Wayfarer's Guide to Worldbuilding
A podcast on how to write unique, scientific, and magical worlds.
The Wayfarer’s Guide to Worldbuilding is a tool to help writers, Dungeon Masters, and creatives build unique, scientific, and magical worlds. Each episode explores one facet of worldbuilding—such as drafting the perfect city map, making a monster, or building an ancient religion—and gives practical advice on writing these elements.
Hosted by the Mythos & Ink staff—Kyle Rudge (Marketing Director), Allison Alexander (Editorial Director), and Emma Skrumeda (Editorial Assistant)—the three discuss strong examples of worldbuilding from science fiction and fantasy books, TV shows, and movies. They also give a glimpse into the world of publishing every episode, discussing what they are working on and the inner workings of a small press.
We’re continuing in our series on the Netflix show Shadow and Bone, which is based on novels by Leigh Bardugo! Our topics today: magic and societal structure. What is the distinction between “small science” and magic? What is magic’s narrative purpose in the show? How are the societies structured and how does considering structure provide ample opportunities for inserting conflict into a story’s narrative?
Notes
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Produced by Mythos & Ink.
Announcement Music: Coffee Beats by Aaron Parsons (Used with permission)
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Latest Episodes
Religion as a Colonizing Force (Fantasy and Religion, Part Two)
The Mists of Avalon explores the conflict between two religions.
The Fallibility of Religion (Fantasy and Religion, Part One)
The Priory of the Orange Tree portrays two characters who struggle with differing versions of the same story.
5 More Unique Magic Systems to Inspire Your Own
A unique magic system is a great way to make your fantasy world unforgettable. The most important thing is that it makes sense for your world and the story that you are telling.
5 Stories About the Afterlife that Might Surprise You
Five examples of afterlives that don’t stick to traditional good vs. bad destinations.
Five Things You Should Know about Weapons and Armour When Writing Fantasy
Five facts about real-world weaponry that you should know before you include them in your stories.
4 Fantasy Settings that Aren’t Medieval Britain
Challenge yourself to think out of the box for your next fantasy story.
Support the Podcast
If you enjoy listening to the Wayfarer’s Guide to Worldbuilding, you can support the podcast by joining our Patreon community. Help us grow the show! Some of our goals include expanding from bi-weekly episodes to weekly episodes and bringing on expert guests.
Hosts of Wayfarer's Guide to Worldbuilding
Kyle Rudge
A geek through-and-through, Kyle loves Ender’s Game, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. He’s also a jungle main, a Ravenclaw, and Mythos & Ink’s marketing director! He’s a husband and father of two humans and retains guardianship over two furry companions. And he’s someone who loves seeing others reach their full creative potential.
Allison Alexander
Allison edits sci-fi and fantasy, writes books, and plays video games the rest of the time. She is the incurable author of Super Sick: Making Peace with Chronic Illness, a geek’s guide to living with a disability. You can find her chasing bokoblins in Hyrule, traipsing with hobbits in Middle-earth, or blogging at aealexander.com.
Emma Skrumeda
Emma is a makeup artist, writer, and half-elf Tempest Cleric. She has been writing since elementary school, and likes to think that she has improved since then. She can be found staring at a laptop while muttering about sentence structure and character arcs. Fantasy is her jam, which makes worldbuilding her bread and butter. Delicious.
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