They have their own rules and religion? Awful. People can create the greatest evil.”

Elves In The World: “The fuck do you want ape? That’s right! You’re just an ape! You’re beneath me! Of course, I bet you can’t even think at my level, after all, my race is more sophisticated. In fact, we are superior to you humans by every means.”

#witcher #the witcher 3 #witcher 2 #fantasy #skyrim #fantasy worlds #dnd #elves #high elves #dark elves #why are elves always so racist?

[anoelleart]

World Tell-All Tuesday: Maps

I made a map for The Protolith a little while ago, so I thought I introduce some of the locations:

The Empire controlled its own continent, but across the oceans were two more major powers: the Southeast States, a collection of loosely organized governments in the Southern tundra, and the Western Kingdom, a peaceful nation northwest of the Empire.

[The map is not entirely consistent with the text. Don't come for me]

***

The Empire

An theocratic, oligarchic state governed by an Emperor, his High Court, and the Church. After Emperor Ambrose the First's assassination, the Empire has entered an era of instability. Currently, the Empress Mother and the Child Emperor rule. The Empire has a temperature climate with regions of mountains and plains.

There are three important cities in the Empire:

Lorenzia

Our main setting Lorenzia is the capital city of the Empire. Lorenzia is a mountainous, coastal city. The city has several neighborhoods including the docks, downtown, center city, the university district, the marketplace district, and uptown.

Key landmarks include the bathhouse, built into the side of a mountain by center city, and the Lorenzian temple, a strange building in the plains north of the city.

Lorenzia is known for its modern and indulgent sexual attitudes despite the strong church presence.

Astriel

A pious city north of Lorenzia

“I’ve been so recently fascinated by the culture wars here in Lorenzia,” Nathaniel explained. “Your Worship, I hail from Astriel.” “A Godly city, of course.” “So you understand! Lorenzia is such a city of contradictions. Historically, the church made many allowances to placate the local culture and that has lived on for centuries. But – as you surely know – the church has recently supported new regulation. It’s quite the departure.” Nathaniel shrugged but his eyes were lit from within.

Harcross

A rural town near the Southern border

There was an inn which sat along a well established path for travelers coming up from the southern Empire toward the cities, Harcross or Lorenzia. Three women ran this inn: Darcy, Clara, and Josephine. Like any mortal, they’d been born somewhere else, found each other, and set up shop in an old building, but it felt like they’d always been there – like they’d sprung up from the earth, fully formed with this inn around them.

The Western Kingdom

A tropical nation north of the Empire. A pacifist nation, the Western Kingdoms resisted advances from the Empire for centuries using only defensive tactics. This kingdom is known for its colorful flora, dangerous fauna, and its illustrious silk.

“Commander Noble? You may have heard of him. Single-handedly, he opened trade with the Western Kingdom.”

The Southeast States

A conglomeration of states run by a weak central power and fueled by serfdom, the Southeast States are currently at war conflict with the Empire.

“The embargo on the Southeast States has led to a shortage of ore among other minerals. I ask the court once again, when will this conflict cease?”

The World Wound and its Surrounding Islands

The World Wound was a crater, formed by an ancient meteorite and partially submerged by ocean water. No expedition to the crater had ever made it there and returned to tell the tale.

Charlotte’s mother was from neither country. Instead, she was born on an island chain off the coast of the Western Kingdom, and just south of the World Wound.

#MS: tell-all tuesday #writeblr #maps #worldbuilding #fantasy worlds #fantasy #romance #gaslamp fantasy #protolith

[leifandthorn]

Leif & Thorn Q&A #185-187

#Leif & Thorn #Q&A #magic swords #reincarnation #fantasy worlds #worldbuilding #plural characters #isekai'd characters #doppelgangers #Atarangi Neineikura #Gerri Sureau #Thorn Estragon

[ancientroyalblood]

World-Building in Fantasy Writing: Crafting Unique Realms

In the realm of fantasy writing, the creation of worlds is an art unto itself, a meticulous process where each word, each detail, bears the weight of building something extraordinary. The task is daunting, for within these words, worlds must spring to life, realms that breathe and stir with unique cultures, landscapes, and histories. In this exploration of world-building in fantasy writing, we…

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#Building Fantasy Realms #Character Development #Conflict in Fantasy Worlds #Creative Storytelling #Creative Writing #Cultural World-Building #don&039;t tell #Fantasy Geography #Fantasy History #Fantasy Literature #Fantasy Worlds #Fantasy Writing #Fantasy Writing Tips #Immersive Realms #Language in Fantasy #Magic Systems #Reader Immersion #Show #World-Building #World-Crafting