The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed

In this episode, Richie and JM tackle a source of joy and frustration for perhaps every fantasy writer: world-building.
They discuss their favourite bits of advice on introducing those juicy world-building details into the story, the best times to introduce those details, and the most effective means of doing so.
As always, if you have comments, queries or questions, get in touch at thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com!

A few weeks back, Richie carried out a bit of research inspired by the comments of a professional book reviewer named Damien Walter. Walter argued that the novel is dead, that the decline in quality and the saturation of the market has strangled the enjoyment out of it, and as a result, fewer people are reading. Richie explores whether or not this is the case, before considering whether or not reading as a whole is facing an existential crisis. 
 

In this episode, we tackle fantasy tropes. How can writers twist conventional fantasy ideas to create unique and interesting angles? We look at a few examples and discuss some ways of finding originality. Plus, the results of our competition!
Drop us an email with your questions for episode three <thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com> or leave us a comment!

In this shorter episode, JM and Richie discuss a cliche they didn't get round to discussing in episode one: medieval settings in the fantasy genre. It's a hot topic amongst readers and writers at the moment. What are your views? Are you sick and tired of muddy villages and wooden houses, stone castles, swords, shields and all the rest? Drop us an email and tell us (thefantasywriterstoolshed@gmail.com, or leave us a comment!

In our very first episode, we're looking at fantasy clichés. What are they? Why are they bad? How can you avoid them? How can you use them? We tackle the chosen one, wise old mentors, fantasy races, and evil villains for evil's sake. Plus, we've got a few freebies to give away!