The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

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?

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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

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