Worldbuilding for Masochists

History underpins so much of what we do in the fantasy genre, directly and indirectly. So how do we make that history feel real in an invented world? What makes it feel old and settled as opposed to a culture that popped up out of the snow like a daisy to give the protagonist their story? Guest Shannon Chakraborty joins us to chat about why we love history, how we study it, and how we weave it together with the fantastical.

History’s not only about what was, but what is, how a society constructs the myth of itself, shapes its values, claims legitimacy, and that means it's not just the source of tomes of lore -- it's so much of what influences who your characters are, how they think, and what obstacles are in their way. Depicting history is also a commentary on today, part of an ongoing project of how we shape our ideas of ourselves and whose stories get to be heard. That makes it a powerful tool to use in crafting fantasy narratives.

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Our Guest: Shannon Chakraborty is the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Daevabad Trilogy and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages and nominated for the Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy, Crawford, and Astounding awards. You can find her online at www.sachakraborty.com or on Instagram at @SAChakrabooks.

In previous episodes, we've discussed how some genres are more aesthetic-driven (like sci fi & fantasy) and others are more structure-driven (like romance and mystery). So how do subgenres within SFF play with elements of both? How can we blend tropes and reader expectations to put fresh spins on familiar subgenres? Four-time guest and friend of the podcast Fonda Lee joins us to explore the possibilities and potential pitfalls.

A lot of "genre" is really about marketing and packaging, so we also discuss the effects of knowing that end result on the process itself. How is it different if we start out with an idea of "I am going to write This Subgenre Thing" versus starting out with less of that marketing-minded specificity? How much do we play into or subvert a reader's expectations? Navigating that can be a high-wire act, trying to present new things that will delight and surprise a reader without knocking them out of the story. And what do we do if the packaging, which authors often have no control over, doesn't quite paint the right picture of the actual book? We also talk about some recent trends and shifts within SFF subgenres.

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Our Guest: 

Fonda Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Green Bone Saga, consisting of the novels Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy, along with a prequel novella The Jade Setter of Janloon and a short story collection, Jade Shards. Her newest book is the science fiction novel The Last Contract of Isako. She is also the author of the fantasy novella, Untethered Sky and several young adult novels: Zeroboxer, the Exo duology, and the Breathmarked duology, co-written with Shannon Lee.

Fonda is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a six-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada’s national science fiction and fantasy award), as well as a multiple finalist for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Her novels have garnered multiple starred reviews and appeared on Best of Year lists from NPR, Barnes & Noble, Syfy Wire, and others. Jade City has been translated into fifteen languages, named to TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time, and optioned for television development.

She has also written acclaimed short fiction and been an instructor at writing workshops including Clarion West, Viable Paradise, and Aspen Words. Fonda is a former corporate strategist and black belt martial artist who loves action movies and Eggs Benedict. Hailing from Canada and the Pacific Northwest, she now resides in the Boston area.

Faith is an element of society that intersects with a lot of other structures of power and privilege -- So what do we need to think about when incorporating real-world religions into our fantasy worlds and stories? Guest Vaishnavi Patel joins us to discuss Using cultures of faith respectfully but not fearfully!

From gender roles to the afterlife, from guiding moral compasses to provoking conflict, religion has the potential to affect many different components of your characters' lives, whether they are themselves particularly devout or not. Does it put restrictions on their bodily autonomy, the jobs they can hold, or their social class? What role do religious rituals play in daily life -- or in holidays and special events? We also discuss how these considerations can influence character arcs, like crises of faith, redemption arcs, and social reformation.

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Our Guest: Vaishnavi Patel is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Kaikeyi, Goddess of the River, and Ten Incarnations of Rebellion. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Bustle, Paste, Ms. Magazine, and Buzzfeed. She is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law and civil rights, including issues of gender and racial justice. She has lived in five states in the last five years, but Chicago is home.

It's an oft-cited (though poorly citationed) aphorism of writing that you should “chase your character up a tree and throw rocks at them." Well, worldbuilding is what gives you the tree and the rocks! So how does your world provide opportunities and obstacles for your characters? Guest Carissa Broadbent joins us to explore making the relationship between character and conflict feel natural and organic through the world they exist in.

Characters are products of their circumstances – So how has the world shaped those for them? What systems and structures have shaped their pasts, and how has that past shaped what they want, what they expect, and what they think is possible? Where does that collide with what other characters want and think? The world also provides the conditions that can push people together or pull them apart, for good or ill -- it can provoke challenge & change, whether you're trying to save the world or get to the kissing bits.

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Our Guest: Carissa Broadbent is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Crowns of Nyaxia series. She has been featured in Elle and Publishers Weekly, and her books have been reviewed in Library Journal, Marie Claire, Popsugar, and Vulture, among others. She writes novels that blend epic fantasy plots with a heaping dose of romance. She lives with her husband, her son, and one perpetually skeptical cat in Rhode Island.

Music is a cultural universal, something human societies have been producing since our very earliest days – So how do we use it when writing novels? How do we put the audial experience onto the page? Guest Mia Tsai joins us to discuss how to go beyond just slapping a bunch of lyrics down on the page! Music is about emotion and communication, so part of the craft of writing it into a book will mean exploring how your characters feel about it, as well as the mental and physical responses they have when they hear a certain tune.

Music can be the tool of the propagandist or the rebel; it can be sacred or profane; small and homey or huge and orchestral. Both its structure and its role in society can vary wildly by time and place, and interesting worldbuilding with music will benefit from looking outside the confines that Western imperialism built around the art. We also talk about building soundtracks for our novels!

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Our Guest: Mia Tsai is a Taiwanese American author of speculative fiction. Her debut novel, a xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy titled Bitter Medicine, was published by Tachyon Publications on March 14, 2023. Her sophomore novel, an adult science fantasy titled The Memory Hunters, will be published on July 29, 2025, by Erewhon Books.

Mia lives in Atlanta with her family, and, when not writing, is a hype woman for her orchids and a born-again Knicks fan. Her favorite things include music of all kinds and taking long trips with nothing but the open road and a saucy rhythm section.

She has been quoted in Glamour and Washington Post's The Lily and, in her other lives, is a professional editor, photographer, and musician.

Mia is on BlueSky at @itsamia.bsky.social and Instagram at @mia.tsai.books. She is represented by Anne Tibbets at Donald Maass Literary Agency. Please contact Anne for all business inquiries.