The Most Welcoming of Secrets

Abine wasn’t tired.  But he was supposed to be, wasn’t he? He was retired. He had seen the world and it had seen him.  So why wasn’t he tired? You’d think he would be tired. Old, even. That was what was expected of him. That he would just yield the moment they told him, take...

40 Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Short Fiction

Every once in a while when navigating the waters of writing inspiration, I'll find myself lost in a murky patch, unable to come up with anything worthy of the page. Practicing one's craft is essential, but too often we find ourselves void of ideas or inspiration, leaving us with nothing of substance to write about....

Let’s Talk about Brandon Sanderson (Revised)

So last year, soon after first discovering the works of fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, I wrote a blog post where I talked about Sanderson and what he does. At the time of writing that I had just starting this blog, and had only read a few books by Sanderson. The other day I finished Rhythm...

Worldbuilding: When to Stop

So, while I've enjoyed talking productivity and reading habits pretty continuously over the past month or so, I feel that I've gotten a bit burnt out over the topic and am ready for a shift. Worry not, for we will return to those things---just not today. Today, I'd like to harken back to a sort...

Allegory and Authorial Intent

Occasionally I'll be sitting and pondering English literature (to little end), when an end will suddenly come, an intrigue: the question of authorial intent. The thoughts will start to flow, and just like that, I'll be the host of an internal debate. The central question of the debate is the following: Should we attempt to...

Unfinished Stories: Child of the Sun

Introduction: This snippet is presented as the fifth of my "unfinished stories"---a series of short tales I've begun to enjoy including here on the Goblin Opinions site. This one is particularly unique, as it was originally intended to be the prologue of a novel I began writing last November. Now, things got a little sidetracked...

February Wrap Up and New Short Story

Greetings! Today's post will be a short one, and mostly just an announcement concerning a new short story I've made public on the site. I wrote this one last November during National Novel Writing Month; it's rougher around the edges but still one I wanted to share. You can find that story, and a brief...

Judging Popular Fantasy Maps

Good afternoon! Today I'll be assessing and ranking a series of ten maps from modern and classical fantasy stories. There are too many of these to count, but I'll do my best—apologies if I'm not able to get to one you wanted to see. By no means am I some sort of cartography expert, but...

Vaean—My Worldbuilding Project

Upon my first day entering the world of innovation, I was surprised. Not just because I had expected something small and had instead found something grand. Barely for the fact that the inhabitants of this realm felt, acted and appeared as humanoid. Not because they subverted my expectations, acting happy to see me instead of...

Worldbuilding—Constructing a Map

As you'll know if you follow this blog, I'm a fan of the art of worldbuilding—that act of creating a fictional setting, be it for fantasy, science fiction, or anything in between. It serves as an outlet for creativity and as grounds for collaboration. Many of our favorite tales are set in grand worlds with...