You come across it constantly in fantasy. An ancient city, dreaming in its senescence. A city so old that no records have survived of when it was founded. A city as old as time. But surely that’s nonsense. Cities don’t really last that long, do they? Don’t they come and go, lasting a few centuriesContinue reading “A City as Old as Time”
Tag Archives: world-making
The Quels — Expanding the World
Lately, prequels seem to be everywhere on TV. There’s nothing new about prequels, but in the past few months we’ve had (with varied results) prequels for Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and The Witcher. “Quels” (sequels, prequels and paraquels) aren’t restricted to any one genre, but they seem particularly prevalent in SF andContinue reading “The Quels — Expanding the World”
Gavrilo Princip and Jenkins’ Ear — How Wars Really Begin
A large proportion of fantasy novels involve warfare, and the reasons for those wars starting depend largely on the genre — but they’re usually quite straightforward. If it’s traditional high fantasy, there’s a war because some Evil Overlord wants to conquer and oppress the world, usually for no very clear reason, and the opposing sideContinue reading “Gavrilo Princip and Jenkins’ Ear — How Wars Really Begin”
Which World Is Your Story Set In? — reposted
This article was originally posted on my old blog in 2015. It felt it was well worth reposting, and I hope you’ll agree. People who don’t like fantasy often base their objections on the claim that they prefer to read books or watch films set in the real world. For these people, the dichotomy isContinue reading “Which World Is Your Story Set In? — reposted”
It’s About Time
Most secondary-world fantasy writers love creating a whole world (or at least a significant part of one) for their characters to play in. They create geography, cultures, races, religions, politics… the list goes on. But there’s one thing most of them seem less thorough about — time. Now, that might seem an odd statement, consideringContinue reading “It’s About Time”
Welcome to the Fantasy Worlds of Nyki Blatchley
So, I have a new website and a new blog — welcome to both. OK, what do you write about for the first post in a new blog? It doesn’t seem right to post something that could just as easily be the two-hundred-and-twelfth blog, so I’ll use this to introduce the site. I did haveContinue reading “Welcome to the Fantasy Worlds of Nyki Blatchley”
The Fantasy Worlds of Nyki Blatchley 