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PODCAST

Worldbuilding for Masochists

worldbuildingformasochists

A podcast by three fantasy authors who love to overcomplicate their writing lives and want to help you do the same.

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All Episodes

01:08:35

Episode 115: When Not Writing Is Writing, ft. MUR...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/11/08

Everyone knows that writing is writing. And everyone knows that authors are super great at finding things to distract us from our writing. But under what circumstances is not-writing essential to writing? Guest Mur Lafferty joins us to explore the underpinnings of the writing process! From research and concept-noodling to moodboards, playlists, and other creative expressions, what non-writing things feed into our writing? How do we know when we're doing something productive and when we're

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01:20:07

Episode 114: The St Crispin’s Day Special, ft. ANNA...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/10/25

When the glorious hero calls for his allies to follow him into battle... why should they? And how can that hero convince them? In this extremely-niche-themed episode, guest Anna Smith Spark joins us to explore the interplay of language and leadership! In fiction, we love a great, rousing speech -- but how realistic is that stirring moment? (And do we care if it's realistic, or do we follow the Rule of Cool?) What's left when you take out the flattering lighting and the emotionally manipulative

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01:10:04

Episode 113: Trust Your Instincts, ft. SEANAN MCGUIRE

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/10/11

A lot of work and thought can go into worldbuilding, but sometimes, you just have to go with what feels right. In this episode, guest Seanan McGuire joins us to explore how writers can make the most of their worldbuilding flow and lean into their personal resonance. How can writers develop worldbuilding instinct? Why does worldbuilding come easily to some writers but require more conscious effort for others? When should you trust it to its core, and when might you need to temper it with a bit of a

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01:21:32

Episode 112: Whirlwind Worldbuilding ft. JAMES L. SUTTER

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/09/27

This one's for the folks who don't want to spend a few eons building their world before they can start their story. Author and game designer James L. Sutter joins us to share some quick-and-dirty methods for getting the worldbuilding going! In this episode, we explore the question of how much worldbuilding is necessary -- and when it's necessary. If you already have your plot and want to charge right in, that can be a different beast than if you're still feeling your way around what the

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01:02:36

Episode 111: Let’s Pick a Fight: Balancing Realism...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/09/13

Shiny swords, sharpshooting archers, magically-assisted martial arts: all these things are staples of fantasy literature. But how do you do fights right? Guest SL Huang joins us to discuss all the pointy bits! In this episode, we think not just about the technology and technicalities of fighting, but also how combat fits into (or goes against the grain of) social norms. Is your world one where a citizen can routinely be challenged to a duel? Or expects to be punched in the face if they say something

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01:16:09

Episode 110: In Your Leisure Time, ft. MATT WALLACE

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/08/30

Hobbies and leisure activities aren't just neat ways to give your characters something to do in-between plot beats -- they can also communicate a lot to the reader about the world you're building! Developing hobbies and entertainment in a world also touches on what that culture thinks about work, income, community, and many other components of society. Guest Matt Wallace joins us to discuss the opportunities presented by giving your characters the chance to play, craft, and just muck about with

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01:08:10

Episode 109: Seer-iously: Religion, Prophecy,...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/08/16

Our discussion of integrating religion and faith into your fantastical world continues! In this episode, guest Aparna Verma joins us to examine the deep connections between religious belief and the choices your characters make. How do they negotiate their relationship with their faith and the stories that go along with it? What happens when, thanks to a prophecy, they become one of those stories? Religion can be a powerful force moving politics and social dynamics -- especially when not everyone

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01:08:49

Episode 108: The Myth, The Legend, The Cultural...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/08/02

What role do myths play in culture and tradition? Often, mythology is, itself, a form of worldbuilding, a way that people use story to make sense of the world around them. So how do we incorporate all of that into our fictional worlds? Guest Ehigbor Okosun joins us to discuss! Myths and cultural stories can speak so much about the people they originate with: what they value, what they assume about life, what they overlook. Myths can also reinforce power structures, or challenge them -- and that's as

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01:04:18

Episode 107: Livin’ on a Prayer: Religion, Worldview,...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/07/19

What do your characters believe? Like, really truly deeply believe? Is it part of a codified religion? Is it a faith without much external structure? Do they trust entirely in science, or in magic, or in a code of ethics? In this episode, we explore the interplay of religion and point-of-view. The role that religion and faith play in your world can exist on a wide spectrum. In some societies, religion is so woven with life that some degree of faith is just a given, inextricable from other parts of

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01:05:56

Episode 106: Lighten Up: Making your World a Little...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/07/05

In our continuing exploration of aesthetic and its interplay with worldbuilding, we're thinking about one spectrum with labels that often get applied to fantasy novels: the darkness and the light. Guest M.J. Kuhn joins us to discuss the societal components and cultural standards that can make a world feel further toward one end or the other of that continuum. What's the difference between a dark world and a dark story? How much do the characters' attitudes and the writer's narrative voice shape the

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01:05:38

Episode 105: We’re Going on an Adventure!

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/06/21

Welcome to the fifth season of Worldbuilding for Masochists! And we've got some big news in this episode! After many episodes talking about the Magical Nude Gate, we are diving fully in and launching a Kickstarter anthology! We want to tell some of the stories for which the MNG provides such glorious opportunity. We’ve solicited stories from former guests (see a full list below) and will open the anthology to submissions, as well. We hope to bring you an ebook anthology in summer of

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01:05:33

Episode 104: Riffing on the Real World, ft. KAT HOWARD

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/06/07

Sometimes, the world you're working in is already built... because it's the one we live in! But that doesn't mean you don't still have choices to make. Guest Kat Howard joins us to talk about what happens when you flick one of reality's dominos and see what changes. Maybe you've added magic -- but is it a secret, hidden society, or something that's out in the open? One will lead to different worldbuilding considerations than the other! Or maybe you've added dragons, werewolves, fairies, or some

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01:00:20

Episode 103: Worldbuilding - It Builds Character, ft....

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/05/24

We sometimes see people complain, "Worldbuilding is just pointless background info; I want to know about characters!” But what are your characters without the world they exist in? Guest Kritika H. Rao joins us to examine how world shape characters and how characters can, in turn, change the shape of their worlds. Characters are typically shaped by their environments, whether they're trying desperately to fit in or beating their wings against the bars of their cage. Maybe they're defending the status

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01:08:54

Episode 102: Side Dishes and Second Helpings: Serving...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/05/10

From sumptuous feasts to the standard stew, food plays an important role in flavoring a lot of speculative fiction. But how do the people living in your invented world think about their food? What's their relationship to eating, mealtime, and their cultural delicacies? Guest Chana Porter joins us to discuss food culture and all the wonderful things it can communicate! In this episode, we consider elements of scarcity and abundance: How does a relationship to food change if it's always available

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01:07:50

Episode 101: All About the Zhuzh

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/04/26

It's time to get specific -- about magic! When you're building a magical system for your fantasy world, there's a lot to consider. Where does it come from? Who can access it -- everyone, or just some percentage of the population? Does it come naturally, or does it have to be trained? All of these choices will affect how magic is perceived, valued, and used in society. In this episode, we poke at all these considerations and make some choices for the expression of magic in our co-created world. Also

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53:44

Episode 100: The Game is Afoot! ft. CATE OSBORN,...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/04/12

It's the 100th Episode! Because we know how many of our listeners play TTRPGs and worldbuild for those, rather than for prose fiction, we wanted to celebrate our 100th episode with a panel episode on gaming! We're delighted to welcome Cate Osborn, Andrew Nome, and Sharang Biswas to discuss worldbuilding for and in games. (We usually overload your TBRs, but our guests are guaranteed to overload your To-Be-Played list.) In this conversation, we talk a lot about how the communal nature of ttrpgs

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01:05:45

Episode 99: Connect the Dots

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/03/29

In the midst of a season full of amazing guests, we take a little breather to reflect on some of the recent topics and to apply them to our co-built world! The world of the MNG is complex and interconnected, which makes it absolutely ripe for thinking about matrices of power and privilege. So, we think about geography and space; we think about gender and gender roles; we think about magic; we think about the intersections of identity that might matter both in our world and in the smaller societies

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01:02:08

Episode 98: Mysterious Worlds, ft. ANDREA STEWART

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/03/15

Is your world so big because it's full of secrets? From lost civilizations to prowling cryptids, from Unidentified Aerial Phenomena to covert cabals, people love a good mystery, in real life and in fiction. So how can you build these mysteries into your world? Guest Andrea Stewart joins us to explore the possibilities! As you create your world, you might know more of its truths and secrets than your characters. What are you withholding from them? How much of their own world is known to them, and how

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01:00:37

Episode 97: Perfect Pairing - Intersectionality and...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/03/01

When you're building a world, how do you think about all the different levers of power and privilege that your characters may encounter -- or manipulate, or be manipulated by? Guest Suyi Davies Okungbowa joins us to think about the matrix of identity and its potential in speculative storytelling. Intersectionality gives us a framework for examining the pluralism of existence. Exploring these concepts allows writers to build more nuanced, vivid, breathing worlds out of all the layers of complexity in

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52:36

Episode 96: The Big Blue World: Oceanic...

Worldbuilding for Masochists ·

2023/02/15

In worldbuilding, we think a lot about the cities and towns that populate our worlds, as well as the enchanted forests, the treacherous mountain ranges, the gloomy swamps, and all those other terrains that adventurers on a quest find themselves trekking across. But what about the feature that makes up over 70% of our own planet and likely a significant percentage of the one you're creating? Darcie Little Badger joins us to talk about worldbuilding on and under the water! From the teeming

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