The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a superpower-based magic system by answering these 7 questions: Are the superpowers based on magic or science or both? Do the powers have a theme to them? Do people gain powers randomly, are they born with them, or can they acquire them in some intentional way? What can people do with their superpowers? What are the limits, requirements, or costs of having the superpowers? Are superpowers rare or common? Can a person only have one power, or is it possible to have many? How does society view people with superpowers?   Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the fantasy murder mystery novel Voyage of the Damned by Frances White. We discuss genre blends, how to help readers keep track of multiple characters, what makes a novel voicey, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise in creating a cataclysmic event! Here are the 10 questions we answered in this episode, which can help guide you in building your own cataclysm.  What is the nature of the event? Natural vs supernatural; single vs multiple events; unprecedented vs repeat, etc. What is the scale and impact of the event? Who or what is most affected, both immediate and long term? Who survives and why? How do governments/institutions/power structures respond? Do new religions/belief systems/factions emerge as a result of the event? What has permanently changed about reality after the event? Are there new dangers introduced? Are there new opportunities created in the wake of the event? Resources, technologies, etc. What everyday behaviors must change in order for people to function after the event? What’s the emotional and psychological fallout? What do people think caused the event? Are there secrets waiting to be discovered? Who controls the information about what really happened? Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the horror novel Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. We discuss luck and math as a magic system, how people react to trauma, and the wonderful weirdness of horror. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise in creating a dragon! Here are the 7 questions we answered in this episode, which can help guide you in building your own dragon.  What hallmarks of traditional dragons are essential to keep in order for something to still be considered a dragon? What is our dragon’s intellectual capacity? Is it sentient, or more bestial? What is the full-grown size of our dragon? What does our dragon look like? Does it display any aspects of sexual dimorphism? What is our dragon’s diet? What is our dragon’s lifecycle? Does our dragon have any magical/supernatural powers?  Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the fantasy novel, A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. We discuss dragons as the topic of academic study, worldbuilding inspired by Victorian England, and memoir-style novels. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi

In this episode, we're talking about writing and worldbuilding in the post-apocalyptic with zombies TV show (based on the video game series of the same name), The Last of Us. Proprietor's Pick: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tavern: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to our Worldbuilding Workshop bonus episodes by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Haneen's family in Gaza

In this episode, we're talking about writing and worldbuilding in the paranormal romance novel Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Proprietor's Pick: Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tavern: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to our Worldbuilding Workshop bonus episodes by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Haneen's family in Gaza

In this episode, we're talking about the writing and worldbuilding in the children's fantasy (with vikings) movie How to Train Your Dragon. Proprietor's Pick: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tavern: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to our Worldbuilding Workshop bonus episodes by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Haneen's family in Gaza

In this episode, we're talking about the writing and worldbuilding in the urban fantasy novel Jade City by Fonda Lee. (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Proprietor's Pick: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tavern: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to our Worldbuilding Workshop bonus episodes by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Haneen's family in Gaza