Category: Book Blog

Conlangs are arguably best suited to being spoken because we can hear inflection and tone despite not understanding it. Gestures and expressions help us infer meaning. Sometimes a character translates for other characters and us. Subtitles render these a moot Read More …

We often benefit from questioning what goal we hope to achieve with our world building. This is true of inventing languages. Clarifying our motivation will help determine the degree to which we do this, if at all. One reason to Read More …

Constructed languages, known as conlangs, are a staple of fantasy and science fiction stories and gaming. Creating a language is one of the most optional subjects in world building. It has a limited positive return, given the difficulty of the Read More …

We can start in one of several places with inventing items, including how we intend them to be used and how we want characters to think of them. Is it a plot coupon they need to acquire to accomplish goals? Read More …

An Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has become a staple of SF, particularly in the form of a ship that can be controlled via the A.I., which typically gets a name for ease of reference. Let’s call ours Surance, which sounds female, Read More …

Unlike with magic items, technological ones are unique, rather than repurposing an everyday item, like a ring, to have technological significance. Both can be done. A smart watch is more than just a watch but was created to have those Read More …

Origins The more commonplace an item is, the less we need to decide its origins, but the more unique it is, the more audiences will wonder. Are there people who specialize in creating magic items? If so, these are presumably Read More …

Any item can be turned into a magic one by assigning it supernatural properties. We have some standards to choose from, such as rings, bracelets, and other jewelry, and the stereotypical wizard’s staff. By contrast, a wand is something no Read More …

Our world can benefit from important items that are neither supernatural nor technological. In the former case, people can attribute supernatural properties to objects that don’t necessarily have them, as is the case on Earth. Religious ones come to mind. Read More …

There are three main categories of items we can create: magical, technological, and ones that are neither. In this chapter, “technology” means SF items that don’t exist on Earth, as we don’t need to invent things that do (italics) exist. Read More …