The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

We discuss having a large cast of characters, necromancy, and five-act structure in Tamsyn Muir’s science fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth.

5.18 Building a Bonded Creature Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a bonded creature, inspired by Moniquill Blackgoose’s novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by answering these ten questions: What is the creature? Is the creature sentient or more animalistic? Why does the creature bond with human(oid)s? How does the creature bone with human(oid)s? How do the creature and humans benefit each other? How do bonded pairs communicate? Is the bond permanent, or can it be severed? How rare is it to bond with a creature? Do the creature and the human(oid) need some sort of training to work together? If so, how is this training obtained? How are bonded pairs viewed in society? Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (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

We discuss animalistic dragons, themes of colonialism, and romance in Moniquill Blackgoose’s YA fantasy novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath.

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a university by answering ten questions: What does the University teach? Who is this University for, and who is excluded? What does the University value the most—profit, knowledge, power, etc.? What makes the University unique in its world? How do students physically experience the University? What are the social dynamics among students? How is power structured within the institution? How does the University interact with the outside world? How do students change by the time they leave the University? What’s the name of the University? Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (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

We chat about aliens, culture, and more in Nnedi Okorafor’s sci-fi novella Binti.