Bethany’s Best: Worldbuilding, Hydration, and a Cute Puppy

Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer. I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging!

Awesome Articles: Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding is when we create a fictional setting for our story. This is especially important for writers of science fiction and fantasy (Think dragons! Magical lands! New planets!) though really it’s important for all writers to make sure they have a solid grasp on the setting of their stories.

So for your pleasure and perusal, here are 4 helpful articles for you! Happy reading 🙂

1. 10 Questions to Ask When You Create a Fictional Culture– Alyssa Hollingsworth
   • This is a great place to start getting things rolling with Worldbuilding and brainstorm what you want and need in your story.
2. 16 Ways to Make Your Setting a Character in Its Own Right– Helping Authors Become Writers
   • This is a more extensive post taking us in depth into the details and secrets of our setting.
3. Creating Religions & Belief Systems– Mythcreants
   • What characters do or don’t believe often shapes their motivations, actions, and how they see the world. Makes sense that this is a pretty big one to figure out in our fictional worlds!
4. Fantasy Name Generator– Emily
   • This isn’t technically an article per say ( O:-) ) but it’s a fun resource for finding names that might fit your setting or characters.

Book Spotlight: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

First of all- I grew up loving the movie Oceans 11 so on most days a heist story totally gets my vote. But all my bias aside, in this story Bardugo delivers big.

The characters breath the life into this story, each one fascinatingly complex and forced to deal not only with challenging situations but also with each other.

They are as the back cover states, “A convict with a thirst for revenge.  A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.”

These characters made me laugh and they came close to making me cry. For their sake alone I know I will be picking this book up again to reread it.  

But wait, there’s more!

Bardugo’s wordcraft is masterful and makes her work a joy to read. Her descriptive and powerful sentences bring depth and beauty to the text without being pretentious.

Added to this, her story is placed in an imaginative and unique fantasy world that is rich with details. (Worldbuilding! Yay!)

I don’t know what else to say except that anyone who likes YA fantasy (or YA fiction, or fantasy, or really anyone…) should give this book a read 🙂

Recipe of the Month: One Hour Bread

This bread really only takes an hour, friends! I’m such a lover of homemade bread so this is a game changer because, to be honest, I can be weirdly intimidated about the lengthy bread making process. So try this out and enjoy!

Self Care Homework: H2O Power!

Drink a glass of water today and remind yourself how great it feels to be hydrated! Whenever I’m feeling run down I’m almost always somewhat dehydrated. It seems so simple, but drinking water can do wonders to help us feel our best. So take a moment to grab yourself some water and take care of yourself. You’re worth it 🙂 

Writing Prompt: Worldbuilding Brainstorming

What if there was a world where everything was solar powered? How would taxes on the sun work? What would people do during times of extended darkness (ie: Northern Alaska in winter)?

Cuteness Quota: Here’s puppy for you <3

Quote:

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

Hope your month has been lovely and your writing has been productive! Feel free to send me questions or suggestions either in the comments below or through my contact page 🙂