On Worldbuilding A Magical Setting

Want to worldbuild a magical setting, with dragons, elves, wizards, and whatnot? Need something to occupy yourself with now that you've decided to stop supporting and
giving free publicity to a fantasy author who just won't stop spreading hate? Just want to build your own magical setting for the heck of it? Then this article will give you
some pointers and things to consider on your journey, and perhaps even inspire you in some way.

Table of Contents
• First, we have to talk about real life history and culture.
• Figure out how your magic works and how it interacts with your setting.
• Consider how magic intersects with the law.
• On magic being suppressed, oppressed, or obscure.
• Consider the potential ecological aspects of magic.
• In closing

First, we have to talk about real life history and culture.

Basically just about all fantasy magic is inspired by something that real people actually believed in and practiced, and very likely still believe in and practice to this day.
All of these practices were based in certain fundamental beliefs about the way the world worked, and sometimes even how the world was created. While some writers
hold to the viewpoint that magic should be mysterious and whimsical or else it's not really magic, such an opinion was not held by practitioners and mystics of the past.
Magic wasn't thought of as incomprehensible or whimsical; rather, it was thought to work in accordance with what people believed to be the natural laws of the universe
as they understood it.

For example, the idea that you have to make a sacrifice for your spell to work goes back to the belief that helpful gods and other spirits would lend you their power if you
gave them a gift. The idea of having an innate power within oneself goes back to the concepts of the soul and vital force.

Crossroads appear in many folkloric contexts because they are a liminal space. Liminal spaces often have a sense of unreality or otherworldliness to them, and are thus the
perfect places to bury things you never want troubling you again, or to encounter a being from another realm, or to work a change or transformation. Spells might also be
operated at liminal times, such as sunrise or sunset, for similar reasons.

Those fancy magical seals and sigils you see everywhere derive from Solomonic magic, which developed from the tradition that King Solomon had built the first temple
by binding demons and forcing them to do the work. Solomonic magic itself seems to have developed from late antiquity and onward, and entered Europe in the high
middle ages. The main reason it's so well-known today is because of the Key of Solomon, a book dating to the 14th or 15th century Italy.

The concept of true names and magical language comes from Renaissance Europe, where the idea took off that God spoke the world into existence by means ofa divine
language. The idea went that the closer a langauge was to this divine language, the more powerful it would be.

A lot of talismanic magic is deeply linked to astrological magic, which assumes that the planets and Zodiac signs exert influence upon our world and give things their
properties or essences. Take for example this talisman for subduing beasts, or this talisman for a good reputation, or this talisman for love. Astrology as most ofus know it
was originally developed in ancient Babylon (the two fish of Pisces, for example, actually represent the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), and astrological magic was
developed in the Middle East. Europe's own understanding of astrology was heavily influenced by al-Kindi, a 9th century polymath from Iraq.

I've gone into more of the logic behind various magical practices over here. If you're not interested in reading it right now, then suffice it to say that magical practices have
always had some kind of logic behind them. This notion that they don't largely comes from us modem people failing to understand how people in different times and
places understood the world. It also seems to relate to the rather bigoted notion that before the invention of science, people simply didn't have complex or sophisticated
ideas of how the world worked. They absolutely did. They were different from ours, and they were very often wrong, but they absolutely did. Once you understand the
worldviews behind various magical practices, they lose their mystery and make perfect sense. Remember, people in times past didn't go around with a half-formed picture
of the world in their heads. Rather, they filled in the blanks with things that made sense to them, and generally assumed that their comprehension of the cosmos was more
or less complete.

I'd also like to point out is that the notion that so-called primitive people "mistook" natural forces for magic is both condescending and inaccurate. The notion that nature
and magic are two different things is a modern perspective. Consider how people perceived magnets: They didn't really know how they worked, but they did know that
they could attract iron, and attract or repel other magnets. Therefore, it made intuitive sense that there could be all kinds of invisible forces that could do all kinds of
things. Magnets were not science mistaken for magic. Magnets were magic. It's us modern people who are being weird by trying to split hairs and invent reasons why
magnets can't be magic.

At this point some folks might be wondering if they thought that magnets were demonic, because some modern Christians often claim that anything "magical" is actually
demonic. In fact, no. If anything, Christians often understood the mysteries of the natural world to have something to do with God's divine power. If God was mysterious,
then certainly the natural world could be full of God's divine mystery. It's worth noting that in the early modern period, natural magic (which included herbology,
alchemy, and even astrology) were often considered perfectly fine.

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Likewise, the sentiment that "magic is just science we don't understand yet" projects our modern binaristic view of nature and magic onto the past, and echoes the false
narrative that history has been progressing toward the abandonment of myth and magic in favor of strict science and rationality. Furthermore, this sentiment ultimately
only serves to despiritualize magic, rather than respiritualize nature.

Another thing I'd like to talk about is how magic has historically been practiced in all levels of society. The idea that it was the sole domain of some elite or special
class, or that some people were magical while others simply weren't, does not reflect historical reality.

In some cases, certain techniques or mysteries might only be taught to initiates of certain religious orders, but that didn't mean that everyone else just had nothing. Sure,
you might have to join the temple to learn whatever magic and lore the temple priests believe in, but that doesn't mean Grandma couldn't teach you to how to brew a few
potions, or that your friends didn't know how to practice cleromancy, or that local farmers didn't know some charms to bring good harvests or keep away pests. And
maybe the temple priests thought they knew the true origins of the universe, but that doesn't mean that the creation myth (or myths) they favored were any better or more
"true" than the one your mom told you at bedtime.

Also, pagan gods did not just belong to some secretive or elite group of magic users. They belonged to everyone, just as Jesus, the saints, or the archangels belong to
everyone. Some groups of people favored certain gods over others (EG, a farming community would favor earth deities more than, say, the cities scribes would). The idea
that only "magical" people would interact with pagan gods also ties into the very incorrect assumption that all pagans habitually practiced magic, while Christians always
soundly condemned it. In fact, Christians have often practiced what we would call magic today, and one can argue that even the most orthodox of Christian practices were
still thought to operate on principles that we would consider magic today. Conversely, not every pagan was all that mystically inclined. Just as there are devout Christians
and Christians who only show up for church on Easter or special services, there were pagans who were deeply mystical and pagans who just paid mandatory honors to
their gods. Also, some pagans were even atheists.

Also, pagans knew who the gods and the spirits were. A lot of modem fantasy writers depict pseudo-pagan cultures talking about "the gods" and "the spirits" as if they're
these vague, amorphous entities. This is as ridiculous as saying "the saints" without any specification of, say, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, or Saint Mary; or "the angels"
without any specification of figures like Michael or Gabriel. Sure, it makes sense to refer to them as a collective in some cases, but that doesn't mean we don't understand
them to be individuals.

So basically, our modern understanding of magic as something incomprensible is simply based in our own ignorance of how people in the past perceived the world around
them. We think that because we don't know how it was supposed to work, means they had no idea, either. And that's quite narrow-minded ofus.

I'd also like to mention that these various worldviews, as well as the wide variety of techniques and tools that emerged over the years, didn't just pop out of the aether.
Rather, they arose out of specific cultural contexts. For example, a lot of people today think of tarot readin as a timeless magical staple, when the reality is that the cards
tarot decks are based on came out of Islamic Egypt in the 14th century, and apparently weren't used for mystical purposes until the 18th century.

Of course, if you're building a fantasy world then you have a lot of wiggle room to date certain things to whenever you want, but even so it's probably still a good idea to
ask yourself what kind of context it developed in. The idea that magic is primarily a thing you learn from books, for example, isn't going to be found in illiterate societies,
and books aren't going to exist until they figure out something to make pages from. The practice of numerology first requires the belief that numbers have some kind of
inherent special properties, which is the kind of belief one comes to after noticing that math is pretty good for describing and predicting the natural world, and for doing
things like architecture. (After all, if you can design a building with math, maybe God used math to design the universe.) Or maybe in your fantasy world the gods really
did use math to design the universe, and somehow humanity got hold of the manual. It's all up to you, so long as it makes sense in context.

The other point is that taking something that was practiced and believed in by basically everyone and saying, "Well, maybe it only produced results for a secret group of
special people" is inherently demeaning. You imply that people's beliefs and practices never really belonged to them, but were in fact stolen from the elite, superior
beings they actually belonged to. This can be insulting enough when you're talking about pagan beliefs in Europe, but when you apply this to people whose spiritual
beliefs have been suppressed by colonial forces, it's downright cruel and quite frankly violent.

You could potentially make your world's magic completely unrelated to anything in the real world, though that might arguably be more trouble than it's worth because
real people have already invented so many interesting practices and compelling ideas. You can also look into non-marginalized cultures for inspiration; Greece and other
European cultures are far richer and more complex than most people realize. I notice, for example, that a lot of people try to borrow animist ideas from Native American
cultures and from Japanese culture under some impression that European cultures don't really do animism, but the fact is that it's always been there, and you can find it if
you look. (And I really do wish more people would learn about European animism, because then we'd have fewer ridiculous galaxy brainings about what the myths and
folklore were "really" about, though I'm digressing a bit.)

I also want to point out that the characteristics and behaviors associated with many folkloric creatures are based on people's observations of nature. For example, water
spirits are often thought to be in the habit of eating humans simply because bodies of water can pull people under, and sometimes the corpse never turns up. From this
perspective, it doesn't make sense that all water fairies would be equally dangerous, because not all bodies of water are equally dangerous. While it's true that many fairy
creatures are thought to be hostile or antagonistic, the notion that all of them are always this way comes more from modem people who enjoy making other people feel
small and disempowered than from actual folklore. So don't feel like you aren't being "authentic" if you don't want to make everything mean and bitey. And as always,
what you should do depends on your personal goals, which are of course entirely up to you.

Figure out how your magic works and how it interacts with your setting.
Magic being an active part of your setting means that it should impact people's lives in various ways, and that people should react to it and have various opinions on it.
Therefore, you should design your magic around how you want people in your setting to live and interact with magic, and how you want it to affect their lives.

You can potentially make up all the rules for magic as you go along, but this can result in your magic feeling more like a plot device than a natural, integral part of your
setting, especially if the rules appear to be inconsistent or seem like they're all centered around creating problems. Nature has rules, or patterns that it consistently follows.
EG, if you put your hand in water, it will get wet; if you pull it out of the water it will eventually dry, and it will dry faster if you move into a very warm and dry
envirorunent. Therefore, giving your magic rules that you follow consistently can make it feel more natural.

So think about how you want people to engage with magic, and how you want it to affect them. Don't just focus on your main characters here, but consider how it affects
everyone. For example, who does it empower, and what does it empower them to do? Who does it disempower, and in what ways does it disempower them? How does
magic affect people's basic lifestyles? What kind of accommodations do they have to make for magic, and what kind of accommodations can they make with magic?

Keep in mind, if magic can be used to fulfill desires or needs with relative ease, or even just bypass common inconveniences, then realistically people would be using it
for that. If people could basically spam or farm magic for personal gain, then realistically a bunch of them would. If you ignore this, you basically present the vast
majority of people as inhumanly passive and disinterested in ways to improve their own lives, and that means that your setting isn't as lively and dynamic as it could be.

I suggest taking a look at Phlebotinum-Development Questions and "Is This A Good Idea For My Story/Setting/Character?" - How To Answer This For Yourself! for
questions to help you figure out how you ought to make your setting's magic work. There's no singular right or wrong way to do it; the best way is to make sure it matches
your own intentions for your world.

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It's also important to figure out your magic's limitations - I recommend checking out Setting Rules & Limitations In Your World: Why & How You Need To Do This. It
can be tempting to make magic basically limitless, but when you do that then it's pretty hard to design a plot with any genuine suspense or wonder. Limitless magic can
feel exciting at first because big effects do initially tend to evoke big reactions, but once the novelty wears off it's going to become pretty monotonous. If everything's as
effortless as scratching your nose, then ultimately it's going to be about as exciting as scratching your nose.

Basically, you want to determine what you want magic to enable your characters to do, what you don't want it to allow them to do, and what you want it to be able to
prevent them from doing, and you want to think about how that's going to impact the broader narrative and setting. Placing too hard of a limit somewhere might prevent
you from exploring avenues that might be fun or exciting, while allowing certain possibilities might effectively give your characters an "I Win" button. If somebody has,
for example, an unlimited ability to teleport, what's to stop them from appearing right behind their worst enemies and slitting their throats? And if magic can easily revive
the dead, then death loses dramatic impact; but allowing it with certain complications or caveats could make for some interesting and entertaining plotlines, like bartering
with the underworld gods or collecting everything needed to perfonn a resurrection ritual.

It's also a good idea to work out why magic works the way it does. What are the means and mechanisms by which it works? And how do those means and mechanisms
relate to and interact with the rest of the world in general? Figuring this out not only helps you keep your magic consistent, but it helps you infer and interpolate further
rules and implications of your magic that fit what you've already established.

Another aspect of magical worldbuilding is figuring out how magic plays into culture, and into cultural trends. I've noticed that a lot of writers carry on with this notion
that magic and ordinary life have to be two separate and divided things. Now historically, people did have a sense that strange and often dangerous magical beings existed
out there, but they were also using many forms of folk magic every day. Maybe you have a particular reason for a strong division to exist, and that's fine. But if not, then
consider that you just don't have to do things that way, and you can create some very interesting worldbuilding by exploring alternatives.

For example, how are people philosophizing over magic? What kind of speculations are they making about its sources, its causes, and its ultimate implications about life
and what lies beyond?

What kind of things do people do with magic on a day-to-day basis? Do they use it to, say, prepare food? How does it impact medicine? Do they have magical games or
sports?

If magic is a major part of people's lives, then do try and keep in mind that they would most probably see it as something very ordinary and mundane, just as you see
electricity and electronic technology as ordinary and mundane. For example, if magic is completely normalized, then you shouldn't have, say, cookbooks highlighting the
fact that their recipes will involve magic any more than our modern cookbooks highlight the fact that you'll probably be using things like an electric oven, an electric
mixer, and so on. It would make sense to explicitly refer to something as magical if non-magical equivalents were also available - much as it makes sense to distinguish
between a regular toothbrush and an electric toothbrush - but if the magical version is default, then its magicalness probably shouldn't be emphasized.

Worth noting, if your magical people do constantly emphasize how everything they do is magical, it actually kind of implies that they're insecure about themselves and
have to constantly tell themselves that they're special and better than others. Realistically, this kind of thing would be a sign that these people discriminate against people
who don't do magic, and those who aren't magical enough by their standards. And this basically means that they have a very ableist society, per the social model of
disabilit)'..

So take awhile to think about how magic plays into your setting, and how interwoven it is with people's lives and just how they interact with it. Assume that if people can
try to do something with magic, they will try to do something with magic, because that's just what people do. Assume that there's an immense diversity of opinions on
magic. And if you're creating a magical society, then try to look at magic from the perspective of someone who takes it entirely for granted, not as an outsider who finds
it a novelty.

Consider how magic intersects with the law.

If magic empowers people to do things, then that's going eventually to cause waves in a few ways. Whether it's people rightfully being upset over magic can be used to
violate the mind or body (EG, as love spells and transformation magic can be used to do) or enact violence (EG, as elemental magic can be used for), or authoritarian
leaders who feel insecure and threatened by the power it gives the marginalized, people will have reason to want to legislate it in some way.

At first glance, a world where everyone can freely do whatever magic they like might seem like a rollicking good time. But in reality, it would be pretty dystopian because
many forms of abuse and exploitation would be permissible. One might argue that people are free to fight back with whatever means they have at their disposal, but that's
just social Darwinism; IE, "might makes right." You can't effectively protect the vulnerable members of society without imposing restrictions and consequences upon
certain uses of magic. And this is something I've noticed that a lot of people don't really think about.

I've also noticed that many people often think that rules should be different for magic because it's, well, magic. And I think a lot of this comes from a place of not
understanding why our society has many of the rules and norms it does. Sadly, we often just don't explain to people that certain actions are liable to cause lasting trauma,
nor do we really explain that such trauma isn't something you can just "get over." We often believe that because we'd be fine (or at least, because we think we would be
fine) with certain things, then other people ought to be fine with them as well, because we often just don't acknowledge or talk about how people can have wildly different
preferences and comfort zones, and what's fun for one person might be torture for another. Now, if you enjoy hot 'n spicy fiction involving things that would be morally
dubious in the real world, then by all means write it and give yourself the good time you deserve. But if that's not your intention, then it's probably a good idea to put a
little more thought into your worldbuilding.

The kind of laws and regulation your setting should have depend on what kind of society you're trying to design. If magic is a fairly new discovery, then it might be fairly
unregulated. But it would make sense that as time goes on, and unethical people use magic for cruel and exploitative ends, then rules would be set in place. For example,
they might criminalize scrying or mind-reading to access private information, if they don't just ban the practices outright. Spells or potions to make people fall in love
would almost certainly be outlawed; if not for the fact that they're outright unethical, then at least for the fact that patriarchal types would be terrified of other men using
them on their wives. Spells to cause harm and torment in general (basically, curses) would almost certainly not be allowed.

In particular, it's a good idea to think about how magic might impact those who hold the most power in society and what steps they might try to take to prevent it from
being used against them. (Mind you, these steps needn't necessarily be effective, let alone even target the right people.)

Something else I'd like to bring up on the topic of law in magical societies, is that completely barring someone from learning or practicing magic in a culture where
magic is part of everyday life would actually be quite cruel and inhumane. Sure, it makes sense to bar someone from practicing a specific type of magic that they
willfully used in a harmful way against others, or prevent them from using kinds of magic that would allow them to commit the same kind of harm in the future, just as it
makes sense to disallow violent offenders from owning guns, or to suspend someone's driver's license for engaging in reckless driving. But pulling the magical
equivalent of banning them from using most household appliances, banning them from using a phone or computer, and banning them from even using most industrial
equipment is basically revoking their right to any kind of meaningful autonomy within society. Furthermore, it also shows that their society thinks ofliving a non-magical
life as punishment, which indicates disdain and hatred of non-magical people.

Banning people from using magic in a magical society also alienates them from other people, because they can no longer participate in many of their society's activities.
This is also cruel and inhumane, because people are social creatures. Now sure, if you have somebody who insists on violating other people's boundaries then the only

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thing you can really do is make sure they don't get the opportunity to do it again. But barring people from participation over things that don't involve violence or
harassment is just plain cruel.

ln any case, spend awhile thinking about how you want your setting to deal with magic from a legal perspective, and how fair and effective you want it to be. T highly
recommend researching retributive justive vs. restorative justice vs. transfonnative justice to gain some insight that might help you flesh this out. In any case, do keep in
mind that the more punitive a system is - IE, punishment-oriented - the more unfair and ineffective it tends to be. Not only does it fail to do anything to help victims heal
and move on, it also doesn't do anything to help perpetrators grow as people and therefore lower the risk of recidivism, so yeah.

On magic being suppressed, oppressed, or obscure.

Many ofus (though perhaps fewer ofus these days) think of magic as something that was extensively forbidden and ubiquitously punished by Christian authorities, but
the reality is far more complex. For one thing, the medieval Catholic Church didn't spend a lot of time or effort punishing people for their folk magic, even if they
technically frowned on some of it. Witchcraft, or malefic magic, was not considered to be a serious threat because the Church generally held to the position that Satan's
power was illusory at best.

Furthennore, much of folk magic was Christian folk magic, and it wouldn't have occurred to most people that there was anything unholy or sinful about it. There wasn't
exactly some massive ideological difference between an official Catholic exorcism, and invoking Jesus and the Virgin Mary when giving somebody a brew to cure their
fever. And as mentioned before, natural magic (IE, magic that involved natural forces, rather than demonic ones) was fairly accepted in the early modem period. After all,
when you understand that God is ultimately the reason certain herbs have the power to heal, there's nothing ungodly about using herbs to heal.

Next, I think a lot of writers overestimate people's ability to actually enforce anti-magic laws. Many people seem to think that it's as simple as the king or the pope siccing
the knights or the witch hunters on the magical folks, but there are problems with this. For one thing, most folk magic practices were small, simple, and easily done in the
privacy of one's home, so actually catching someone in the act would be very difficult. They also tended to involve commonplace items, and items that were relatively
small, so even a hypothetical home inspection might not tum up anything. In fact, early modem witch hunters basically had to claim all kinds of non-evidence as evidence
(EG, witches' marks, spectral evidence, and confessions under torture) because real evidence simply did not exist. Fantasy fiction often wants us to believe that magic has
been effectively suppressed even though this very problem exists in their worlds, too.

Fantasy fiction frequently another problem with enforceability, which is presenting magic as highly powerful and effective while giving people without magic little to
nothing that would actually give them tactical superiority over magic users. The way the odds are actually stacked, the magic users should usually win easily, or at least be
able to fend off their enemies well enough. But the stories often want us to believe that people armed with simple weapons are somehow able to overcome people with
practically godlike abilities.

What often seems to be happening here is that the authors are simply repeating witch hunt rhetoric, which claimed that Satanic witches had these extraordinary powers in
order to make witch hunting seem necessary. There's little recognition of the fact that so-called "witches" were so easily overpowered because they didn't have all this
powerful magic; and if they did, things probably would have gone very differently. Thing is, accusing marginalized groups of having power and influence that they don't
actually have is actually a common tactic of oppressive governments. This is the kind of thing that Umberto Eco was talking about when he said that fascist governments
portray their enemies as simultaneously all-powerful and yet also weak and easy to overcome.

lfnon-magical governments and authorities are supposed to actually be good at suppressing magic, then it needs to make sense. They need to actually have the ability to
overpower people with magic. Otherwise, it's ridiculous to try and act like your magic users are in any real kind of danger.

Many writers who set their works in a modern timeframe claim that magic users are quite rare and that non-magical people would easily be able to outnumber them and
defeat them with guns and other modern weapons. The problem with this is that it just doesn't work when magic has apparently been around forever, while these modem
weapons are, well, modern. For most of history, magic users should have been able to overpower the non-magical and set up their own systems and institutions over them.
After all, Neolithic spears and handaxes aren't going to be very useful against someone who can just spam lightning and fireballs.

I've seen some people try to claim that magic users just graciously stood aside for non-magical people for some reason. Often, the "reason" given is often that the magic
users decided that history was "supposed" to play out in the way that's familiar to us. Now, this is essentially based on the fallacious thinking that whatever happened in
the past was somehow "meant" to be, and that somehow (at least on some level) people in the past knew it. But if you go and read what actually people wrote in the past,
it's very obvious that they didn't see themselves and their lives in this way. If anything, it was no different than how we see ourselves and our lives today. None of
Rome's upper class, for example, gracefully resigned themselves to the fall of their empire in the knowledge that America would rise someday in the future, any more
than we're gracefully resigning ourselves to everything that's going on right now in the knowledge that something else will rise a thousand years hence.

One other explanation T've seen is that the magical people decided that the non-magical people deserved to live a "nonnal" life. But the problem with this is that
"normal" is highly subjective, and people usually tend to consider their own experiences "normal." So to a wizard, giving everyone else a "normal" life would probably
mean exposing them to a lot of magic, not isolating them from it.

In any case, explanations like the ones I've mentioned don't really make a lot of sense because they're simply based on the author's parochial assumptions that their own
experiences are normal, and that the status quo they are familiar with is just how things are meant to be. This extremely short-sighted way of looking at things not only
creates nonsense worldbuilding, but it also glosses over the fact that the world's status quo right now is really messed up in a lot of ways that would be inhumane to let
persist. One example that comes to mind right now, is that our "normal" is leading to catastrophic climate change that is already severely impacting people's lives.

There's lots of ways to make magic being suppressed or obscure make sense, and the best one for you depends on your particular worldbuilding needs. Maybe magic is
actually new or recently discovered, or maybe the gods that grant magic just recently got done having a divine sulk. Maybe everyone is actually using magic, but those
in power think it should only be used by certain people or for certain purposes, and punish those who don't comply. In any case, the best way to make this work is
probably off the beaten path, so don't be afraid to get creative.

Consider the potential ecological aspects of magic.

lfyou're populating your world with magical plants, animals, or fungi, then this stuff is basically part of your world's ecosystem. If you have, for example, giant dragons
feeding on large prey animals such as deer or elk, there might not be much left over for other predators such as wolves. If unicorns and wild horses feed on the same
plants, then it's possible that they could end up competing with each other for resources, and it might not go so well for the horses if the unicorns decide to get fighty. You
could of course sidestep this problem by making sure magical things only fed on other magical things, or fed upon some other fantastical substance. But either way it's a
good idea to put some thought into what they're eating, and what that means for your world as a whole.

If human habitations turned out to be really hospitable to certain magical creatures, they would absolutely move in. For example, pigeons live in human cities because our
buildings are close enough to the cliffsides their ancestors nested in. We generate enough organic garbage to sustain populations of rodents and insects, and they in turn

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can sustain populations of creatures that eat rodents and insects. Cities really do have their own kinds of ecosystems just because they are very inviting to certain kinds of
animals. Likewise, magical creatures would absolutely move into any city environment that would provide them a livable habitat.

There are similar concerns for plants. Plants likewise fill specific ecological niches and sometimes compete with each other, and human habitations are sometimes very
hospitable for certain species of plants - dandelions, shepherd's purses, and bindweed all come to mind. Therefore, it would stand to reason that some magical plant or
other would be able to thrive in cities. And of course, the same goes for fungus, and one can only imagine what a magical fungal network might do!

Magical sapients might alter the environment quite a bit, much as hominins have been altering the environment for hundreds of thousands of years. Even if they aren't
building grand cities, that doesn't mean they aren't preying on certain other creatures or eating certain plants, or doing things to ensure that more of the plants and
creatures they like to eat are available.

Worth noting, if you add a bunch of magical plants, herbs, and fungi that behave more or less like real plants, herbs, and fungi, there's basically no way to keep the non
magical people from running into them. What's more, if your magical people try to stop non-magical humans and magical non-humans from interacting, they're basically
violating their freedom of association, which basically makes them the bad guys.

In closing

Worldbuilding a magical setting works out a lot better if you put careful thought into how magic intersects with all of its various dimensions, from people's personal lives
to laws to ecology. It's not really reasonable to slap magic onto a setting and think that it would have no substantial impact on the world, because magic is an inherent
game-changer in many, many ways. Think about bow you want magic to affect your world, and bow you want people to respond to it. Consider this from the angle of
what your plot requires or what you'd like to explore, as well as what kind of hard limitations you want in place in order to create challenge or drama.

It also helps to try and place magical beliefs and practices within sensible contexts in your setting; EG, "the goddess wove the universe into existence" is the kind of thing
that would come out of an agrarian culture that practiced weaving, if that isn't literally what happened.

I'll be including links to information on real magical beliefs and practices below, as well as a number of books containing old folklore. I highly suggest you check them
out if for no other reason than they are incredibly fascinating. Though, I also do think that the more you know about genuine beliefs and practices, the easier it is to
create a more robust fantasy world in general, because you'll have a grasp on the contexts these things came from. In my opinion, it's much easier to make a functioning
fantasy world inspired by the logic that produces these beliefs, than it is to try and backwards-engineer explanations from our own perspectives. Personally, l find that
the end result of backwards-engineering mythological and folkloric beings ends up feeling a little hollow, because the magic just isn't there.

Also, l can promise you that if you see something from a marginalized culture you don't belong to, there is something close enough to it that comes from a non
marginalized culture. All you have to do is just look. Seriously, you don't need to use that one Algonquin creature when the draugr is right there.

I really hope you enjoyed this article. If you liked it, please share it with your friends and on your social media, and please consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks for
reading, and I hope you have a great day!

Onsite pages you might like:

Tips & Ideas To Write More Believable

Masquerades A Brief Primer on the Four Elements
Writing Historically Accurate European Magic & Witchcraft: A Starting
Guide A Few Things Writers Should Know About The Occult
Magical & Supernatural Tropes To Reconsider (And Tips To Build Up Your Magical/Supernatural
Settings!) Magical School Development Questions

European Dragons: What You Might Not Know About Them

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Writing Fantastic People & Creatures Without Unfortunate Implications

Tips To Create Rieber & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery Worlds
Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Sto1y

External Resources

Egyptian Alchemy: Decoding the Greek - Egyptian Alchemy - The Formula of the Crab I Scorpion
The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus - Origins History and Meaning of the Famed Text of Alchemy
What ls Hermeticism?
Magic in Theory - The Stellar Ray Theory of AI-Kindi
What is the History of Magic Wands?

Ancient Christian Magic - Protection, Exorcism, and Love Magic from Ancient Coptic
Texts Medieval Magic - Scholastic Analysis of Magic and Necromancy in the Middle Ages
Necromancy - How to Read a Historical Book of Magic I Necromancy - Reading a Real Necronomicon

What ls Animism?
Animism: From "Primitivism" to Awareness
Talismans In Animism
Animistic Model Applied to Magic
Animism: Vital Force, Witchcraft, Soul & Spirit
Animism: The Ancestors & The Others

Folklore Thursday
Wikisource Portal:Folklore
Wikisource Portal:Folk Literature

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English Fairy Tales by Flora Annie Webster Steel
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs and John Dickson Batten
Legends & Romances of Brittany by Lewis Spence
North Cornwall Fairies and Legends by Enys Tregarthen
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Sikes
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales by Jonathan Ceredig Davies Welsh Fairy Tales by William Elliot Griffis
Tales of King Arthur and the Round Table, Adapted from the Book of Romance by Lang et al.
The Scottish Fairy Book by Elizabeth W. Grierson
Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens
Irish Fairy Tales by W. B. Yeats and Jack B. Yeats
Irish Wonders by D.R. McAnally
Visions and Beliefs in the West oflreland, First Series by Yeats and Gregory
Visions and Beliefs in the West oflreland, Second Series by Yeats and Gregory
West Irish Folk-Tales and Romances by William Larminie
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W. B. Yeats
Legendary Heroes oflreland by Harold F. Hughes
Beside the Fire: A collection of Irish Gaelic folk stories by Nutt and Hyde
Fairies and Folk oflreland by William Henry Frost
Folk Tales ofBreffny by Bampton Hunt
Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs and John Dickson Batten
Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
More Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs and John Dickson Batten
Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (Volume I of 2) by Sir John Rhys
Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx (Volume 2 of 2) by Sir John Rhys
Celtic Tales, Told to the Children by Louey Chisholm
Manx Fairy Tales by Sophia Morrison
East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North by Asbj0rnsen et al.
Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks by William Elliot Griffis
Legends of the Rhine by Wilhelm Ruland
Serbian Folk-lore by W. Denton and Elodie Lawton Mijatovich
The Golden Maiden, and other folk tales and fairy stories told in Armenia
Armenian Legends and Festivals by Louis A. Boettiger
Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen by Alexander Chodzko
Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources by Albert Henry Wratislaw
Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk Tales by Noel L. Nisbet and R. Nisbet Bain
The Russian Grandmother's Wonder Tales by Houghton and Krauss
Myths and Folk-tales of the Russians, Western Slavs, and Magyars by Jeremiah Curtin
Polish Fairy Tales by A. J. Glinski
Mighty Mikko: A Book of Finnish Fairy Tales and Folk Tales by Parker Fillmore
The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Keightley
Roman Legends: A collection of the fables and folk-lore of Rome by Busk

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 How To Increase The Fun Factor of Your Fiction

1. Put in some cool stuff that does cool things.

Remember wanting your own magic wand, lightsaber, or TARDIS? Or maybe your own enchanted ice sword or a power item that transformed you into a magical girl?
How about your own alchemiter? People love having cool toys to play with; indulge them now and then.

2. Include places your reader will want to visit and explore.

For example, the world of Harry Potter is full of places that capture the imagination, from the shopping district ofDiagon Alley (full of strange and wonderful items to
buy!) to Hogsmeade (who doesn't want to go get a butterbeer at the Hogshead?) to Hogwarts itself (it's chock-full of secrets and surprises!). Doctor Who treats fans to all
kinds of strange and wonderful worlds.

3. Fill it with fun things to do.

EG, holidays, sports, games, and traditions. The best example I can think of is Harry Potter, which gave us Quidditch (a sport played on flying brooms!), absolutely
magical holiday parties, and of course, the Yule Ball. Recently, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has introduced several fantasy counterpart holidays (eg, Hearth's
Warming Eve, Hearts and Hooves Day). When I was a kid, I wanted to play on the Holodeck in Star Trek SO BAD.

4. Make at least part of the main characters basically nice, friendly people you'd want to hang around with.

They don't have to be perfect, but at least some of your characters should be the type of people that you'd actually want to have around with you in real life. I don't mean
the type of people you'd fantasize about having around you in real life, eg, glamorous movie stars, your own personal valet, or some rich person who will share xir
goodies with you, but rather the kind of person whom you could actually expect to be friends with in real life. For example, I think most people would probably want to
hang out with someone like Applejack from My Little Pony or John Eggbert and Jade Harley from Homestuck.

5. Use a variety of character types.

I was originally going to title this "fill it with interesting characters," but honestly, just about every character type can be interesting to someone. Instead, one thing I've
noticed about worlds that looked like fun to be in is that the primary and secondary characters embody a wide variety of character types. In The Avengers, for example,
Tony Stark is the geek/smartass, Bruce Banner is the brooding genius, Thor is the stoic warrior, Steve Rogers is the guy you'd bring home to Mom, and Loki is the bad
boy. During the run of lost, in which main characters frequently came and went, each character was unique and had his or her own quirks. This assortment of characters
not only ensures that interesting things can happen when they interact, but it also increases the odds that people will find a character they identify with or find attractive.

6. Have fun with your characters.

Don't be all dark and angsty all the time - make sure your characters have fun and do fun trungs. Non-stop drama, angst, and serious business gets tiresome and even
depressing after awhile.

7. Don't over-grimdark it.

There are some people out there who just don't seem to be content unless everything in a work is presented as dark and morbidly as possible, whether or not it was ever
dark and morbid to begin with. (Supernatural is a pretty big offender here.) While l enjoy a good subversion, l feel there's such a thing as going too far, especially when
the story starts taking a decidedly mean-spirited tone about it, EG, treating characters (and by extension the audience) as a bunch of pathetic ignoramuses for ever thinking

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that something could be nice in the first place. Let's say, for example, that you're writing a fantasy. Sure, go ahead and write in man-eating fairies. Reveal that Hansel &
Gretel was based on a true story about a child-eating demon or something. But maybe have leprechauns turn out to be all (mostly) all right, or unicorns are a real and
generally awesome thing.

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 Tips On Taking Inspiration From Real-Life Myth, Lore, Tradition, & Legend
Without Looking Pretentious, Ignorant, or Insulting

Taking inspiration from real-life lore and whatnot can be a great way to build up a setting, but if it's not done with a certain amount of care and caution it can backfire
spectacularly - so here are a few tips to help you avoid making some of the bigger blunders out there when you're trying to do this.

First off, do a lot of research. You might find that something you're thinking about using is actually intrinsically linked to a much larger belief system or cosmology that
doesn't actually mesh with what you're trying to do in your setting - in which case, it might be better not to use it lest your setting feel inconsistent and/or haphazardly
constructed. Or you might find that a word you were planning to use doesn't actually mean what you thought it meant, and that you might be better off using another word
instead. (EG, the word rune refers to a character of the runic alphabet. For magic symbols in general, the term you're looking for might be glyph or sigi[). Or you might
even thought that something you thought was part of ancient lore is actually from fairly recent history instead!

Also be aware that there are a lot of bunk sources. Unfortunately, there's a lot of nonsense out there, and it's not always easy to weed out. But there are a few red
flags to watch out for - anything that talks about a whole continent or other large region as if it is or was a cultural monolith is definitely a source to he wary of. Same
for sources that try to conflate deities or creatures from different mythologies with nothing more to connect them than the fact that they have few traits in common.
Another thing to watch out for are sources that refer to deities as "the god/goddess of [1-2 traits]." (Few deities could ever be sufficiently described so briefly, and there
was often overlap between their areas of influence!) Also, whenever you do your research make sure you look into multiple sources - don't trust any one source to have
all the facts.

Don't turn somebody else's religion or spirituality into fantasy hocus-pocus. That mystical-looking person, holding that ritual with the chanting might not be doing
anything more "magical" than a priest praying for a blessing is. That unfamiliar ceremony you see might not supposed to be any more "magical" than a Communion. So
before assuming that somebody else's practices are supposed to be some sott of magical affair, do your research - make sure you're not turning someone's religion or
spirituality into some kind of fantasy magic type stuff.

However, if it is or was commonly accepted to have no specific or exclusive religious connotations per se, then it's probably all good to use in a magic system. For
example, the concept of magic crystals ties into old beliefs that certain stones had special properties, but as this concept doesn't hinge on any specific religious belief,
magic crystals are all good. Likewise, the concepts of spells, magic wands, and potions aren't exclusively tied into a specific belief system, so they're good, too. The main
question to ask yourself is, "is this done or believed in pretty much exclusively as part of a religious tradition, or does the concept exist without any specific or exclusive
religious context?"

Remember that just because two things are similar to each other, doesn't mean they're the same thing or that one is another "version" of the other. If you do
some research, you'll often find that even though two characters or creatures might be very similar in what they do and how they act, their origins and surrounding myths
will reveal that they really don't actually relate to each other at all. Or you might find that just because its name has been translated to a familiar English word (EG, such
as how youkai has been often translated into demon), doesn't mean it should be considered to be the same entity as the one you're familiar with.

Remember that not everything fits into the same paradigms and organizational structures. When researching lore and whatnot, we often try to fit it into structures
we're familiar with, whether consciously or unconsciously. For example, many people familiar with Christianity tend to assume that everything should fit into some sort of
good versus evil paradigm, when that's actually rarely the case. Those familiar with Greek mythology might assume that the gods of other pantheons must all fill the same
archetypal roles as the Olympians, which just isn't the case. So when you do your research, try to set aside whatever preconceived notions you might have about the way
things ought to be, and instead try and focus on what is.

Resist the urge to include or explain everything that strikes your fancy in your setting. Using just anything that strikes your fancy, regardless of whether it actually
adds anything of substance to your setting,just comes off as tacky and gimmicky. Also, if you have to completely change around a defining trait or characteristic of
something to make it fit into a core mythos you've already developed, or if you have to explain its existence in such a way that a defining trait or characteristic is
completely negated, then you should probably just leave it alone - because at that point, you're probably trying too hard and are just going to end up making a complete
mess of things.

Don't take something away from its originators. It can come off as patronizing, callous, insulting, and even mean-spirited to take something done or practiced by real
people and portray it as having been part of your made-up mythos all along - doubly so if you paint those who actually do or did it as being nothing more than wannabes
or shams. The same goes for taking a real-life tradition or practice and portraying it as sometrung that those who were savvy to your made-up mythos invented and gave to
these people. It also goes for using particular mythological elements as part of your worldbuilding, but failing to include the actual people it came from in any meaningful
way - EG, your worldbuilding draws heavily from Chinese lore, but none of the main protagonists are or look Chinese.

Before you try to reinterpret or reimagine something, make sure you understand it - and understand why and how it came to be. You can't properly reinterpret
or reimagine something without understanding what it was really all about in the first place. So if you wanted to do this with, say, Medieval werewolves, you'd want to
look up both the lore surrounding them and the cultural context in which the lore developed. If you want to reinterpret or reimagine some witch hunt or other, you
should first understand the reality of why witch hunts happen.

If you can't find something that really fits, consider borrowing traits and concepts instead. Rather than trying to shoehorn, say, some preexisting shapeshifting
monster into a setting that really isn't a good fit for it, why not create your own shapeshifting creature? Sure, it's fun to borrow stuff from real-life myth and lore, but don't
overlook the fact that stuff don't necessarily need to have years of lore and legend behind it to make for a good story.
 Tips On Taking Inspiration From Real-Life Myth, Lore, Tradition, & Legend Without Looking Pretentious, Ignorant, or Insulting -
Spr
If it comes from a marginalized/minority group you don't belong to, you should consult someone who does belong to it. Privileged folks really don't have a good
grasp on how much research is enough, let alone what constitutes a respectful portrayal. So if the subject matter you wish to involve comes from a marginalized/minority
group, you should definitely consult with someone who actually belongs to it.

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 Creating Plausibly Functional & Useful Tools, Gadgets, & Weapons For Fiction

If you're creating a world or setting where there might be fantastic or unusual technology of any kind and you'd like your tech to look and feel like stuff people really
would develop and would use if they could, then here are some tips and guidelines.

Table of Contents
• First, ask yourself if there's actually in-story justification to use a fantastic tool, gadget, or weapon.
• What to do when you plan and design your object.
• How and why to spiffy your object up to look neat.
• However... poorly-designed tools, gadgets, and weapons do have their place in a realistic world.
• So, in summary...

First, ask yourself if there's actually in-story justification to use a fantastic fantastic tool, gadget, or weapon.

If you're considering using some kind of fantastic weapon or gadget in your story or setting, first ask yourself if it would really be worth using it from an in-story
perspective. Consider the following factors:

Liability: A dead body killed by a shot fired from a generic pistol is a lot easier to chalk up to common criminal than a dead body that has obviously been killed in some
highly unorthodox fashion. A fancy laser wire cutter that's only produced in limited quantity by one particular company narrows the suspect pool a lot more than a pair of
ordinary wire cutters that could be picked up from almost any hardware store.

Efficiency: Many times in fiction, fantastic weapons and gadgets aren't actually any better at what they're supposed to do than their mundane counterparts, and in a few
cases might even be worse. What if the batteries in one's laser wire cutter die, or what if it falls into water and shorts out? What's the point of a raygun that kills people by
turning them stone if it's no better at making them dead than plain old bullets?

Cost vs. Benefit: Ask yourself if the actual usefulness of the item compared to ordinary alternatives would really justify its cost. Why spend millions, if not billions of
dollars inventing a stonification ray in the first place if bullets are just as lethal and won't cost nearly as much to supply one's people with? Is it really worth buying a
machine to tie one's shoelaces when tying shoelaces the old-fashioned way only takes a few seconds, or when one can simply purchase a pair of laceless shoes?

If there's no real benefit to using a fantastic alternative to a mundane option available in your world, then your characters should probably be using the mundane option.

What to do when you plan and design your object.

Rather than beginning your tool, weapon, or gadget by thinking up a design that looks cool (we'll get to making it look cool later), stop and think about what your object is
supposed to do and try to come up with an object to do simply that and nothing more. Don't worry about making it pretty or making it look "nice" right now - just try to
get something that would work, or at least looks like it would work. If any of your object's functions are the same as or is analogous to the function of any real-life objects,
take a look at the design of their real-life counterparts, because odds are they're designed the way they are for a good reason.

Some other things to consider, depending on what you're trying to design:

Keeping users' hands and fingers where they should be: Basically, how you prevent users from dropping an object, having it slide around in their hands, or having
them touch the wrong part by accident. Various methods of achieving this include:

• Using a low-slip material for the grip area, such as by covering handles in rubber or similar, or wrapping them in leather thongs or strips of cloth. For objects where
relatively little force will need be applied (such as a trowel) or where the focus of force goes down rather than forward (such as on an axe or chef's knife), simply
making the handle out of a material like wood may suffice.
• Texturing the grip, such as by cutting or etching lines (called "knurling") into the part of the object intended to be gripped, or molding raised lines, bumps, pits, or a
bumpy surface onto the part or material intended to be gripped.
• Lanyards/wrist straps, such as with the controller for the Nintendo Wii, which was given a wrist strap to prevent users from accidentally throwing it during
gameplay.
• Guards - which are ve,y important if the user is going to be thrusting or pushing hard toward the object's business end (such as a sword designed with stabbing in
mind), or if there's a serious risk of a user's hand slipping and coming into contact with a part that could be harmful to the touch (such as the hot end of a curling
iron). They can also be important in preventing accidental discharge or activation - guns have trigger guards for this reason.

Points of structural weakness: If an object is going to hold up under use, then any areas that are likely to be put under strain should be designed to withstand it:

• Unnecessary narrowing should be avoided in spots likely to be put under pressure - a sword blade that narrows to a wasp waist before joining the hilt is at a higher
risk of snapping off than one that doesn't.

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 Creating Plausibly Functional & Useful Tools, Gadgets, & Weapons For Fiction
• Sharp angles are a potential risk, as they don't bear and distribute stress as well as rounded ones do. (It's the same principle why water flows through curving corners
better than sharp ones - sharp corners create more resistance, and rather than carrying stress/water smoothly, the stress compounds and builds up at the corners and if
the force becomes strong enough, they break.)
• Places where parts and pieces are glued or soldered together are at risk for breaking if the object encounters substantial stress there.

Weight: An object that's particularly heavy can be unwieldy and tiresome to carry and use. On the other hand, making some objects too light can have an adverse effect on
their effectiveness - for example, axes, hammers, machetes, and many swords rely on weight to deliver truly powerful blows. (For a quick reference, the average weight of
a single-handed Medieval sword ranged between 2.5-3.5 pounds.)

Avoidance of "feature creep": Each feature that goes beyond the basic function of an object can result in overcomplication and actually reduce its usefulness. For
example, a flashlight with just a couple of features that are activated with simple steps is typically much better than one with half a dozen features that require more
complicated steps to activate them, as the difficulty of remembering what does what and the odds of fumbling or accidentally activating something you didn't want go up
as something becomes more complicated and more convoluted. Furthermore, the fewer moving or electrical parts an object has, the less there is to potentially break - and
that's pretty important if your object is likely to end up dropped, thrown, or generally banged around.

Minimizing risk of damage: Basically, measures taken to keep the product from getting damaged during normal use. As mentioned above, having fewer moving and/or
electrical parts means having fewer things to potentially break or malfunction. It also means designing objects so that they won't take damage easily, which can mean
making them from strong and durable materials and/or materials that will absorb concussive force - EG, a protective rubber phone cover.

Pocketability: lfyour object is meant to be small enough to fit into a pocket or similar, it'll likely have to compromise on available features, perfonnance, and ergonomics
to keep it small and prevent it snagging, or from standing out conspicuously if it's meant to be concealable. Depending on what it is, it may have to be designed in a way
to prevent it from discomforting or even banning its owner while carried.

Do note that designing the "perfect" tool or gadget is often impossible - in almost any design, concessions and compromises will have to be made. Improving a tool in one
way might mean sacrificing something in another way - for example, crossbows have a far more powerful shot than compound bows, but they also take longer to reload.
Nintendo kept the power requirements and commercial price of the of the Game Boy down by opting for a liquid crystal display instead ofa backlit color display like the
Atari Lynx. (And given that the Game Boy was a commercial success while the Lynx was ultimately a failure, it seems that Nintendo made the right call in choosing
functionality and low price over looks.)

How and why to spiffy your object up to look neat.

Now if you want to make your object look nice as well as functional, you need to consider and weigh the reasons for and against it and weigh the benefits and drawbacks
where your particular object is is concerned.

Reasons for making objects look nifty can include:

• Being able to identify objects: If your phone is a different color from your friend's, then you'll instantly be able to tell which one is which if they end up together. If
you put different objects into differently-colored totes, then it's much easier to figure out at a glance which tote you want when you're trying to find something
specific.
• Making it stand out from the crowd: Something with a unique and distinct design is more likely to be memorable, and it will be more likely to stand out from and
not be confused with functionally-similar items.
• Self-expression/identity assertion: People often like having their stuff look different from other peoples' stuff for the fact that they feel that they can express their
identities and individuality thus.
• Making it pleasant to look at: Because things that are nice to look at are good for mood and morale.

Reasons against spiffying up your doohickey can include:

• Being detrimental to the function of the object or to its user: For example, combat gear covered in bright glittery paint would be easily spotted by the enemy. Pointy
embellishments might make a small object uncomfortable to carry in one's pocket. Memorability might tum out to be a bad thing if an object's unusual or unique
appearance helps identify someone trying to stay on the down-low.
• Prohibitively increasing the cost of the object: Any additional detail work done to an object is going to make production take longer and drive up its cost, and
most people just looking for equipment to get a job done aren't going to want to spend money on making their stuff look pretty when they could be spending it on
other things they need.
• Likelihood of the decorative additions becoming damaged: For example, rhinestones glued onto a Zippo lighter would be likely to get knocked off as it was used
and carried around in one's pocket. (On the other hand, designs that are engraved, molded, or painted on aren't so likely to get damaged.) Anything that might pick
up and hold dirt and is stuck permanently to an object that can't be washed would be a poor choice if the actual functionality of the object would likely outlast its
cleanliness.

However... poorly-designed tools, gadgets, and weapons do have their place in a realistic world.

Many designers often sacrifice function for flash, relying on an eye-grabbing design or a glut of gimmicks to entice unsavvy customers into buying their products. For
example, many knives are designed to look cool, wicked, or graceful despite the fact that these designs actually hamper their usefulness. Other knives are designed to
supposedly be everything at once, but instead usually end up being good for nothing at all because the designs necessary to be good at the intended functions are mutually
exclusive. Similarly, USB drives designed to be worn as jewelry are often heavy and can easily damage or break due to being made more for looking nice than being
either good USB drives or good jewelry.

Furthermore, because designers aren't perfect, oversights and errors happen during any development process. While most products with glaring flaws don't make it to the
market before they can be worked out, some do - usually to vanish after a short while when they fail to sell. (And anything that does something another product does just
fine already, only with a bigger price tag attached and/or with significantly less functionality than its competition, will usually fail.) Also, products may even be
deliberately designed to break or lose functionality after a certain period of use so that consumers have to buy new ones after awhile (part ofa concept called "Jllanned
obsolescence").

So for these reasons, any realistic world will have its share ofstuffthat'sjustjunk floating around.

So, in summary...

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 Creating Plausibly Functional & Useful Tools, Gadgets, & Weapons For Fiction
• Ask yourself if there would be any real benefits to using a fantastic tool, gadget, or weapon over something that already exists. If not, your character or characters
should probably be using the thing that already exists.
• When you design an object, first design it to do its intended purpose, and nothing more.
• When/if you decide to dress it up, weigh in the benefits and drawbacks and figure out how much and what kind of decoration would be best and most likely for your
object.
• In any realistic world, there will be a certain amount of poorly-designed objects around due to the fact that a certain amount of people will be naive enough to buy
stuff that simply looks neat or is advertised as having a lot of features, or because flawed products occasionally make it to the market, or even because a product was
designed to fail after awhile.

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 Advice & Tips On Developing Fictional Timelines & Histories

Advice & Tips On Developing Fictional Timelines & Histories

Developing a world timeline is a tricky process, and it's very easy to overlook critical aspects of how things work or would have to work to make it plausible. This article
aims to discuss some of the things that often don't get enough thought or attention put into them, and shed some light on them in a way that's useful to worldbuilders.

Table of Contents
• There are points when technological development by leaps and bounds is inevitable.
• So what can hold back development or change?
• Important events and developments should not be happening in only one part of the world at a time.
• The forces of nature need to be factored in, too.
• If you're taking your history/timeline back hundreds of thousands of years (or more), you'll probably want to understand evolutionary biology.
• If you're going back billions of years, you'll probably want to understand some biochemistry and cosmology.
• In summary!

There are points when technological development by leaps and bounds is inevitable.

Some people don't really understand the hows and whys behind humanity's abrupt revolutions at various points in history. As a result, they speculate that aliens must have
done it, or that the speed at which humans advanced must have otherwise been unnaturally fast and therefore aliens should have taken much longer than us to reach a
certain point. In reality, when you look into it there's nothing strange at all - in fact, these sudden leaps and bounds usually turn out to be inevitable, given the
circumstances.

For example, humanity's been around for some 200,000 years, but it's only around 12,000 years ago that we invented agriculture. So what took us so long? It isn't as if our
pre-agricultural ancestors were any less intelligent than us.

Around 12,000 years ago, something major happened: the Ice Age ended. To the best that we can tell, this created a shift in climactic conditions that in some cases
favored or even necessitated an agricultural lifestyle. Because people were staying in one space, they started building permanent settlements and thus formed the first
civilizations. And although civilization was very nice (after all, it resulted in increased food security and gave people more time to pursue interests unrelated to securing
food), it created a new set of problems: How do you keep track of what belongs to whom, or of what who owes whom? How do you deal with matters of sanitation? How
do you create buildings that are more resistant to damage? How do you handle people who make trouble for others? In our quest for solutions to these problems, we
developed math, writing, engineering, and law systems.

Thus there is nothing especially strange or unusual about the agricultural revolution and the rise of civilizations as we know them; it was all a simple matter of cause and
effect, of humans applying the problem-solving skills they always had to new conditions and challenges.

Another situation that baffles many people is the sudden leap of technology in the 20th century. How did we go from a society of trains and horses to a society of rockets
and smartphones so fast? Some people have even ascribed this shift to aliens - it must have been extraterrestrials who gave us what we needed to advance, because surely
we couldn't have done it ourselves! It was just too fast!

But in fact, it really wasn't. Once you understand what actually happened, it quickly becomes apparent that the whole process was very natural, even inevitable. Once it
became possible to reliably generate electricity, and once it was discovered how electricity could be harnessed to move motors and generate light, people lost no time
creating devices that could be powered by electricity and refining their designs to make them better. The invention of a very simple component - the transistor - in the
mid- 20th century made it possible to create devices that performed even more complex functions. From there, the development of electronic technology has largely been
a matter of finding more durable and conductive materials and working out how to make components ever smaller. As mysterious as electronic technology might seem
to the average person, literally all of it is the result of people applying basic principles discovered back in the 19th and 20th centuries to furnishing contemporary needs
and desires. The truly unnatural scenario would have been for this revolution to have not taken place despite this knowledge suddenly being available and despite people
having the full ability to take advantage of it.

In a nutshell, there are two points where progress by leaps and bounds is to be fully expected. They are are when a solution to a problem creates a whole new set of
problems that require many new innovations to solve, and when a single discovery can be applied to solving many different problems.

So what can hold back development or change?

Necessity is the mother of invention, so one way to keep a society from advancing is to make sure they don't have any pressing needs. There's no need to invent and
develop agriculture if you're constantly surrounded by more than enough food, after all. If you don't often have anyone trying to fight you for resources, you don't need
to develop your weapons and warfare tactics, nor do you need to develop armor or fortresses. And if the weather is sufficiently stable and comfortable, you don't really
need to develop much of anything to protect yourself from the heat or cold.

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 Advice & Tips On Developing Fictional Timelines & Histories - Springhole.net
Although ideological opposition can hinder progress somewhat, its actual ability to do so is often overestimated. For example, it's completely false that the Catholic
Church completely held back scientific progression in the Middle Ages. Sure, they didn't get on board with ideas like heliocentrism, but in their defense it wasn't as if this
idea could be readily verified. In the meantime, plenty of other advancements were made - just look at how architecture and weapons technology advanced!

Sometimes a lack of resources can hold people back in some ways, though it's important to remember that people can still get clever with the resources they do have and
find alternate solutions. Without gunpowder, people might get really clever with pneumatics. If metal is largely removed from the picture, there's sti II a lot that can be
done with cardboard, ceramics, and materials like wood and bamboo. Assuming coal is scant or nonexistent, something like wind turbines could still be built to produce
electricity.

If magic exists, then it could help society advance, too. If you have lightning spells, then people can already harness and control electricity. If you can magically harden
and strengthen your metals, then you can skip a lot of metallurgical development and go right ahead to building weapons, machinery, and buildings that require such
materials. If you can magically lighten your materials, it becomes possible to build taller buildings and send bigger shipments of goods. Magical lighting might mean that
fewer people (if anyone) have to rely on candles anymore, causing candles to be relegated primarily to aesthetic or ceremonial purposes just as they are in the real world.

Something else that can hold development back is for something to be part of cultural identity. People have a need to set themselves apart from the perceived crowd while
identifying themselves with their perceived kin in some way, and very nearly anything can become a cultural marker thus. It might be how they dress themselves, the
language they use, the foods they eat (or don't eat), bow they design their buildings - anything. That said, there will always be a certain number of non-conformists, so the
group might eventually splinter into factions of progressives and traditionalists.

Similar goes for religious belief- if people believe that doing something a certain way is a divine mandate, they'll be less likely to discard it for something else. But again,
you're going to have your nonconfonnists and very likely run into the same scenario as above.

If you want to plausibly slow progress down, it helps to use a confluence of factors - have it be a little of this and a little of that rather than it all coming down to one
single cause. Don't ignore or dismiss areas where people would be pressured to develop or change, either - if people are constantly at war, then their weapons and
armor should be changing and progressing in some way. But perhaps instead of trying to justify things remaining the same for ages, you should consider shortening
your timeline. If it won't make any difference to your main plot or create any plotholes if you change 20,000 years to 200 years, then there's no reason why you
shouldn't just do that.

Important events and developments should not be happening in only one part of the world at a time.

It's just not how things work! The way history is often taught, you could be forgiven for coming away with the impression that while your people were doing important
things and getting into all sorts of drama, people elsewhere weren't really doing anything at all. But in reality, people all over the world had things going on - wars,
political upheavals, natural disasters, technological advancements, philosophical movements, and so on.

While you probably don't need to go into exhaustive detail over what was going on in places that are largely irrelevant to your story, you shouldn't suppose that they were
all just sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. Instead, assume that they had lots of their own things going on, and that their own histories are just as rich and colorful
as the histories of the places your story focuses on. Whether the distance is across the world, across the country, or simply across class boundaries, assume that everybody
has something going on. And don't forget that everything is connected, and that these connections play a role in shaping history. For example, the Black Death likely
originated in China (and took a huge toll on its own population), the Irish Potato Famine happened because of contaminated potatoes shipped from America. And
European excursions into the Americas were motivated by economic issues, which were often exacerbated by wars they were fighting on the home fronts and by
increasing industrialization putting farmers out of business, thus diminishing tax revenue. Christopher Columbus sailed west in the hopes of finding a new route to the
East Indies not for its own sake, but because eastward routes were controlled by unfriendly forces.

So don't just have all the important things only happen in one place or make them all happen in a vacuum. Let important events happen in different places concurrently,
and let them create ripples that impact the rest of the world.

The forces of nature need to be factored in, too.

Assuming your world has moving tectonic plates (and unless its magnetosphere is artificially generated or it just isn't beholden to the regular laws of physics for some
reason, it probably should), the continents will move and shift over time. Even just a hundred million years ago, Earth's continents were markedly different from bow they
are now - they were much closer together, and many areas were that are now dry land were covered in water. Around 225 million years ago, the Earth bad only one major
landmass, known as Pangaea. The way things are going now, in another seventy five million years, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia will all join up together, and in 250
years the Earth will once again have a single landmass. If your setting's timeline needs to be developed over millions of years, then you'll probably want to factor in
continental drift.

The forces of nature play important roles on shorter timescales, too. Just 15,000 years ago, there was no sea separating what's now Britain from the rest of Europe, nor
Alaska from Russia. A massive lake covered a large portion of what is now Utah - today's Great Salt Lake covers only a fraction of the space. Today's Great Lakes were
dwarfed by Lake Agassiz to the northwest. And a mere eight thousand years ago, what's now the Sahara Desert was green and fertile. Many fantasy settings span far more
than ten thousand years, but don't take into account just how much things can change!

Many cities (or parts of cities) built on coastlines have been submerged underwater, often by earthquakes. Cities can be eventually buried under sand or dust if no one
clears it away. Volcanoes can bury an area under ash in a matter of days - the city of Pompeii being a good example.

Erosion and decay are also something to be taken into consideration. Stone and soil alike can be worn away by wind and water, and soil is especially vulnerable if there's
no plant life to hold it down and absorb any excess water that might otherwise wash it away. Waterfalls will slowly, but surely work their way upstream as the force of the
water washes stones and soil from higher elevations downstream. Any building will decay or erode given enough time - the ancient city of Petra (which dates back to
around the 3rd century BC) already has considerable damage, and it was carved out of stone.

So what does this mean for your world? For one, it means that your characters probably shouldn't just walk into a city that's been abandoned for ten thousand years and
find it in pristine condition. It also means that not every place that was hospitable several thousand years should still be, and that some places that are still hospitable
should have still experienced significant change. And it means that the longer the timeline, the more different things should look over time. The world might look mostly
the same 5000 years ago, but go back five hundred million years ago and it should look entirely different.

If you're taking your history/timeline back hundreds of thousands of years (or more), you'll probably want to understand evolutionary
biology.

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The basic principles of evolution aren't terribly difficult: Those that that are are less likely to die before they can reproduce are going to be the ones most likely to produce
the next generation of the species, while the ones that are more likely to die will very likely do so before they can produce many, if any offspring. Thus, it's the members
in the first group whose descendants will ultimately proliferate. During the process of conception, where half the genes of each parent are combined to form a full genome
for a new one, small mutations can occur that can give the resulting offspring an edge over the others. Maybe it's got a better sense of smell that helps it find food, maybe
it's got a better sense of vision that helps it avoid predators, or maybe it's better at telling when it's being annoying to the ladies and when it needs to chill out before they
get so angry they leave for another potential mate. Over the generations, these small mutations add up to greater and greater change, until its descendants are an entirely
different species. Thus a theropod can become the distant ancestor of a bird, and that bird can become the distant ancestor of every bird species that currently exists.

It can happen fast, slow, or almost not at all. Some organisms, such as sharks, have changed very little over the years because their forms are already well-suited for their
environments and the roles they play in them. The land-dwelling ancestors of today's cetaceans lived about 50 million years ago; by 43 million years ago their more
amphibious descendants tum up on the fossil record, and by forty million years ago, their descendants were fully aquatic. Some significant changes have been noticed
within human lifetimes.

If cetaceans were to ever die out completely, it's not impossible that today's sea otters could become the descendants of a species that fills the ecological niche cetaceans
currently fill. Or perhaps that honor might go to seals or even penguins.

There are also a lot of misconceptions about evolution that are floating around; many of the most common ones are addressed over here. TalkOrigins addresses even more
misconceptions, and goes into deeper detail.

So how does this apply to you? Well, if you're going for realism, you don't want to have evolution producing powerful telepathy in one generation (ifat all; what dangers
or hazards could possibly make telepathy such a necessity for survival?), nor do you want to fall into blunders like having a species vanish or spontaneously change
because it hit some expiration date. Nor do you want to fall into the mistake of assuming that life has definitive "stages" that it must progress through - EG, a fish stage, an
amphibian stage, a reptilian stage, a mammalian stage, and so forth.

If you're going back billions of years, you'll probably want to understand some biochemistry and cosmology.

The more you understand about how our own planet formed, the easier it is to plot out how one similar to it could have formed, and to avoid making any egregious errors.

The early universe didn't have many of the elements that our world has - those were fanned in the immense heat and pressure of early stars. When those stars went
supernova and exploded, these elements were sent out into the universe. Some of them came together around other stars and were pulled together by gravity into the sun
orbiting spheres we know as planets. The early Earth wasn't just molten on the inside, but on the outside, too. It's estimated that the Earth fonned 4.6 billion years ago, and
life may have appeared as early as 4.1 billion years ago. Colonies of cyanobacteria known as stromatalites appear 3.7 billion years ago.

But how did life originate? It's been discovered that amino acids can arise through many different means. The Miller-Urey experiment, where electricity was produced in
a bottle containing an assortment of chemicals believed to be present on early Earth, produced over twenty different amino acids. Another experiment designed to imitate
volcanic conditions even more amino acids. Another study found that amino acids could fonn around hydrothennal vents. And one experiment produced amino acids from
conditions designed to imitate deep space. And once you have amino acids, they can form proteins and join up with lipids.

Also, many of our planet's traits that we take for granted came about in very specific ways. Our oxygenated atmosphere and ozone layers are good examples. Because
oxygen is highly reactive (which is the very quality that makes it so useful for our bodies), it tends to end up sequestered away in rocks and minerals until they've become
far too saturated to hold any more. There also can't be an ozone layer without oxygen, and before the Earth had an ozone layer, radiation from the sun kept life from
moving onto the land. As far as we can tell right now, it took several hundred millions of years for cyanobacteria to saturate Earth and its atmosphere with oxygen.

So what does this mean for you? It means understanding that some chemical and biochemical processes can take quite a bit of time, and that some things cannot happen or
exist until something else has happened first. [fyou intend to use supernatural or science fiction elements, you might be able to create your own explanation for how
things came to be that works just as well, but if you're aiming for a more naturalistic process, you'll want to know this stuff. In fact, you'll probably want to know this kind
of thing even if your world does involve fantastic elements, because it helps to know exactly what will have to be explained with them to keep things plausible, and what
you can just leave on its own.

In summary!

• Technological progression by sudden leaps and bounds is not only normal, it can be expected under the right conditions. If a solution to a problem creates
new problems to be solved, or if it can solve a wide variety of problems, then a technological revolution should most probably occur.
• While certain factors (a lack of materials, ideology, etc.) can hinder progress, they probably won't be able to stop it entirely, because people are very creative and not
everyone is going to be I 00% compliant with orthodoxy.
• Important events and developments should never be limited to just one part of the world at a time. Furthennore, events that happen on one side of the world can
ultimately drive ones that happen on the other side.
• Don't forget how the forces of nature can change and shape a planet over time, whether over millions of years or just a few centuries. Continents move, climates
shift, erosion changes the face of the land, and things can get buried under dirt or submerged under water.
• If your timeline covers hundreds of thousands of years, you'll probably want to brush up on how evolutionary biology works and clear out any misconceptions you
have about it.
• ff your timeline covers billions of years, you'll probably want to look into how stars and planets fonn, and how life might arise.

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 Setting Rules & Limitations In Your World: Why & How You Need To Do This

Setting and defining rules and limitations is a crucial part of creating good, solid worldbuilding, whether it's science fiction, fantasy, or even just something set in the
world as we know it - so we're going to go over just why this is so important, and what you need to do in order to do it properly.

Table of Contents
• }Yhy_y to set and define rules and limitations.
• First, define what your stuff does and how it works, especially the core rules.
• Now, define what your stuff does not do and how it does not work.
• Find a place to write down and organize everything!
• In summary!

Why you need to set and define rules and limitations.

Setting down rules helps you keep everything consistent. Inconsistencies make it hard for people to suspend their disbelief and hard for them to maintain immersion.
Plus, inconsistencies tend to lead to some awkward questions down the road. ("Why didn't they just do that thing they did earlier in the story? If they can do this other
thing, why didn't they do it earlier when it would have been REALLY helpful? And what happened to that one rule they had to follow? Hey, wait, that's not how that thing
works!") Overall, these issues make it hard for people to believe in and enjoy your story.

Rules are also important for keeping your story suspenseful. Tfpeople know that a dragon spells trouble because it's an extremely territorial beast with fiery breath,
they'll be in suspense wondering how the heroes bottlenecked at the bottom of the dungeon are going to avoid getting toasted and eaten. But if they know that you're the
kind of author who will change the rules on a whim and that the dragon might just offer them tea instead, they'll know that the heroes might not be in the slightest bit of
danger. You can't build suspense if people come to expect shenanigans like this!

Limitations add challenge, complication, and balance to your stories and/or games that keep them suspenseful and dramatic. Without suspense and drama, there's
no interest. With no interest, boredom sets in and people start leaving. Limitations also prevent your setting from falling into an out-of-control phlebotinum arms race,
which is one of the last things you want on your hands. You shouldn't have to constantly be powering up or buffing your characters or factions to keep them competitive
and competent; otherwise you risk running into a couple of problems that make it nigh-impossible to make interesting and fresh plots.

The first problem is that the scope and scale of the conflicts become so large that what's at stake can only be conceived of in the abstract - and abstract ideas are very poor
at evoking emotional responses. People will feel more emotion over fifteen characters they've come to know and care about being put in jeopardy than they will feel over
an entire galaxy inhabited by faceless zillions being put in danger. It's not that your audience is necessarily okay with the idea of an entire galaxy being destroyed - it's
just too abstract for them to really feel any emotion over. For this same reason, a story about a conflict fought by only a small handful of people can be much, much more
powerful than a story about a war fought by armies hundreds of thousands strong.

(This is not to say that a good story can't involve huge-scale stakes, but you don't want to end up trapping yourself in a spiral of power escalation that forces conflicts to
become so huge that your story starts losing its connection to the individual people and places that got people caring about what was going on in the first place. Plus, if
this is the only plot you can do anymore, it starts getting predictable and repetitive.)

Some creators try to stem off phlebotinum arms races by nerfing elements in the setting. But optimally, this is a situation you should rarely, if ever have to get into in the
first place, as doing so means that you probably didn't think things through well enough during the development process. Figuring out limitations can help you avoid
having to nerfyour stuff in the first place. Phlebotinum-Development Questions can also help you along this line.

The other main problem is audience desensitization. Powering up or buffing a character/faction now and then can impress your audience and throw a new complication
into the plot, but if you're constantly doing it people will grow numb to it. Furthermore, if they feel like you're doing this instead of giving them a genuinely interesting
story and characters, they'll probably get annoyed and leave. For more information on preventing audience desensitization, see On Buildup, Payoff, & Contrast. For
information on keeping your settings interesting after giving someone a power boost, check out Tips & Ideas To Make Better & More Interesting Powers.

And if you're running a roleplay, it's also important that players have a clear understanding of how things are supposed to work. It lowers the odds of ending up
with players creating OP characters, characters with nonsensical backstories, and all that. It also lowers the odds of players trying to have or use things that don't exist in
the setting, or trying to do or use things in a manner different from how they're supposed to work in it. It's much, much better to make sure your players understand how
things work before they get into the game than to have to correct them on it (and possibly get into a big, nasty argument over it!) during the game!

Basically, it all comes down to this: rules and limitations don't make your story or world "boring." They keep it interesting a11dji111!

First, define what your stuff does and how it works, especially the core rules.

The core rules of your universe are any rules or laws (whether natural or legal) that concern and govern the major/important fictional elements of your universe - IE, the
fictional elements that your main characters will be dealing with on a regular basis. A few examples of what these elements might be include:

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 Setting Rules & Limitations In Your World: Why & How You Need To Do This
Magic: Who can use it? How does it work? What risks are there in using it? What are its limitations?

Agencies and organizations: What are their goals, both short-tenn and long-term? What are their codes of conduct and ethics? Where do they have jurisdiction to act?

Creatures and species: What notable features do they have? How do they behave? What kind of variations are there between individuals? What are they vulnerable or
susceptible to?

As an example of how you can create a well-defined rule, let's say that you've created a rule that "magic comes with a price." This is not a well-defined rule at all - it's so
vague that it could mean a lot of things you may or may not have intended. If you've got co-creators or people writing under you, they'll likely all end up interpreting it a
myriad of different ways, which will lead to inconsistencies and plotholes in the finished product. And even if you're just writing by yourself, you still run the risk of
forgetting how something worked exactly and contradicting yourself somewhere along the way.

So for this example, what you'd want to do is define precisely what "magic comes with a price" means. What kind of price? How and when is this price paid? Are there
any loopholes or exceptions, and if so, what are they?

Do this for anything particular to your universe, particularly the stuff that's going to play a major role in it. Be as thorough and unambiguous as you can.

Now, define what your stuff does not do and how it does not work.

Far, far too many people overlook this one, but it's vitally important! Besides the reasons mentioned earlier, setting limitations is also incredibly helpful because it gives
you a better-rounded (and likely more logical) overall picture of your world, and encourages you to think up more creative solutions to the challenges you give your
characters.

As one example of limitation-setting, let's say you're creating an agency that's supposed to neutralize super-dangerous paranormal threats. Ask yourself what kind of cases
your agency does not handle. For example, they might not take on hauntings where the ghosts aren't actually hurting anyone, because that would be time and resources
spent not going after the stuff that is hurting people - which is what they're supposed to be doing.

Is the agency government-run? Then you'd want to add "international cases" to the list of things they don't cover, either - at least, not without a very good reason, and not
without clearing it with the other country's government first (unless they're willing to risk starting an international incident if they get caught!).

For another example for how you might go about setting limitations, let's say you've designed an alien race. You've decided that they're immune to regular bullets fired
from the average handgun or rifle, what with their tough skin and bones. Now, write out what they aren't immune to. Sure, they might be able to shrug off a bullet from a
police officer's pistol, but that doesn't mean that armor-piercing rounds would just bounce off, let alone a rocket. And they might be otherwise susceptible to some pretty
ordinary things - EG, temperature extremes, poisons, oxygen deprivation, etc. Work out what you want the upper limits of your stuff to be, and write it down.

It's also important to give limitations to weaknesses, too. For example, just because you can kill a vampire by stabbing it with a silver knife doesn't mean that it should die
or be horribly injured from being jabbed in the arm with a silver fork, even ifit does graze the skin a little. So figure out where you want the lower limits of your stuff to
be and write them down, too.

You should make sure that you spell out the limitations as thoroughly and unambiguously as possible, especially if you're not the only one writing for this universe. It's
happened before that people have taken advantages of areas where limitations weren't explicitly described to beef up their personal favorite characters, races, or
phlebotinums to OP levels. It's also happened that people have taken advantages of poorly-described weaknesses to turn enemies that were actually challenging when first
introduced into little more than mooks and cannon fodder.

Find a place to write down and organize everything!

It's important that you write all of this stuff down somewhere because it's easy to forget things. So here are some options...

• Notepad and Wordpad - If you have Windows, you have these. Very simple programs, but sometimes that's all you need!
• Google Docs - Accessible from anywhere you can log in to Google, and you can easily share files with friends. It also allows you to create spreadsheets and data
tables.
• LibreOffice - a free wordprocessing program with some nice features.
• A paper notebook - Not the best option for editing or sharing, but still much better than nothing!

If none of these seem right for you, try searching the Internet for "free word processor" or "online word processor."

In any case, once you've got everything written down, you'll have it to refer to when you're writing about a particular thing in your story - so you won't end up making a
mistake somewhere or find yourself having to fudge it!

In summary!

• Setting rules and limitations keeps your setting operating consistently, and keeps things balanced and interesting.
• Define the rules of how your stuff works - especially the stuff that's going to play a major role in the setting. Make it thorough and unambiguous!
• Thoroughly and unambiguously define how your stuff does not work. Establish upper and lower limits!
• Don't forget to write it all down!

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 On Keeping Magic From "Taking Over" Your Story

A lot of people feel that magic is difficult to write or even avoid writing it altogether because they believe it will basically take over the story - which is to say, they'll
end up with in a situation where their characters can easily solve all of their problems with magic spells. This is of course a pretty bad spot to be in, because then it's
impossible to challenge one's characters and create any tension. But the good news is that it doesn't have to be this way - in fact, it's actually very easy to avoid this
problem. Read on to find out how.

There is a common belief that magic is by definition something that cannot be explained. And I mean, if you want to use "magic" as a synonym for "something that can't
be explained" I certainly can't stop you. However, it must be noted that this definition is extremely new. In times past, magic (or things we would classify as magic today)
were given all kinds of explanations. The notion that science is things we can explain while magic is things we can't just doesn't apply to the vast majority of history, and
as such, there's no reason you should feel beholden to it, either.

Now with that said, the exact nature of what magic is, really isn't as important as how it works. I mean, you can figure that out if you want, but nobody's really going to
notice or care if you don't go over it. Most people just assume that magic is a particular kind of energy that can be directed through spells and rituals anyway.

There are three main things to figure out here:

1. How is magic operated?
2. What affects magic's potency?
3. What can make magic (or at least some forms of magic) difficult?

Let's use brewing potions as an example of this. What constitutes proper potion ingredients? Does the magical power come from the practitioner, or are the ingredients
themselves powerful, or is it a little of both? Does brewing potions require any special tools? How difficult is it? Are potions always relatively easy to brew, EG, like
making tea or pasta sauce? Or do some potions require special equipment and a lot of technical skill and knowledge to create, like synthesizing chemicals in a lab?

Similar goes for making enchanted items: What kind of base materials can enchanted items be made from? Do different materials affect its power or performance? Does
the personal power of the creator make a difference? Are there any special procedures or steps that must be followed; EG, do the stars have to be in the right positions, or
does it have to be done at a certain time of day?

And likewise for incantations, or verbal spells: What factors make one more potent? How important is it to use precise language, and to concentrate while reciting said
incantion? Can certain hand gestures or tools make an incantation more effective?

Adding steps and specific requirements is also a good way to make some magic more difficult to work than others, and thereby create obstacles when it comes to magics
you don't want your characters spamming left and right. Of course, it works out even better when you have a good sense of why these steps and requirements exist, so I'm
going to list off some potential reasons:

• Bigger/stronger effects take more energy, and more energy takes more time to charge up.
• It's important to get the right kind of energy; and the energy of, say, the moon during an eclipse is different from the energy of a regular full moon.
• Spells with complicated effects require extra precision to make sure they do exactly what the user wants.

I think it helps to consider what makes certain tasks easy and other tasks difficult in real life. For example, it's a very simple matter to disinfect and stick a bandage onto a
scrape. But it takes a lot of specialized knowledge and equipment to carry out a heart transplant. A scrape is, of course, a surface level injury; there is minimal risk
involved. But a heart transplant involves removing and replacing a vital organ, which requires extensive knowledge of the human physiology and extreme care to make
sure the patient survives.

Another example - and one that is actually mystical - is alchemy, which is a complicated and difficult as it is because it was basically proto-chemistry. Alchemists were
basically spiritualizing their chemical discoveries into a kind of Hermetic framework, but those discoveries were nonetheless chemical. You could make your magic
system work a little bit like this, and thereby have pretty good reasons why some magic is much harder than others.

One thing I've seen some people do that I think we should all look at with a more critical light, is essentially equate "advanced magic" with "edgy magic." In other words,
so-called "beginner magic" might involve something like a simple incantation or popping a few herbs into a cauldron, but "advanced magic" might require something like
human sacrifice.

There are problems with this. For one thing, it suggests that being able to perform so-called "advanced magic" isn't really a matter of skill or knowledge, but rather a
matter of being willing to perform acts that most people might find immoral and/or disgusting. This mirrors hateful conspiracy theories that claim modern neopagan
practices are a kind of gateway or pipeline to so-called "hardcore Satanism," which itself is a kind of boogeyman that ultimately derives from the fearmongering
propaganda of Europe's early modern witch hunts.

It also echoes a very irrational and self-destructive mentality, which is that the more unpleasant something is, then the more potent it must be. In real life, this kind of
mentality leads to people believing things such as that "healthy" food must taste bad, leading to many people who believe vegetables taste bad simply because they taste
bad, not because they lack the skill and knowledge necessary to make them taste good. It's also led to people who think that because some amount of exercise is good for
you, then a lot of exercise must be even better, and therefore intense daily exercise must be optimal; when in fact it's unnecessary at best and self-injuring at worst.

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 On Keeping Magic From "Taking Over" Your Story
One thing that can limit magic's impact on your story is to limit who can use it. There are many reasons why magic isn't common practice - for example, it might be
obscure, or it might be difficult to master, or it might be a controlled resource, or it might only be granted to specific people for some reason. I do want to mention,
however, that certain methods of limiting magic have some rather unsavory implications.

For example, a magic-enabling gene will result in a eugenicist subtext, if it isn't just the text. So will making magic an intellectual skill that only those with high IQ scores
or "genius-level" STEM skills can use. (Eugenics and an obsession with intellectual superiority vs. mental inferiority go way back.) And the trope of magic being
inherently corrupting is literally just recycled witch hunt propaganda. Early modern witch hunters claimed Satan demonically empowered women for the purpose of
damning their souls and basically getting them to destroy society. It's worth pointing out that magic is first and foremost generally considered empowering, and claiming
that any form of personal empowennent is a path to corruption is some rank authoritarian nonsense. There are, of course, paths to empowennent that are extremely
harmful because they cultivate terrible beliefs and outlooks, like social Darwinism. But other paths to empowerment teach us to be more compassionate toward ourselves
and others while also refusing to let people walk over us. Developing practical skills is also empowerment, and I can't think of any reason you could possibly make
knitting, cooking, or woodworking out to be some kind of inherently evil, corrupting art.

I can't tell you exactly what you should do for your story and its setting, but I can tell you that you should begin by thinking about how you'd like your world to function
and what kind of avenues you'd like to explore in it. Think about what you want your characters to be able to do, and what you don't want them to be able to do.

I can suggest that you think very carefully about any effect that is instantaneous, infinite, and/or unblockable, because that's where it's very easy to mess things up. For
example, someone who could instantly teleport anywhere could simply just teleport up behind all their enemies and slit all their throats. If someone can just read
everyone's minds or remotely view just anyplace they like, then there probably won't be much room for mystery. This is the type of magic that tends to undermine a
narrative's ability to create tension, so it's the kind you want to be most cautious about.

I also recommend checking out Phlebotinum-Development Q uestions. This will help you work out from the very start what your magic could potentially do in the story,
and thereby help you figure out how to make it work and where to place limitations on it, and also checking out Setting Rules & Limitations In Your World: Why & How
You Need To Do This. In a nutshell, the best way to keep making from "taking over" your story is to give it enough rules and structure that it can't undermine your plot.

I hope you've found this article useful. If you've enjoyed it, please share it with your friends and on your social media, and consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks for
reading, and I hope you have a great day!

On Mixing Science & Magic

Now and then I find someone who talks about "mixing magic and science" as if it's some kind of storytelling or even philosophical breakthrough. Most of the time, they
don't actually understand science all that well and have a pretty half-baked conceptualization of magic. Consequentially, their ideas don't make a lot of sense, or they're
only subverting ideas that were never really an issue in the real world.

On the other hand, there's the people who take a firm "magic and science never mix!" stance. Most of the time, their reasoning comes from modem philosophical
prejudices combined with a bad understanding of science. The worldview presented in their works is almost inevitably smug and often downright colonialist, even if the
authors ostensibly sympathize with the magic side.

I'm going to go over the issues that both types of people tend to get wrong, and describe or point out a few things that might give you some ideas to work with. And
hopefully, I'll demonstrate just why concepts like "science versus magic" and "magic is just science we don't understand yet" are actually meaningless.

I hope you find this article informative and useful. If you like it, please share it with your friends and consider supporting me on Patreon.

Table of Contents
• First of all, understand how science works.
• Understand what technology actually is.
• Understand that a lot of"magic versus science" tropes are actually newer and more regional than you might think.
• How to figure out what you should do

First of all, understand how science works.

As I've explained over here, science isn't a belief system that automatically rules out the existence of anything we might consider magical phenomena. Rather, it's a
method one uses to test and determine the nature of the world. Assuming magic existed, there would be no reason whatsoever why people couldn't use it to develop more
effective and reliable spells, potions, and whatnot. Considering that most magic users would benefit from that, it seems a little odd that they'd all reject the scientific
method. (Heck, someone like Sherlock Holmes would make a great wizard!)

"Okay, but maybe magic resists scientific study because it's deeply personal and depends on the caster," one might suggest. Perhaps so! But even that can be scientifically
studied. People can study and take data on what kind of people seem to be best at what kind of magic. They can conduct scientific studies to determine whether certain life
experiences correlate with certain magical skills. And if magic tries to resist being studied in any way, shape, or form, they can study the ways in which it tries to resist
being studied.

If you try to claim that magic resists study by erasing records of itself - well, the fact is that the human brain is a recording device, and information can be preserved
through oral records.

Basically, the only magic that can really and truly resist any and all forms of observation and study is the kind of magic that never existed in the first place. Magic that
exists can always be studied. Magic that cannot be studied never existed at all.

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 On Keeping Magic From "Taking Over" Your Story

Understand what technology actually is.

A lot of people use the word "technology" when what they actually mean is "electronically powered technology" and/or "technology with a lot of moving metal parts." In
fact, anything that has been deliberately shaped and crafted to perform a function qualifies as technology. This includes things like Paleolothic handaxes, Neolithic
pottery, and Medieval grinding mills. Things like magic wands, staves, amulets, and talismans also qualify as technology, particularly in a world where magical forces
are easy to demonstrate and manipulate.

Technically speaking, people have been mixing magic and technology since prehistory. Before the modern period, people didn't really distinguish between the mundane
and the metaphysical the way we do today. To them, the things we tend to categorize as supernatural were simply just natural. Ghosts were as real as breath, magic was as
substantial as warmth, and magnets were hard proof of invisible forces. Based on their comprehension of the world, it would have been pretty illogical not to, say, put
symbols associated with benevolent protective gods on one's home or clothing, or to make knives in the season of the zodiac sign they associated with sharp and pointy
things, or something similar.

While one could hypothetically draw a line between electronic and non-electronic technology, you still have to ask yourself what your basis for drawing the line here is.
Lightning is a form of electricity, and it's associated with lots of mythological figures and beings. In the early 20th century, a lot of spiritualists and occultists saw
electricity as working in perfect harmony with their mystical understandings of the universe. (Take for example, the Kybalion and its weird ideas about electricity and
gender. Standard warnings about old occultists not being politically neutral, and oftentimes being appropriative bigoted dillweeds apply.)

If you're writing straight-up fantasy where you've made up pretty much everything, then drawing the line here might make perfect sense. But if you're trying to base your
worldbuilding on real practice and philosophy, or if you imply that your fantastic worldbuilding relates to real practice or philosophy somehow, then you're imposing a
modern perception on something it doesn't historically apply to.

One could hypothetically draw the line between simple technology and complex machinery, but again, you have to ask yourself what the basis is. Even if the people who
designed them didn't believe in magic and had very unmagical intentions, end users constantly assign sentience and agency to machines they don't fully understand. They
decide their cars don't want to start because they're feeling moody, or feel like shared computers seem to glitch out on them especially because they don't like them. At
some point, you might expect the perceptions of the end users to outweigh the perceptions of the designers.

One could try to argue that modem objects tend to be unmagical due to the impersonal, irreverent way they're created; or because consumer culture encourages people to
see things as ephemeral and disposable, and therefore meaningless. (When you can go on YouTube and find people in the comments asking "Anyone watching this in
[year]?" posted 2-3 years after the video came out, it really shows just how much we've normalized the idea that things are only meant to be engaged with for a short time
before we discard them and move on.) Of course, this would also mean that modem objects could become significantly more magical in the hands of someone who'd seen
The Brave Little Toaster as a child.

Understand that a lot of "magic versus science" tropes are actually newer and more regional than you might think.

Many people think that the "magic versus science" tropes they're used to are as old as the hills and apply more or less universally. In reality, a lot of them relate to the
shifting worldviews and cultural anxieties of the modem era, especially those of white Americans.

One trope I'd like to tackle is the concept of magic as something that, by nature, cannot be explained and exists outside of causality. As I've explored in Writing
Historically Accurate European Magic & Witchcraft: A Starting Guide and A Brief Primer On The Four Elements, pre-modern and early modern people had
explanations for things we'd consider magic today - lots of explanations. The fundamental forces believed to drive magical effects weren't believed to exist outside of
nature, either; they were thought to be a vital part of nature, even if their origins were thought to be supercelestial.

Another one of these tropes is the concept of magic and manmade objects as intrinsically averse to each other. First, manmade objects are frequently part of folk charms
(take the classical witch bottle, for example - it's a clay bottle filled with things like nails and bent pins), and sympathetic magic often involves people's personal
belonging because of their perceived magical link to their owners. Folk charms are also employed to bless and protect manmade objects. Some folkloric beings are even
manmade objects come or brought to life.

I've had some people basically try to claim that things like haunted cars and whatnot don't contradict the "magic and science don't mix" rule because supposedly, there's a
difference between magical and supernatural phenomena. However, this is a modern distinction with no actual background in pre-modern beliefs.

As far as I can tell, the idea that science and magic have natural antipathy has a lot to do with mid-20th century American culture. I haven't really been able to find a lot of
this thinking pre-WWII; instead, early 20th century fantasy often included contemporary or speculative technology. I've mentioned L. Frank Baum's Tik-Tok the Wobblin'
Goblin before; in addition, the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon blends the aesthetics of magic and science, and Windsor McCay's Little Nemo included products of modern
science like derigibles.

Post World War II, the capitalists who'd just invented consumer culture placed a huge emphasis on the wonders of modern science and living to encourage people to buy
new things. Of course, this created a lot of pollution, alienated people from nature even more, and didn't exactly fill their emotional and spiritual needs the way the
advertisements promised. And this seems to be where the trope of science and technology as inherently oppositional to magic really seems to kick off. This pops up in the
1982 film The Flight of Dragons, and the 1991 tabletop RPG Changeling: The Dreaming positioned scientific thinking as responsible for the destruction of magic. I've
also mentioned before the 1988 Turkey City Lexicon, where the authors boldly asserted that magic and science fiction elements had no business being in the same story
because they represented incompatible worldviews.

finally, ljust gotta point out that things like divination, astral travel, computers, and cars alike all fall under the domain of the planet Mercury, so yeah. Trying to appeal to
traditional schools of thought to uphold this divide really does not work.

Of course, if you're writing fantasy magic based on your own rules, you can do pretty much whatever you want. But acting like magic and science have a natural antipathy
and that's just how it has to be (especially if you're trying to take inspiration from real life practice and historical schools of thought) is ridiculous, because you're
essentially projecting a modern philosophical problem into times and places it just didn't apply to.

Finally, it has to be acknowledged that certain aspects of the "magic versus science/technology" trope have some pretty racist origins. Specifically, parts ofit go back to
that whole thing where science and technology were framed as something that advanced, civilized (read: white) people had, while "primitive" (read: non-white) people
only had superstition. According to this narrative, "civilized" people are guided by the benevolent hand of science and reason, while "primitive" people are subjected to
the whims of capricious priests who exploit their ignorance. White people, allegedly, are therefore doing them a favor by colonizing and assimilating them. In reality,
most of these non-white people had lots of scientific knowledge, and the white people trying to oppress them weren't nearly as scientific as they wanted P-eop_k to think.

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 On Keeping Magic From "Taking Over" Your Story
How to figure out what you should do

The exact nature of how magic and technology should relate to each other depends a lot on what kind of story you're trying to tell. Again, if you're writing straight-up
fantasy with little to no relation to the real world, you can do pretty much whatever. If you're tying it to something in the real world, then you should pay some respect to
its real life counterpart.

In either case, you need to figure out and outline how everything works. Where does magic come from, or how is magical power generated? How does one harness and
manipulate it? What are its limitations? (Setting Rules & Limitations In Your World: Why & How You Need To Do This might help you further.)

If you need ideas for developing your magic, Writing Historically Accurate European Magic & Witchcraft: A Starting Guide might be helpful. So might A Brief Primer
On The Four Elements. (If you need non-European resources, I'm afraid I'm not the person to ask.)

lfyou want to include magical gadgets or machinery, think about how and why it works. How do the physical components and the magical forces interact? Do you have a
machine that harnesses and controls the magic, or does the magic power and drive the machine? ls it both? What are the mechanisms at play here? (You might also find
Creating Plausibly Functional & Useful Tools, Gadgets, & Weapons For Fiction useful!)

Phlebotinum-Development Questions

"Phlebotinum" is a term for any object or substances that does something within the story. It can be anything - a magical sword, a potion, a plasma rifle, or superpowers.
However, many writers end up not thinking the implications of their phlebotinum through properly, which can create any number ofplotholes and awkward scenarios as
the story goes on. This list of questions is intended to help you think things through early on, thereby avoiding potential plotholes in the future.

• What sort of plots could it resolve instantly in the future? How will you prevent it from being able to resolve these plots, if you plan to do them?
• How might people use it to amuse themselves?
• How might people use it for monetary gain?
• How might people use it in an intimate manner?
• How might people use it for ordinary, everyday tasks and problems? How useful is it compared to more conventional means?
• How might it be used to improve standards of living on a large scale?
• If it's not already a weapon, how might it be weaponized?
• What could make it less effective? Stop it from working entirely? Make it completely backfire/misfire?
• How do people gain access to it?
• How easily can it be accessed and used?
• Who can access/use it most readily? Why?
• How difficult is it to use or master?
• Who, if anyone, thinks people should be restricted from accessing/using it? Why?
• Who, if anyone, would be restricted from accessing/using it? Why?
• Who would try to hoard/stockpile it? Why?
• If it's typically non-lethal, how might it be used to kill someone?
• If it's typically lethal, how might it be used in a non-lethal way?
• Does it have any short-term side-effects? What about long-term ones?
• Think of the meanest, sneakiest, cleverest, and most depraved villains you can. How might they use it to get/do what they want? Would it potentially make things
too easy for characters with similar motives and mindsets?

Magical School Development Questions

Whether you want to design a magical school because a certain famous author let you down or just because it tickled your fancy, these questions can help you figure out a
few things you might need to know about it.

Thanks to m961, for suggesting the idea and contributing many of the questions!

• What kind of people are the students? Where do they all come from? At what age do they begin attendance, and for how long do they attend?
• Are the students human, or are they some sort of magical or mythological creatures, or both? How many of each type attend? lf magical/mythological creatures,
what kinds are there?
• If there are students of differing species, do accommodations and curriculum differ between them?
• How are students selected? Who all is qualified to go?
• Approximately how many students attend the school?
• Do students start and/or finish their education here? Or are there other educational sites they would attend before, or will attend later?
• Do students live on campus, or in their own homes? If on campus, what are the living areas like? Do they have a library? Are the bedrooms shared or single? What
condition are they in?
• Does the school have a crest? What's it like? If it has houses, what are its houses' crests like? How and why were they chosen?
• Does the school have a mascot? If so, how and why was it chosen?
• How do students get to the school? When do they go?
• What kind of building is the school in? In what style is it built and designed? Is it ornate? Functional? Structurally-sound?
• Where is the school? What kind of environment is it in? What kind of wildlife is in the area?
• How closely do other people live to the school? What are they like?
• How well-known is the school? What kind of reputation does it have?
• Are any non-magical people aware of the school? lfso, what do they think about it?
• Does the school have any rivals? Are there any competitions between them? Are the other schools run differently?
• Which subjects are taught here? Are any of them non-magical?
• What kind of magic is taught here? Is there more than one type taught?
• Are there any types that aren't taught? Are there some taught only to certain students? Are there magic types unknown to most?
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 On Keeping Magic From "Taking Over" Your Story
• Are any magics taught here particularly risky or dangerous? What efforts does the school take to minimize accidents?
• Are studies determined on a federal or governmental level, or by some other external organization? Does the school's system change depending on the
teachers and/or headmasters?
• Who are the teachers? How are teachers chosen?
• Where are the teachers from? Where do they go when they're not working?
• What are the predominant political views among the teachers? Among the students? How are they similar, and how do they differ?
• Are there holidays/breaks? When are they and what are they for? Do classes change in any way after holidays/breaks? Does everyone enjoy the holidays/breaks, or
only some?
• Is there any kind of security at the school? If so, what's it like? Any guards? Traps? Scanners or sensors?
• What kinds of supplies are students expected to bring, if any? What does the school provide, if anything?
• Are there any objects, spells, potions, potion ingredients, etc. that are prohibited on school grounds? What are they, and why?
• What do students wear? What kind of dresscode does the school have? Is there a uniform? If so, what does it look like?
• What kinds of extracurricular activities does the school offer? Are there any sports? If so, what kinds?
• What do the students eat? If it's provided by the school, what quality is it? Where do they eat?
• Can students create clubs? If so, what kinds of clubs are there?
• How does the school handle magical accidents and injuries in general?
• What constitutes grounds for expulsion? Can students appeal?
• Who founded the school? When was it founded? What ideals was it founded with?
• Have any of its faculty members ever achieved fame or notoriety? What did they do?
• Have any other famous people attended the school? Who were they? What did they do?
• Are there any secret rooms or hidden passageways? What are they for?
• How has the school building changed over the years? What's been added to the building over time? What's been repaired? Has anything been demolished
completely?
• What kinds of legends and rumors are there about the school? Which, if any, have any truth to them? How did they come about?
• Are there any unsolved mysteries connected to the school? What are they?
• How have the school's rules and management changed over the years? Why did these changes occur?

Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations

Far too often, writers take the workings and trappings of an organization for granted. They fail to take into account just how much work and effort it would realistically
require, resulting in massive plotholes and fridge logic galore. Or they fail to realize how the type of organization they're trying to write would actually be structured or
function, resulting in strange and unbelievable scenarios. Or they end up doing things that give audiences the wrong impression of what the organization is supposed to be
like. Whether you're trying to create a story that focuses on the members of an organization or whether you're trying to write about people who deal with or work in one,
here are some things to know and keep in mind - no matter whether that organization is heroic, villainous, or mixed/neutral.

Always remember that nothing happens by itself or comes out of nowhere.

The first thing to remember about any organization is that they comprise of far more people than the those in charge and the field agents you see out solving mysteries and
catching bad guys. Everything you see the main characters doing on-screen would be the result of the efforts of hundreds, if not thousands of people.

Let's say that we have an elite team armed with the latest and greatest weapons and/or gadgets working for a secretive organization - maybe it's a government organization
geared toward dealing with supervillain types, maybe it's a crime lab for paranormal/supernatural cases, or maybe it's a plain ol' military project. Take your pick.

First, someone somewhere had to design or commission their tools and goodies. Someone else (very likely a committee) had to decide how much money/resources could
be spent on the team. If our group wears unifonns or any kind of special working gear issued by its employers, someone had to figure out who to commission them from.
If the gear was specially designed for each member, someone had to spend extra time developing it. Someone's also going to have to service and repair our team's goodies
when they need it.

Let's say our team operates out of a high-security HQ. Somewhere, someone had to design and plan out security to keep unauthorized people from getting where they
aren't supposed to be. Someone had to train the security personnel, someone had to figure out what to arm them with, and someone had to decide what types of security
devices and software to use. Someone bad to design the building or buildings and figure out what kinds of designs and materials to use to help keep sensitive areas
relatively secure.

And speaking of buildings and electronics, someone's got to keep the place cleaned and maintained. This means custodians, IT staff, and people to repair any damages
incurred to the premises.

If people are likely to be injured, then an infinnary might be in order, staffed with doctors and nurses as necessary. If people are likely to face traumatic scenarios that they
won't be able to talk to regular psychologists about due to the subject matter being classified information, the organization will likely have its own therapists.

Whatever material resources the organizations use (eg, medical or scientific supplies, food, toilet paper, lightbulbs, paper and other office supplies), someone is going to
have to be in charge of keeping track of them and making sure the organization stays in stock of whatever it needs.

Somewhere, there are people responsible for the hiring process, which would include background checks, interviewing potential employees, job training, and employee
orientation.

And then there's the paperwork and record-keeping. Records of the organization's employees, activities, and projects will have to be kept and updated as necessary.
Anything that involves the movement of money (eg, paying contractors, suppliers, and employees) has to have records attached to it. And speaking of money, there would
be people (committees, in fact!) to determine the organization's budget and decide how much gets spent where and who gets paid how much.

Your own organization may have rather different needs than the ones outlined above - a charity or humanitarian organization probably won't need heavily-armed and
trained security guards, for example. So, let's move on to the next step...

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Figure out the details and structure of your organization.

You need to outline what it is your organization is supposed to do, and how it operates. Based on this, ask yourself what kind of supplies and workers it might need.
Another thing to ask is where it gets its money - a government group is going to be funded by tax dollars, but a humanitarian group might rely on donations. Also, how
much money does the group have to spend? (If not a precise amount, then something general like "enough to spare," "adequate," "could use more," and "woefully low"
can do.) Which parts of the organization get the most funding, and are the people responsible for balancing the budgets spreading the money around efficiently or not?

Does the organization use volunteers? Volunteers need not be paid, but if they aren't paid for their work they'll have less time to contribute to the organization's cause due
to having to make their income elsewhere. lfthe organization uses paid employees, the employees (probably) won't have to work on the side, but the money to pay them
with will have to come from somewhere.

Another thing that just about any organization would need would be lawyers for giving legal advice to the group to help them figure out what they can and can't legally
do, and for defending the organization should it ever have to go to court.

How large and widespread is the organization? If it's fairly large, it'll probably have several branches/offices in various locations and most of its members will answer to a
local head, rather than the leader/director of the entire organization.

If an organization is managed bureaucratically, its leaders wouldn't be micromanaging the group and interacting with the vast majority of its members personally, but
instead delegating responsibility to executive officers, principals, associates, project managers, resources managers, managers, division leaders, assistant managers, and all
sorts of other people along the line. The organization could have hundreds of divisions or groups that end up being entirely separate from each other the further down it
goes. That means that often by the time you hit the actual field people, they can operate with a large amount of autonomy. While they're usually obligated by contract to
follow the directions that the guys up top hand down, by and far they're left to set and follow their own agendas.

If an organization is fairly large, destroying its headquarters and/or its leader would not destroy the organization, especially if it's doing some kind of vital work - eg,
protecting the nation or world. While the organization might be inconvenienced, it would most probably be set up for fault tolerance, with individual branches able to
operate autonomously for the duration it takes to appoint a new leader (most probably the most senior member) and set up a new HQ - which they would be doing
immediately. (Go here for a list of ways fault tolerance can work - the article's about villains, but most of the items can go either way.)

Also, in any large organization, there will be just as much, if not more effort put into making sure the organization works properly than effort put into what it's actually
supposed to be working on - so they'll need people to make sure resources are being used properly and that protocols are being followed. (Otherwise, hello corruption!)

And a few other things!

Keep in mind how ranks, promotions, and levels work. The main two things to remember are:
• Not eve,yone will be promoted to high-ranking positions, even if they are technically qualified for them. An organization can't operate like this. For example, a naval
force only needs as many captains as it has ships, and because every ship needs many more people working on it, it will always have more people employed than
can ever possibly be promoted to captain. The same principle goes for every organization - there will always be more low-ranking members than there will ever be
high-ranking positions to fill.
• Clearance levels are not rewards. While they are usually given to people whom the organization finds trustworthy and competent, clearance levels are granted on an
as-needed basis. Someone could be a highly competent agent with a spotless record for years and still never get a particularly high clearance level if nobody saw
any need to assign the agent somewhere that would require it.

A well-structured organization will have a system to hold leaders accountable for their actions. Absolute authority corrupts absolutely, so a well-structured
organization will have provisions and protocols that take this into account. Maybe organization has a code of ethics and conduct that all members, leaders included, are
expected to live up to - and should leaders fail to live up to them, they can be reported to a branch empowered to reprimand and/or remove them if necessary. Maybe there
are provisions that allow subordinates to relieve their superiors of duty if they are clearly in breach of conduct or are incapable of canying their duties out. ln any case, a
well-made organization will have somelhing to make sure that the leadership can't get away with just anything with impunity.

Competent secret and/or illegal organizations should not be dangling clues out for people to find. For example, an underground organization tattooing or branding its
agents with its symbol is just setting itself up for trouble - if people find the symbol on someone, they might recognize it and know exactly who this person works for. And
that can lead to interrogations and/or investigations.

Fewer fictional organizations should be trying to conscript the unwilling. This is just a good way to shoot themselves in the foot. For a start, it takes time and money
(and often a lot of money) to train up anyone new, and that's just when the newbies are trying to cooperate and do the best they can. Those who try to force the unwilling
into joining their organization risk wasting all that time and money should they ultimately decide to leave or desert - or worse, sustain even further loss should they decide
to wreak revenge. As a general rule, organizations only force the unwilling when they believe that circumstances are truly dire.

Fewer fictional organizations should have perfect unity and perfect compliance. This one pops up far too often, and it's completely unrealistic. If it's a good
organization, they'll often be perfectly hannonious (with the possibile exception of a few minor or trivial disagreements) until some evil individual or group comes along
to undermine them and members of the good group at odds with each other. If it's an evil organization, the vast majority of its members will be in lockstep with each
other, aside from the occasional rebel who either escapes quickly or is swiftly executed.

Now, take a moment to stop and think just how quickly disagreement, divisiveness, and even politics can arise in school or in the workplace. Think about how quickly this
kind of thing can happen in other groups, communities, and informal organizations. Now consider that many fictional organizations are muich larger, which means even
more people to potentially come into disagreement with each other and to wind up in complicated politics. Also consider that the Catholic Church was unable to stop
Martin Luther from founding Protestantism, or Henry Vll from founding the Church of England. And the Nazis had the Schwarze Kapelle (Black Orchestra), a group of
conspirators (many with high positions) who planned to overthrow Hitler and reclaim Germany. Although they failed, the fact remains that they did exist, and they did try.
So in other words, disagreements are inevitable, and mutinies and schisms aren't always preventable.

Audiences' perceptions of any organization are going to be strongly shaped by the first people they see from it. If the first member they see is an uncompromising
hardass, many are going to perceive the whole organization as hard and uncompromising until they have a compelling reason to believe otherwise. If the members they
see are laughably incompetent or weak, then that's how your audience is going to perceive the whole organization - even if other characters in the story talk about how
dangerous and sneaky the organization is. So when you're giving the audience its first encounter with your organization, think about the kind of impression you want to
make, and make sure whoever they see behaves accordingly.

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6/2/24, 10:43 PM How To Write Better & More Believable Masquerades - Springhole.net

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How To Write Better & More Believable Masquerades

No, this isn't about masquerade balls. It's about masquerades as in the whole trope where fantastic beings of some kind are living right under the noses of ordinary people.
The trope can be a ton of fun - it allows us to imagine that there's a whole other world of fantastic excitement going on right under our noses. We can look at a crowd of
people and picture that any number of them might secretly be vampires with secret vampire plans. Or we can look at an old building and imagine that if you perform the
right spell at midnight on the full moon, a door will open to the otherworldly glade where the faeries convene to discuss their plans. We can imagine that witches and
wizards conduct business in a hidden alley we just can't see. In other words, it ignites our imaginations and encourages us to see our own world in a whole new light.

But a masquerade needs a reason to exist, whether that reason is rational or irrational. Keeping secrets is hard, especially when a lot of people are in on it. And depending
on how the writer handles them, they can have some extremely insensitive implications about real people. So this article is going to explore how you can write believable
masquerades and handle them in a way that's respectful to real life people.

Think about their motives for staying hidden.

A common and usually very solid reason fantastic people (henceforth to be referred to as 'supernaturals,' though this isn't to say that you couldn't have non-supernatural
beings in a masquerade, EG, androids) stay hidden is to avoid coming into conflict with everyone else. The potential danger could range from long-term persecution to
total annihilation. Those who believe that their friends and family would be in danger if word gets out will be willing to take their secrets to the grave and will support
finding and punishing leakers.

Of course, the question here is how justified and rational their fears are versus how much they're simply based in xenophobia. This is largely up to you to decide - but
there are a couple of things to keep in mind: If they lack systemic power and wouldn't be able to do much if people decided to tum on them, then their fears are definitely
reasonable. If they have enough power or political influence that nobody could actually do much of anything to them, then it's just xenophobia.

Another possible reason they might keep themselves hidden is that they're otherworldly researchers who don't want to disrupt the creatures or environment they're
studying.

If they feel safe and comfortable among regular people, and have no ethical qualms or higher directives stopping them from outing themselves, then they have no reason
to hide. People prefer being themselves as much as possible; nobody hides things just for the heck of it.

Now we gotta talk about some motives that are just plain bad. The first is maintaining a masquerade for the purpose of long-term political manipulation. Any time you
portray an entire population of people who would be considered weird, foreign, or unnatural by mainstream society as supporting or engaging in political manipulation on
this level, you are echoing centuries' worth of antisemitic propaganda and/or other baseless xenophobia. The mere act of asking your audience to accept that this level of
deep conspiracy is possible in your world invites them to consider the possibility that it's happening in our world, too. And because it's nearly always ultimately Jewish
people (sometimes it's another racial and/or religious minority) who are implicated in conspiracy theories of this nature, there is no way you can spin this so that it doesn't
have xenophobic implications.

Keep in mind that when political infiltration and manipulation happens in real life, it's not masterminded by some kind of shadowy secret cult. Instead, it's done by large
and powerful governments, by well-supported political movements, or by extremely wealthy organizations or individuals who can entice politicians with their money.
(And the wealthy types aren't playing a long game so much as trying to maintain their power and privilege in the here and now. Greed is always very short-sighted.)
Political infiltration and manipulation are not perpetrated by people with little to no power in society. If they're not powerful or popular enough to be influential in the
open, they aren't powerful or popular enough to be influential in the shadows, either.

Another bad reason I've occasionally seen is that the masquerade exists to protect everyone else from supernatural harm. It's nonsensical for multiple reasons. First of all,
ignorance won't stop people from wandering into magical danger by accident. Secondly, if the purpose of keeping them ignorant is to "protect" them from a law
mandating that anyone who discovers the secret must be executed, all they're being "protected" from is a law that was probably passed out of prejudice or fear toward
outsiders - basically, you've got a "segregation is for your own good" kind of deal. Thirdly and finally, it requires us to believe that these people would willingly make
life a lot more complicated and inconvenient for themselves just for the benefit of an outgroup.

I've also seen a few writers try to justify this with "people deserve to live normal lives." The problem is, normality is a social construct, and to imply that magic is
inherently abnormal when it's an intrinsic part of the universe makes no sense. What they're really just saying is that the general public deserves to live in their manicured

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and socially-engineered comfort zones. But history proves time and time again that letting people live in cozy, manicured comfort zones allows harm to be perpetuated
against people who don't fit their concept of what's "normal." Karen and Kyle Suburbanson don't deserve to live a "normal" life at the expense of people they would
consider "abnormal." On the other hand, if the general public were accustomed to magic and magical beings, it would be normal to them and they'd get on just fine.

Some people also claim that no one breaks the masquerade because they all know that they'll be punished by those in charge. While the threat of punishment might deter
some people, it must be noted that authoritarian rulership causes stress and breeds resentment, and can motivate people to break the masquerade out of spite or just
wanting to escape somewhere. Additionally, rules can't stop revealing mistakes from being made now and then.

And one last bad reason is that others aren't "ready" to know about magic yet. The rationale is that if everyone else had access to magic, they would use it to exploit and
oppress each other. One problem here is that it overlooks or even outright dismisses the option of giving magic to people who are oppressed and exploited so they can
fight back. ff this option is considered and denied and the decision is framed as just, then the story is effectively saying that marginalized and oppressed people either
don't deserve the chance to empower and liberate themselves, or that if they did, they would immediately oppress everyone else. Neither implication is a good look. And
of course, appointing oneself the arbiter of what people are and aren't allowed to know about the very world they live in is paternalistic at best and at worst in violation of
Right To Know.

Of course, it's possible the supernaturals (or at least, the ones in charge) use the last three justifications to excuse their xenophobic or apathetic attitudes toward outsiders.
This could even be a source of conflict in your story.

Consider the exposure risk.

If you want to keep your masquerade up indefinitely, you need a reasonably low exposure risk. As a general rule, the smaller, simpler, and less flashy things are, the more
believable it is that they could stay hidden for a long time. Individual risk factors to consider are:

How often do they come into contact with regular people? The less time they spend around others, the fewer chances they'll have to expose themselves, accidentally or
no. The more time they spend, the more likely they are to say or do something that gives them away, accidentally leave behind evidence of some kind, or become so
emotionally entangled with someone that they can't bear to keep the truth a secret anymore.

But spending too little time in regular human society can increase their odds of exposure, too. If they have to spend any time in it but don't know how to blend in or get
around, they'll stick out like sore thumbs. Maybe one or two odd appearances here or there would be written off as a single eccentric, but if a lot of them get spotted them
people will start asking questions.

How many of them are there? The more of them there are, the more likely it is that someone will leave behind evidence or let something slip. Consider: If there are a
million of them and there's even just a one in ten thousand chance that any of them might massively goof up just once, then on average there'd be a hundred major
incidents. Yikes!

How many potential witnesses are there? The more people there are around to witness them doing something strange or to find evidence of their activity, the greater the
risk of being discovered. Remember, if there's a million of them and a one in ten thousand chance of any one of them being discovered, then on average you'd have a
hundred of them getting found out. Assuming this is the statistics for a single year, the average time between discoveries would be approximately every three and a half
days.

What kind of evidence can others find and share? The weirder and more obvious their activities and the evidence they leave behind is, the greater the likelihood is that
they'll be found out. Mages who go around doing big flashy spells in places where non-magical people live will definitely be witnessed, and good luck trying to keep
word about it from getting around in an era when people can record the video on their cellphones and upload it to YouTube or Twitter in minutes. If vampires are
constantly leaving behind exsanguinated bodies with double puncture wounds on their necks, whoever deals with the dead bodies or investigates murders is going to
notice and most likely keep notes, if not whole files. Same goes if werewolves are are all the time shifting where people can see them. If this happens all over the
country, lots of people will be noting and keeping tabs on the exact same thing, and eventually people are going to swap stories.

Do they have any unusual items they might accidentally leave around? Letting even one history book or magical artifact fall into certain hands could end up unraveling
the whole thing. Small magical items or gadgets, personal accessories, and paper ephemera are easy to drop or misplace. ff they generate a lot of trash that's obviously
unusual, that'll also be easy to find.

Do they have anything that could be seen from the air? Since the launch of Google Earth in 2005, the better part of the planet has become visible to the human eye. People
have found a herd of elephants, a car that had been underwater for twenty two years, a bunch of ancient land art in Northern Kazakhstan, and fifty ancient monuments in
Ireland. It would only be a matter of time before people started finding any castles or dragons they were trying to hide.

How well they can clean up after themselves? Some stories give them magic they can use to get rid of any trace that they were ever there - whether that means erasing
or rewriting people's memories, fixing their collateral damage, or whathaveyou. But while that might work for some situations, it's important to remember that it won't
necessarily work for all of them. The more crowded or densely populated a place is, the less likely it is that you can track down all the witnesses. Memory-altering spells
won't be of much help when a dozen witnesses have already uploaded videos to YouTube or Twitter where they'll be viewed by hundreds, maybe even thousands of
people within hours.

And one thing we gotta talk about here is how trying to kill witnesses isn't necessarily a good idea. Killing the odd person here and there in a way that looks like an
accident or random mugging can work, sure. But strange or unusual deaths, or the deaths of important or well-known people will attract a lot of attention. The murder of
an entire family, a torn up body, or the sudden death of a politician or celebrity are all the kinds of things that make national, if not international news. On the other hand,
the kinds of people who could be killed without too many people caring are also the kinds of people whom society is the least likely to take seriously.

What's more, even if the police are unable or unwilling to get involved, it doesn't mean others won't try. Friends and family of the deceased might hire private detectives if
they can, or possibly even try to reach out to supernatural hunters if they exist. Or they might just band up together and take action themselves. People with an interest in
the weird and the unsolved might take notice, and even if they don't personally do anything about it they might bring it up and talk about it in Internet communities for
other people interested in weird and unsolved things. While it might be easy to imagine that all of these people are nothing more than losers with no lives, the reality is
that many people like this are anything but.

But don't forget - it's possible to make them too good at cleaning up after themselves. It's hard to take the threat of discovery seriously ifwe know they have powerful
reality-altering magic that can restore the status quo with little effort, and depending on their reasons for hiding you might have to wonder why they bother staying
hidden at all if they're so powerful. It's also hard to believe that they could, say, threaten or bribe each and every witness into silence, or that nothing could ever go wrong
when they're trying to dispose of their evidence.

What are people willing to ignore? Many authors try to handwave the general public's failure to notice anything strange by claiming that people just ignore or rationalize
away whatever doesn't fit their preconceptions. This isn't quite true.

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First, people tend to ignore whatever they're apathetic about. A vampire might be able to get away with preying on a poor Black neighborhood that a racist police force
and media are willing to ignore as much as possible. A rich white neighborhood, on the other hand? Not a chance. Even in the impossibly unlikely event that the police
were unwilling to investigate the deaths and the media was somehow unwilling to milk the tragic death of a pretty white girl for all it was worth, these people could afford
to hire private detectives, private security, and the whole nine yards. Conversely, people might readily dismiss reports that a white man was using mind control spells on
women, while someone might call the hunters on a Latina practicing nothing more sinister than healing magic. Basically, systemic power dynamics can give you a pretty
good idea of what might be ignored or not.

Secondly, people who are already deeply invested in one particular worldview tend to dismiss anything that doesn't fit. Someone who has made a career out of writing
books on how extraterrestrials are actually demons won't be inclined to consider any other explanation. Someone who might face shame and ostracism if they told others
about a personal werewolf encounter might convince themselves that all they saw was a large feral dog. Someone who was taught from childhood that only fools believe
in magic would be emotionally incentivized against considering its possibility for all of the self-hate it would incite. Should irrefutable proof be provided, this person
might still deny it to avoid having to deal with and work through all of that, and might even double down on teaching others that magic isn't real for emotional validation.

However, it must be noted that most people aren't all that deeply invested in a worldview that completely rules out the supernatural. Many people find certain elements
romantic and would love for them to be real. Some believe out of religious or personal reasons. Whether it's teenagers who wish they could meet a real vampire, old ladies
who leave sweets out for the fairies, people whose traditional beliefs tell them that the dead must be interred correctly or they'll come back to haunt them, people who get
tarot readings when they feel stuck or lost, or people who believe in the supernatural simply to spite everyone who says it doesn't exist, you can find many out there who
believe in something. Many others don't have any firm belief that supernatural beings exist, but they also don't have any reason to finnly think they don't.

I've also seen a few people claim that deaths caused by vampires and werewolves would simply be rationalized away as normal animal attacks and henceforth ignored.
This could be true to some extent, but there are limits to how far this could actually go. The more bodies that are found, the more people are likely to assume there's a
dangerous predator in the area and send people out to kill it. Additionally, more victims means a higher chance of their activity making local or even national news, which
could catch the attention of hunters who know what to scan the news for.

How much reasonable doubt is there? Giving people good reasons to be skeptical of alleged supernatural activity can make it a lot more plausible that things haven't
unraveled. If plenty of people who claim they can work magic turn out to be frauds, and if most people claiming they have ghosts in their home are just getting
overexcited about drafty attics and loose gutters, or if visions of supernatural visitors often turn out to be related to drugs, stress, or mental illness, then people can't
really be blamed for doubting. Creating reasonable doubt can also discourage witnesses from speaking up. Being perceived as a fraud, attention-seeker, mentally
unsound, or as someone who jumps to conclusions can have painful social and professional consequences.

Are you willing to let the masquerade unravel? Are you willing to let the whole thing come undone? Letting the world come to know what's really going on has
massive plot potential. If you're willing to let the whole thing drop, then you can up the exposure risk and let the chips fall. If you're not willing, it's best to keep things
small, simple, and easy to miss and mistake.

Think about how much you want the mundane and the magical to mingle.

As established earlier, both too much and too little mingling can increase the risk of exposure. Jfyou want to plausibly maintain your masquerade, you'll need to find a
sweet spot. But that's not all you should consider - there are other benefits and drawbacks that mingling (or not) can provide.

For supernaturals who rarely (if ever) deal with the mundane world, trying to navigate it would be like trying to navigate a foreign country. The Harry Potter series is a
good example; members of the wizarding world are often confused by things we take for granted, even to the point of having no idea what a rubber duck is for. In
addition to the obvious comedy potential, it also has potential for drama because navigating the muggle world can be incredibly difficult. But on the other hand, this level
of separation prevents the magical and the mundane from interacting in ways that could take the story in some very interesting directions. What might happen if the
wizarding community got on the Internet? We'll never know.

Allowing your supernaturals to participate in the mundane world more opens up a lot of story potential. You can ignite your audience's imagination by inviting them to
imagine the world they experience every day from a magical point of view: What if the guy writing a novel at the coffee shop is a werewolf? What if a wealthy
businesswoman is one of the fae? What happens when sorcerers realize they can do magic with sidewalk chalk? Additionally, you have the option of giving them
problems and motivations that anyone on the street could have. A vampire who has to fill out a Form 1040 can be a lot more relatable and sympathetic than one whose
only problems are being embroiled in a turf war with other supernatural beings. You can borrow from real life for villainous motivations, too - maybe you have mages
who sell performance-enhancing potions with dangerous side effects to athletes, or merpeople who heist cargo from boats, or a werewolf who's a plain old serial killer.

Something to keep in mind is that if your supernaturals are going to mingle in the mundane world a lot, it's probably a good idea to tone down the supernatural
weaknesses, at least to some extent. For example, it would be hard for vampires to avoid exposing themselves if they're a risk of going into a frenzy over the smallest
whiff of blood. (People scrape and nick themselves pretty often, bloody noses can happen for numerous reasons, and any number of people are going to be on their
menses.) Any fae easily distracted by shiny things could be tripped up by mere spoons, pens, and paperclips. And likewise, demons who must flee at the sight of a cross
aren't going to be very effective in a world where you can find them everywhere from personal jewelry to decorative kitsch. If you're worried that your supernatural
beings might be overpowered through a lack of weaknesses, then consider toning down some of their strengths to even things out again.

And one more thing - the more your supernaturals are involved in the mundane world, the more invested in its politics they're going to be, because those politics will
affect them and people they know sooner or later. Just because they're supernatural doesn't mean they won't care about the gentrification happening in the neighborhood
they live in, nor care about what will happen to the neighbors they've gotten aquainted with. If they were outright raised as part of any human culture, they'll most likely
feel a sense of kinship and belonging with that culture. Very likely they'll share in its values and take offense at bigotry toward it. Basically, a mermaid raised in Ireland
is probably going to bristle if somebody starts praising Oliver Cromwell and won't exactly be thrilled when British mermaids start talking about how great the British
Empire was.

Take some time and think about whether you're most interested in writing your supernaturals as aliens to our culture, or writing about them as hidden within our own
society, or writing them somewhere in between. If you're not sure what to go for, ask yourself what kind of stories you're most interested in telling, and pick the option
that suits it best.

Think carefully about how powerful you want them to be.

While a huge part of the appeal of masquerades is the inclusion of characters who have powers that ordinary people don't, making them too powerful can easily create
problems for your story. The bigger and more obvious their powers are, the greater the risk of being noticed. If their powers and capabilities are such that being exposed
won't do anything worse than cause them some mild inconvenience, then the risk of exposure has no real dramatic value. Maybe you're writing a story where the risk of
being exposed isn't supposed to be a source of dramatic tension, and that's fine - but if it is, you can't give them an easy escape like that.

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If you're trying to write your supernaturals as a kind of marginalized or oppressed minority, then it's really important that you don't make them excessively powerful. If
they're so strong that they can easily squish mortals like insects, then they're not actually oppressed; if they act like they are and use this as justification to hurt people,
then they're just bullies with victim complexes.

Giving them too much power can also raise the question of why your supernaturals bother to hide among humans at all. It's one thing if they're angels or alien scientists
and have superiors who are invested in maintaining the masquerade, but it doesn't really work if they're just another kind of people who live in this world. Maintaining a
masquerade is always inconvenient to some degree (if not an entire logistical headache), so if they're powerful enough they'd lose nothing by revealing themselves, or
could go create their own human-free spaces to live, we really gotta wonder why they don't just do it already.

Making them too powerful can also raise the question of why they didn't just dominate the world before humans had the chance. Humans today might be a match for them
with their fancy modem technology, but that wouldn't have been the case a few thousand years ago. f've seen a few authors claim that the supernaturals actually were in
charge until ancient humans finally led a revolt that forced them into hiding, but in every case it made no sense because the supernaturals would have still been powerful
enough to take on the significantly weaker humans and their relatively primitive weaponry.

So basically, while you probably want to give them nifty powers of some kind, you don't want to give them powers that would solve their problems too easily or raise
unanswerable questions about your worldbuilding. Try to find a balance between what's fun and what best serves your plot and worldbuilding.

Think about what might reasonably happen if they were exposed or tried to self-disclose.

Even if you don't plan to tear down the masquerade, it's still worth thinking about because it helps you flesh out the socio-political environment of your world. So stop
and think about what might reasonably happen - and I do mean reasonably. Many writers severely overestimate some risk factors while totally overlooking others.

Many works of fiction present the biggest threats as being hauled away by the government, by mental health services, or by random scientists. Additionally, they treat this
risk as equal for everyone regardless of race, gender, or social class. However, there are numerous problems with this.

First of all, it's hilariously ignorant to assume that the US government would care more about finding and stopping rich white vampires than they'd care about persecuting
Black people and other POC through the so-called War on Drugs. Rich white vampires wouldn't need any magic whatsoever to keep the government off their backs; all
they'd need is to be rich, white, and politically complacent. (And if you think there wouldn't be anyone in the US government who wouldn't knowingly collude with a rich
white conservative vampire just like a certain orange-skinned president colluded with a certain government, you'd be wrong.)

On the other hand, if the vampires are poor and/or POC, then you can bet your buttons the government will do something. They'll probably be instructing everybody from
police forces to school children in how to deal with the vampire menace, and it won't matter if the vampires are a mostly harmless bunch. A lot of innocent blood will be
spilled, whether vampire or humans presumed to be vampires.

The idea of mental health services aggressively chasing after someone who proclaimed herself Queen of the Faeries is pretty laughable when you consider how the mental
health industry actually is. While being hospitalized against one's will is something that happens occasionally, there are strict policies regarding when this can happen.
And while these policies can be abused, the abuse will disproportionately affect marginalized minorities and the politically dissident. Additionally, mental health
services in the US are very poorly funded, so aggressively hunting people down for looking a bit eccentric wouldn't be in their best interests.

If our lass what proclaims herself Queen of the Faeries is a celebrity artist, most people will just assume she's doing it for artistic reasons, or is in touch with her divine
feminine, or is hannlessly eccentric. She might get some hate from her detractors, who might use the opportunity to call her unhinged or whatever, but nobody is actually
going to institutionalize her.

If she's a working class or middle class mother, what's more likely to happen is that people will decide she's mentally ill and quietly cut her off, effectively ostracizing and
isolating her. Those she was acquainted with will tut and gossip about her apparent delusions with hushed tones and long stares that faintly imply a moral failing on her
part, sending an unspoken yet finn message to other women that they'd better not fall down the same path. If she's single, there's a greater risk that someone will call CPS
and have her children taken away - moreso if she's POC. Additionally, relatives or an ex-husband might try to use her alleged insanity against her in a custody battle. If
she's employed in a corporate workplace, her enemies and rivals may use this information against her to keep her from getting promoted, or worse, get her fired.

If she's a school student, there are numerous ways this could go. Best case scenario, people will think she's joking and brush it off. Not so great scenario, people will
gossip about how she's gone insane, her rivals and enemies will use it against her however they can, and she'll be stigmatized and outcast. She might attract a few people
who believe her or think it's all just a game, but her larger social life will likely take a serious blow. Although her parents have the the legal power to send her to a mental
hospital, they might not be able to afford it. Additionally, few parents are willing to accept the possibility that their child might have genuine mental health issues. They're
much more likely to blame her choices in media for giving her tender and impressionable mind fake ideas and take away her favorite books and games, and they may try
to steer or outright force her toward whatever they consider more wholesome interests. Or it's entirely possible that her parents will just think she's a young creative genius
whose imaginative gifts aren't appreciated and take her side. There's also even a possibility that her parents might be New Agey type people and just believe her.

Now let's talk about scientists as a menace. First off, any time scientists are treated as a categorical menace to supernatural beings, there are some dangerous anti
intellectual implications there. It's important to remember that science, when practiced in good faith, tends to confinn what human rights activists keep trying to tell
people
- that racism is irrational and phenotypical differences are superficial only, that poverty worsens mental illness and creates incentives to commit crime, and that global
wanning is going to be really, really bad ifwe don't do something about it immediately. So, demonizing scientists as a whole is really a bad take.

Now, this isn't to say that science bas always been practiced in good faith. Powerful institutions have employed their own scientists to find results that agree with their
agendas and prejudices, and anthropological research is often skewed by racial and cultural bias. But this is not a reason to demonize science or scientists on the whole;
the scientific method has no moral bias unto itself, meaning that scientists acting in good faith can do their own research to disprove the results of scientists acting in bad
faith.

Now with that out of the way, let's talk about why getting kidnapped by scientists of any kind probably wouldn't be a huge risk.

First of all, most scientists don't have a lot of money or other resources; instead, most have to operate on shoestring budgets. This alone makes capturing relatively large
and sapient test subjects and keeping them alive for any length of time extremely unfeasible.

Next, there's the question of what they want to find or learn. If they're trying to figure out how the supernaturals live, it would probably involve a lot more stalking and
spying than kidnapping. If they want DNA, goodness knows how much of that ends up on things thrown into the trash. ff they're trying to figure out how to kill them,
why? ls there some reason to think that none of the weapons we already have won't work? If they're trying to find a way to weaponize them or something they have,
would this actually provide a tactical advantage compared to what's already available? (Yeah, sorry, in absolutely no universe will a sapient being with any biological
and/or psychological needs whatsoever ever be the "perfect weapon.")

Now, maybe somebody wants to study the nitty-gritty of their biology. After all, many things about supernatural beings like vampires and werewolves defy everything we
know about biology (if not the very laws of physics!) and figuring out how they work would result in world-changing scientific breakthroughs. And maybe, just maybe, if

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somebody has the actual resources, a kidnapping could happen. But this wouldn't mean that kidnapping supernatural beings for science would be common; it's not like
they'd need a ton of research subjects. Dissecting and torturing test subjects doesn't exactly provide the most useful results in this day and age.

It's also possible they wouldn't even need to kidnap them at all. lfthe supernaturals are relatively poor or powerless, whoever's trying to get the study going might try to
offer money or necessities (which they may or may not pay up in the end), or offer to keep the rest of their community safe from those who might hurt them (again, they
may or may not hold up their end of the deal).

So if the threat of being kidnapped by the government, by mental health services, or by scientists isn't actually a big problem in the way a lot of writers make it out to be,
what else could happen?

One potential risk is poachers. There's always a market for anything believed to have magical or medicinal properties. In Tanzania, many albinos have been mutilated or
killed (serious content warnings for gore and mutilation, animal and human) so their body parts could be used in spells primarily commissioned by local celebrities and
politicians. Since people are fundamentally the same all over, it's not difficult to imagine that something similar could take place almost anywhere. One can easily picture
an American celebrity touting "ethically sourced" werewolf blood ("A teaspoon of werewolf blood in your morning coffee gives you the predatory edge you need to get
ahead!") that's anything but. Neither is it hard to imagine a celebrity athlete buying performance enhancement supplements made from ground-up troll bone on the sly.
Indeed, it's possible that the biggest motive for being a supernatural hunter isn't protecting people from monsters, but to make money selling body parts and fluids. (But of
course, many of them would absolutely claim they were just trying to protect the people.)

It's also very possible that the supernaturals get treated the same way societies tend to treat any poorly-understood minority group: with suspicion and scapegoating. This
scenario is most likely in an atmosphere of socio-political uncertainty and/or general hardship, where people are on edge and looking for somebody to blame. While it's
almost certain that many people would believe the fear to be irrational and unfounded, more than enough could be so caught up in it that they could cause serious
problems for the supernaturals. Essentially, it might lead to moral panic. Exactly bow it would play out would depend on a lot of factors. In an extreme case, it could lead
to the government creating agencies or commissions to hunt them down - assuming they don't have any existing ones that could be assigned to the job already. They might
create or fund awareness/propaganda campaigns. Or they might take completely passive role, simply saying and doing nothing when citizens or police officers kill
supernaturals and perpetutate hate and fear against them. Exactly how aggressive the government would be depends on whether diplomatic or xenophobic personalities
have more sway, how much imminent danger they think they're in, and how much they're concerned about a potential public backlash.

In a less extreme case, you might have simmering tensions for years, even decades or longer. The government might begrudgingly accept the presence of the
supernaturals, but attempt to regulate their actions and keep them cordoned away from everyone else as much as possible. And it's most likely that they'd tum a blind eye
to violence and crime committed against them. The supernaturals might find themselves fighting for rights and equality for years. (For more information, check out On
Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments ln Your Fiction.)

And it's completely possible that most people in the government wouldn't actually care that much. If they're not looking for a scapegoat right now and the supernaturals
don't seem to be doing anything that threatens their agendas and interests directly, they might just shrug and leave them alone for the most part. (This is especially true if
they think they have bigger problems to contend with. Who's got time to worry about WASPy suburban faeries when there's a War on Terror going on?) Likewise, if it
turns out that a good chunk of the supernaturals support their policies and have voting power, they might be reluctant to act out against them.

And of course, public reception will depend a lot on how much the supernaturals resemble whatever the majority considers good and wholesome. It should go without
saying that in a socio-political environment like the US, that anything that looks light and "angelic" would be a lot more accepted than something that looks dark and
"demonic." Likewise, if their values are close enough to cultural Christianity or at least resemble something European, they'll be seen as less suspicious or sinister than if
their values are more in line with something else. It really wouldn't be a stretch to think that the majority of the US would be more willing to accommodate a group whose
ideals were in line with Medieval European monarchanism and feudalism than they'd be willing to accept a group whose ideals were closer to the Iroquois confederacy.
(If you don't think so, just look at the Quiverfull movement and fundamentalist Monnons. Despite actually engaging in practices that Muslims are frequently accused of
trying to bring in the US, they largely get a free pass because they're white Christians.)

Resist the temptation to give everything a supernatural cause or connection.

It can be awfully tempting to ascribe supernatural causes and connections to things, whether it's making Mozart a werewolf or blaming atrocities on demons. The problem
is, this kind of thing can often have insensitive, if not downright disrespectful implications.

lfyou make fictional supernatural beings responsible for real life atrocities, you disrespect the victims by letting the perpetrators off the book. You also minimize and
dismiss the very real impact that unchecked bigotry, intolerance, greed, and apathy has on people. It's very important that the real reasons behind hate and violence in this
world are never glossed over, but that the human perpetrators are always given ful I credit for everything they did.

Another thing you don't want to do is set up your fictional beings as primary targets of real life atrocities and persecutions. It either erases victims from their own
narratives and/or implies that the prejudice and hatred against them wasn't as bad as people claim; or it implies that the people doing the persecuting were driven by
factual events instead of baseless paranoia and irrational hatred, and simply made an honest mistake when they went after innocents. Either way, it's a bad look.

Making fictional beings responsible for positive things can also be disrespectful, because it minimizes bow smart people actually were. A good example of this is the
"ancient aliens" trope, which often claims that aliens built things like the pyramids, Stonehenge, or the moai of Rapa Nui. The problem? It dismisses the possibility that
people could've just been smart enough to figure out bow to make things without modern industrial equipment. The ancient aliens hypothesis also frequently posits that
stories of gods and heroes were based on literal alien encounters, which implies that ancient humans didn't have enough intelligence and imagination for abstract and
symbolic thought, and dismisses the emotional and social truths that myths were always intended to carry.

And of course, once you start claiming that every famous visionary, innovator, and revolutionary throughout history was secretly supernatural or inspired by someone
supernatural, you start implying that humans aren't capable of doing anything on their own, which is pretty insulting. Sure, you probably want to give your supernaturals
some cool accomplishments, but you shouldn't steal credit for other people's accomplishments, nor imply that humans are incapable of doing things on their own. This is a
really demeaning message to send, especially if it involves marginalized people whose accomplishments are already downplayed or ignored by society.

So what can you do instead? You can develop history that doesn't really involve ordinary people all that much, or ifit does, mainly focuses on fictional ones. [fyou really
want to involve real people, do it in a way that doesn't give your supernaturals credit for their historical actions. Having your vampire ghostwrite the US constitution is
definitely a no-no, but having your vampire character spend a wild night with a senator known for getting around? Knock yourself out. Likewise, you shouldn't have your
fae character inspire a famous speech, but go ahead and have your fae fight off another supernatural being who'd stop this speech from being made in the first place. (Just
don't feel like you have to insert a supernatural story into every historical event. Exercise some restraint here - the more, the better.)

More things you should know and do.

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Be respectful when it comes to marginalized people's beliefs and traditions. Most masquerades involve supernatural beings inspired by old folklore, and that's usually
fine. What's not fine is when writers treat marginalized people's cultures and spiritual traditions as fantasy trope grab bags. Tips On Taking Inspiration From Real-Life
Myth, Lore, Tradition, & Legend Without Looking Pretentious, Ignorant, or Insulting has more information.

Do the math! Way too many masquerades lose their plausibility because the writers made them way too big and complicated to believably avoid exposing themselves.
Check out Where & How Writers Need To Do The Math for tips.

Understand why and how people actually keep things under wraps. Too many masquerade scenarios have the supernaturals keeping things under wraps for reasons
that make no sense when you actually think about them, or use methods that just plain wouldn't work. Check out Tips To Write Better & More Believable Cover-Ups and
Things Writers Need To Know About Security & Concealment for more help.

Don't lose track of the regular people. It's easy to get so wrapped up in the drama of your supernatural beings that you forget just how many people are out there to
potentially notice something going on. Like for example, if a vampire was leaving around as many bodies as a serial killer, people would start thinking there was a serial
killer out there. Points To Remember When Worldbuilding and How To Make The Nameless, Faceless, & Minor Characters In Your Story Feel Human To You can help
you out here.

Remember that no group is a monolith. Neither the ordinary people nor the supernatural beings should be written as monolithic in opinion, attitude, or goals. Check out
How To Write People On Large Scales for more tips.

If any of your supernaturals are supposed to be involved in political scheming and manipulation, know how it actually works. While having all of your
supernaturals involved in political manipulation has some really skeevy connotations, having a few of them in on it can be a different matter if you handle it with care.
Check out Plotting, Conniving, & Manipulating - What 11 Isn't, And What It ls and Writing Characters Who Work Behind The Scenes & From The Shadows for
information.

Also, check out:

Things About Death, Dying, & Murder Writers Need To Know

Pointlessly Edgy Tropes To Reconsider Using
Tips For Writing & Maintaining A Horror Atmosphere
On Writing & Roleplaying Mysterious Characters

So You Wanna Mix Science And Magic?

Keeping Magic From Taking Over Your Story
Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Magical & Supernatural Tropes To Reconsider (And Tips To Build Up Your Magical/Supernatural Settings!)

Alexis Feynman's Guide To Writing Better Vampire Fiction

Common Werewolf Tropes You Should Think Twice Before
Using Tips For Writing Better Immortal & Long-Lived
Characters Common Plotholes In Vampire Fiction
Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to Worldbuilding
Back to Specific Plot Events, Scenarios, & Story Setups
Go to a random page!

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Factors That Contribute To Abusive & Dysfunctional

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Systems/ Institutions

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On Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments In Your Fiction

Whether you're writing an evil empire or just a single rotten country, whether the whole thing is oppressed or whether it's just a few marginalized groups, here's some
information to help you write a sufficiently plausible and terrible oppressive government.

Table of Contents
• How oppressive governments usually think
• Those who are on the top in an oppressive system or society are often disconnected from reality
• Factors that can lead to or exacerbate an oppressive system
• Some ways a government can oppress its people
• Areas of history you might wish to study for reference
• And a few more tips!
• In summary!

How oppressive governments usually think

If you're going to write a plausible oppressive government, you first need to know how they typically think and rationalize.

The actions and policies of oppressive governments are typically based in faulty assumptions, many of which are rooted in bigotry of some kind. And the essence of
bigotry is the assumption that one's own culture, race, class, beliefs, etc., are nobler, smarter, more refined, more enlightened, and so on. Bigots often use themselves as a
yardstick to measure others against: how civilized or "advanced" others are, in their eyes, depends on how similar to themselves they are. Those who do not belong or
conform to to their own group's ways may be seen as childish or animalistic. In cases where they are perceived as childish, the oppressing group may see it as their duty to
educate and civilize them for their own good, whether or not they want it. It may be seen as necessary to order them around and manage their life choices for them
because they can't be trusted to make responsible decisions on their own. Any sort of resistance on the part of the oppressed may be perceived as childish petulance that
must be punished out of them; any expression of a desire for more may be seen as immature selfishness or envy. In cases where they are perceived as animalistic, the
oppressing group may see it as necessary to manage them like animals to keep them from getting out of hand and making trouble - essentially herding them, corralling
them, or even culling them if they become too "unmanageable." And because they are seen as subhuman, it's often perceived as no great wrong to enslave or exploit them.

It also happens that habits, customs, and inventions of different groups perceived as childish or animalistic are written off as inherently crude or inferior simply because
they come from these different groups, and for no other real reason. Thus, expressions of these idiosyncrasies can be seen as proof of inferiority or even as a sign of
disrespect.

Oppressive governments also frequently operate on the belief that service to the state is the highest good. There's an assumption that if everyone dutifully serves the
government and does as it asks, then the government will be able to ensure peace and justice for all. Any failure on the government's part to provide this is often seen as
the fault of the people who are supposed to serve it, rather than a fault of the government itself. In their eyes, the way to correct any sort of problem is not to criticize or
try to change it, but to work ever harder for it (and failure to do whatever labor the government demands can be seen as treasonous). Discontentment is seen as a sign of
selfishness or as an unwarranted sense of entitlement, not as a reaction to being treated unfairly. Any sort of anti-government sentiment is seen as harmful, even
dangerous. Even simply admitting or letting it be known that things are actually not going all that well can be seen as something that could encourage anti-government
sentiment by damaging the people's faith in the government, so it may be considered necessary to keep the true state of things hidden from the people as much as possible.

Exactly what the oppressive government in your setting ought to be getting up to will depend on what type of oppressive government you're writing. The examples of
bigotry are a good fit for a colonialist empire; the focus on service to the state is what you'd want to emphasize if you're aiming to write about a fascist state. And of
course, you can blend the two in any combination as necessary per what sort of oppressive government you're trying to aim for in your story/setting.

Those who are on the top in an oppressive system or society are often very disconnected from reality

Because they very often have no real exposure to the life and hardships of the oppressed, the people who are at the top are often completely ignorant of the hardships and
struggles the oppressed face. As a result, if any of them are actually asked to do something about the discontent or mistreatment of the oppressed classes, they'll often as
not end up coming up with "solutions" that at best do nothing to address the real problems and are at worst are tyrannical and cruel.

For example, those who are marginalized in an oppressive system or society may find it very difficult, if not impossible to access the same resources and quality of
education that is readily available to non-marginalized members. As a result, it's extremely difficult for them to make something of themselves and become as successful
as non-marginalized people typically are. So they end up being poorer, living in worse neighborhoods, and committing more crimes because they are driven to desperation
by a lack of viable alternatives.

The result? Those in charge often take these failures to thrive as proof of the marginalized group's inherent inferiority and as proof of need for harsher punishments and
tighter restrictions placed upon them. How these people are supposed to thrive and succeed in a system that doesn't actually give them any real ability to doesn't even
cross their mind. They might not even realize that the system is actually this bad. It might not occur to them how difficult it is for them to access certain resources that
they can access instantly - sure, it's easy to get to a library when one is just a short walk away and you're the kind of person that nobody thinks twice about, but when
you're a poor
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laborer who lives miles away from the nearest library with no form of quick transportation and you risk getting arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison just because the
city guards don't like the look of you, it's another story.

lfa member ofa marginalized group does become successful, this may be taken as proof that they don't really have it as bad as some of them say they do - never mind the
fact that this particular person had to fight uphill the whole way, or just ended up getting really, really lucky somewhere along the line. A few of them ending up
successful may even be seen as a sign of infiltration on their part, as some sort of grand scheme to overthrow the current state of affairs and take over - which can
potentially lead to an essential witch hunt.

Then there's the assumption that if marginalized people can come by a few nice things in their lives, then they really can't have it that bad. For example, some poor person
might scrimp and save up the money for a nice outfit; then, when someone who is better off comes along and sees it, this person concludes that this person really can't
have it that bad after all if this person can afford such niceties. Depending how hostile sentiments are, oppressed people having a few nice things might be taken as proof
that they actually have it too easy and can clearly afford to have their wages lowered or their taxes increased.

Another common assumption is that if they ever have nice things, then they are reckless and irresponsible with their money. This is taken as proof that the real problem is
them, not the government.

Oppressive governments might also charge people exorbitant taxes (whether these taxes take the form of cash or actual goods), or make them pay high prices for
necessities, then turn around and blame their resultant poverty on their laziness. It's not uncommon for people who have it relatively well to assume that anyone can do
anything if they "just work hard enough!" when they really have no idea of just what kind of hardships these people are up against.

Now, this is not to say that everyone who wields power in an oppressive government is simply just clueless and would be all better with a little education, because this is
absolutely not true. Many of them are simply just bullies who don't care about anyone but themselves and their cronies and/or are walking garbage bags filled with hatred
and spite and are just looking for someone to dump it all out on. And of course, plenty of people are both clueless and mean.

Factors that can lead to or exacerbate an oppressive system

Oppression doesn't just happen or escalate at random; there's always something (and multiple somethings, usually) going on that acts as a catalyst or fuel. Here are some
examples:

An absolutist ideology. For example, a religion that is taught as absolute, ultimate truth and as the only way to live a just and productive life encourages people to
demonize other people's beliefs and practices, which in tum encourages them to try to stamp them out. It also easily enables the government to frame its policies as the
"will of God," which makes them a high and noble calling to follow and a sin to resist.

Xenophobia. A general fear or mistrust of anything strange or foreign. Xenophobes may perceive it as necessary to take oppressive measures against those who are
different from them for their own safety, regardless of how much danger has actually been demonstrated and proven.

A thirst for vengeance. Perhaps Country A gave Country B a hard time in the past - attacking and pillaging it, for example. Or maybe it just didn't comply with Country
A's demands at one point. Either way, Country B thinks that enslaving and marginalizing the people of Country A is delivering justice, so that's what it does.

Scapegoating. When bad things happen - poor harvests, sweeping illnesses, economic downturn, etc. - people tend to look for someone to blame. This tends to be
whoever they trust and like the least. Scapegoated groups may be stripped of their rights, placed under heavy restriction or surveillance, given harsher sentences, exiled, or
even murdered en masse.

Loss avoidance and/or profit. Should the upper class be in danger (or believe they are in danger) oflosing their power, status, security or luxurious lifestyles, they may
try to work the lower classes harder or cut their wages. Slave labor, prison labor, or indentured servitude may be intensified or introduced. A government short on funds
might try to go and conquer someplace else so they can take whatever wealth they can acquire.

Egomania. Leaders who believe that they are automatically owed unquestioning loyalty and obedience tend to be more oppressive than otherwise, as they are more likely
to punish those who disagree or fail to comply with them.

The unequal respect paradigm. In this paradigm, respect is treated as something that one is immediately owed from others, but that others have to earn from oneself. It's
also treated as something that others show one through complete deference and obedience in everything, but that one shows others by withholding harm or harsh words.

A persecution complex. For example, perceiving any sort of criticism against one's culture or government as an unfair and unfounded attack that must be retaliated
against, or seeing the expression of someone else's culture as a personal affront or insult to one's own.

Some ways a government can oppress its people

Depending on which mindsets and factors mentioned in the previous two sections are present, and depending on how prevalent they are, there are a number of things that
governments might do to oppress its people - whether it's the entire population or a few select groups. Here are some examples:

Placing legal restrictions upon them. Oppressed groups may be outright legally prevented from education, from holding certain jobs, or from living or working in
certain areas, or being out at certain times or without being accompanied.

Denying them legal rights. Such as protection under the law, due process, innocent until proven guilty, freedom of speech, the right to own land and property and not
have it seized, etc.

Refusing to provide decent services and assistance. The oppressed might be outright barred from using decent services like schools or hospitals. Alternatively, they
might just not be built where these people live at all, or if they are, they may be severely underfunded or be staffed with underqualified workers. Oppressors might also
simply refuse to lend any substantial assistance in the event of disaster.

Denying them critical goods. Such as denying them access to food, medicine, tools, building supplies, etc. This can be done by banning them from areas where they can
be acquired, or by making sure they are never shipped out to their areas at all.

Forced assimilation. For example, forcing them (and particularly their children) to attend schools where they are taught the ways of the oppressor's culture. It can also
include banning expressions of their own culture and traditions - such as speaking their own language, practicing their religious traditions, playing their own musical
instruments, or wearing their traditional clothing. It can also include destroying written materials and executing teachers and scholars.

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Exploiting them for labor. IE, forcing them to work without pay or treatment/compensation for work-related injuries. An oppressed group might be treated as disposable
labor for harsh and difficult jobs that no one else wants.

Extorting them. Such as by forcing them to pay taxes so high that they can barely afford to live themselves, or by charging exorbitantly high fees for services or
assistance.

Inflicting harsh punishments upon them. Extreme and inhumane punishments, even for small infractions, are common in oppressive governments.

Manipulating perceptions of them. Governments hostile to particular groups might deliberately manipulate people's views of them by creating or commissioning
propaganda that paints them in a negative light, or by banning positive or sympathetic depictions of them in media. This in turn makes it easier to get others to agree with
and enforce their oppressive regime.

Pitting them against each other. Many oppressive governments have successfully used divide and conquer strategies throughout the years. For example, a government
might hire members of one marginalized group to police and beat down members of a second marginalized group. They'll usually treat the first group slightly better as a
reward, and thus create an illusion of personal empowerment and social mobility. Alternatively, the government might use one marginalized group as a scapegoat for its
own sins to keep another scapegoat from realizing that that the government is the true source of everyone's problems - for example, by blaming the actions of a racial
minority or the youth for a bad economy, when in reality the government has simply made a series of bad choices over the years that put the economy in its present state.

Expulsion. IE, forcing them off of their land and out of their homes, whether they are expected to go and live in less hospitable areas or to leave the country altogether.

Extermination. Simply killing them, whether in part or in whole.

Areas of history you might wish to study for reference

History is full of oppression, and there's no shortage to draw from. A few you might look into include the history of American slavery and segregation, how colonists in
the US, Canada, and Australia have treated indigenous peoples, oppression of the Jewish people throughout Europe and especially in Nazi Germany, the treatment of the
Ainu people in Japan, and the oppression oflreland by the English, communist Russia, and the current state of affairs in North Korea. This list is of course by no means
comprehensive, but they're all worth looking into.

And a few more tips!

As with all villains and villainous organizations, put yourself into their shoes and ask if what you plan to have them do makes any sense from their point of view. What
do they stand to gain from it, or think they stand to gain? What made them decide that these measures are necessary and worth the effort? Is there any risk analysis that
they should be doing? Are there any obvious risk factors they should be minimizing? Whatever they do, their actions should make sense in context; you don't want to
end up with villains who do everything mentioned in the lists above simply because it's something that oppressive people can do.

Make sure its history/development makes sense. For example, many writers have some sinister group pop pretty much out of nowhere and take over the world in a span
ofless than ten years. In reality, any major socio-political shift can easily take a lifetime to run, and ten years is jar too quick for anything like that to happen. Sometimes
writers have some despot or other take over a country so quickly and easily that the only way it could have happened is if everyone just rolled over and surrendered after
the first defeat or so, which is just not what happens in real life. To avoid this problem, stop and think about how they got to where they are now one step at a time. Think
about who all would have gone up against them. Put yourself into their shoes and ask yourself what all they could and would do to oppose it.

Never forget that no matter how oppressive they're supposed to be, there's got to be somebody they're treating just good enough to convince to actually work for
them. One trick oppressive governments might use is to treat one group of people slightly less bad in order to get them to help them enforce their oppression on another
group. Despite the fact that both groups are still technically being abused, it does often work.

Villain Tips: Of Conquest, Minions, Progress, & Planning has more on all of these topics, so be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

In summary!

• Oppressive governments often see those whom they oppress as animalistic or childish, and therefore in need of strict management and control. Their desires are
often seen as being motivated by selfishness and envy. Their culture will also likely be seen as inherently inferior. Oppressive governments might also perceive
service to the state (which is framed as noble and just) as the highest good, and anything that does not serve the state or that might call its goodness into question as
disloyalty or treasonous.
• Many people who are in charge are very disconnected from the reality of the ordinary people's lives, and as a result are poorly equipped to help fix their problems
even if they want to. They will often draw completely wrong conclusions or will fail to recognize the actual causes of certain problems. And of course, plenty of the
people in charge are just bullies.
• Lots of factors can lead into or exacerbate an oppressive system, including absolutist ideologies, xenophobia, a lust for vengeance, a need for a scapegoat, loss
avoidance or profit, egomania, the unequal respect paradigm, and a persecution complex.
• Governments can oppress people by restricting or banning them from certain things, barring them from legal rights, making education difficult or impossible,
making it hard for them to get hold of necessities, forcing them to assimilate, exploiting them for labor, extorting them for land, goods, or money, inflicting harsh
and inhumane punishments on them, turning public opinion against them, expelling them, or exterminating them.
• Study real life oppressions for reference. There are many to choose from.
• When you're developing your oppressive government, put yourself into their shoes and make sure that what they're doing makes sense from their perspective. Don't
just write an oppressive government whose evil activities exist only to make your protagonists miserable.
• Make sure its history and development makes sense. Put some thought into how they got to where they are. Give them a reasonable timescale. Factor in everyone
who would have opposed them.
• Never forget that no matter how oppressive they are, they need to be doing something to make following their orders and enforcing their laws seem worthwhile to
someone.

If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

Factors That Contribute To Abusive & Dysfunctional Systems/Institutions

Mindsets & Rationales That Lend Well To Villainy

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Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments
Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters
Things Writers Should Know About Big Businesses
Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations

Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable Futures

Tips To Build Better Post-Apocalyptic And/Or Dystopian Settings
Tips To Write Better & More Believable Cover-Ups
Things To Know If Your Character Will Be Augmented Or Experimented Upon

A Few Things To Know When Writing Rebellions &

Coups How Good People & Well-Intentioned Groups Can
Go Bad Tips For Writing Dark Stories, Settings, &
Characters

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

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"How Should My Royalty/Nobility Behave?"

How To Answer This For Yourselfl

"How should my royalty/nobility behave?" is a question that some writers struggle with. They've seen royalty depicted enough in fiction or in documentaries to know that
they had very particular ways of behaving, but they also don't know the full extent of it. So, they might find themselves at a loss when trying to actually write royalty and
nobility themselves.

The good news is that if you're writing fantasy or science fiction, the answer boils down to "whatever you want." There's no one single way that nobility and royalty did
things, so there doesn't have to be one single way they do things in fiction. Whether the court bas elaborate rules and customs, or whether it mostly sticks to few basics
like "don't spit on the floor," and "don't mouth off to your king" is entirely up to you to decide.

"Okay, so how do I decide?" you might be wondering. "How do I narrow this down when there are so many options?" The answer's the same as for most issues like this -
with a little thought and logic. Here's what to think about when trying to work out how your royal or noble courts behave.

Table of Contents
• What are their values and beliefs?
• Who has the most power and influence in the court?
• What kind of image do they want to cultivate?
• What can they afford?
• In summary!

What are their values and beliefs?

The dominant values and beliefs of the upper class will have a strong influence. Once you decide what their overall cultural climate is like, you can start extrapolating
some ideas of how things might go. Here are a few aspects you might consider:

• Are they fairly religious? If so, a new monarch might pray for divine guidance at a coronation ceremony, or royals might be expected to attend religious services or
ceremonies.
• ls this a culture that emphasizes stoicism and self-control? If so, parties are more likely to be calm, quiet affairs rather than loud and wild.
• What kind of ideas do they have about modesty and attractiveness? This will affect the fashion they wear.
• What traits, behaviors, and interests do they consider to be signs of good upbringing and character? This is what they'll judge people on.
• What do they consider to be inappropriate behavior? This is what people will be punished for.
• What ideas do they have about gender roles? How about the roles of different social classes? Different professions? This will play a huge role in how they expect
people to behave, and how they treat them.

If you find yourself having a hard time trying to decide what their values ought to be, you can take a look at Tips To Create Fictional Philosophies & Value Systems.

Who has the most power and influence in the court?

Now, stop and ask yourself who all has the most power and influence in the royal court. Obviously this is going to include the reigning monarch, but it can also include
the monarch's close friends, associates, and family members.

Ask yourself about what kind of personality and temperament the monarch bas. Are we looking at someone who enjoys a lot of pomp and pageantry, or is this someone
who has a more pragmatic, down-to-earth attitude? Does this person enjoy formal ritual, or is this seen more as unnecessary fuss? What does this person consider to be
appropriate and acceptable in tenns of fashion and behavior? What does this person consider inappropriate or disrespectful? How does this person believe that people of
unequal rank should relate to and treat each other?

Now consider who all has influence over the monarch. What are they all like? What kinds of personalities do they have? How do they think things ought to be done? How
much are they willing or able to convince the monarch of this?

While you're working this out, don't forget that their ages should be taken into account, too. Someone old enough to be a great-grandparent probably isn't going to have
the same ideals and notions as a young twenty-something, and vice-versa. Young people often want to change things to suit their own ideals, but older ones often have
things just the way they like them already, and see any further change as pointless, or even reckless.

What kind of image do they want to cultivate?

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How do they want to appear to their subjects? Are we looking at people who want to come off as fierce and stern and thus keep people too afraid to disobey them? Or are
we maybe looking at people who want to create a warm, caring image to encourage people to trust and love them? Do they want to appear traditional? Forward-thinking?
Peaceful?

Of course, the image they want to send to people doesn't necessarily have to line up with their action behaviors (how many people act like all they want is peace while
bucking for war every chance they get?), but it'll still have an impact on what they do and how they conduct things. For example, if they're concerned with looking like
they care about the poor, they might avoid wearing ostentatious garb or breaking out the golden dinner plates. If they want to seem fierce and strong, their fashion and
rituals might have a militaristic appearance. If they want to seem peaceful and intellectual, they might eschew militaristic aesthetics in favor of something softer and more
refined-looking.

Essentially, you need to ask yourself two questions here: how do they want the public to see them, and what can they do to try to look that way?

What can they afford?

With all the extravagance that royalty and nobility often surround themselves with, one might suppose that they have bottomless pockets. However, this is rarely the case.
Financing the military will take up a good chunk of their budget, as will building and maintaining fortified structures (EG, castles, military bases, and the like). They'll
probably also want to have their own transport for shuttling themselves and those who work for them to other places, whether by land, sea, air, or some other fantastic
means. They might hold lavish parties to get together and mingle with other royals and nobles, whether for fun or to try to foster goodwill. [n addition, they might be
financing exploration voyages, education, public services, religious institutions, and any number of other things.

Essentially, it's a lot easier than one might imagine for a government to run short on money, since running a country is always a costly operation. If a country is in bad
financial condition, they may wish to forgo things like having too many expensive lavish parties, insisting that everyone in the court wears a particularly expensive type of
clothing, or having scads of servants they don't actually need.

Of course, this isn't to say all royals and nobles are going to have good financial sense - they just aren't. It's perfectly plausible and likely for some of them to go on
holding lavish celebrations while the common folk are dying of starvation, or somesuch. Still, it's good to consider their financial state, and ask yourself how it might
impact what they're doing.

Also check out:

Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material
Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters
On Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments fn Your Fiction

Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Creating & Writing Fantasy Armies - Things To Keep [n Mind & Consider
Country & Culture-Development Questions
Designing Fictional Fashion: Figuring Out What Your SF Characters Wear

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to
Worldbuilding Go to
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Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments

Whether you're trying to create a fantasy kingdom or flesh out a futuristic country, this can help you figure out how to structure just about any fictional government and
determine how it should work and what kind of people should be working for its leadership.

Table of Contents
• How most types of governments are organized.
• What kind of help those in power are going to need or want.
• How people can come into power and keep it aside from law or tradition.
• In summary!

How most types of governments are organized.

Most types of governments administrate their countries using the same basic organizational structure. First, there will be a primary leadership (whether an individual, a
body, or a body headed by an individual) that manages the whole country. Under the primary leadership will be regional leaders whose jobs are to manage smaller
portions of the country (think territories, provinces, or states). Below that are people who are in charge of smaller areas yet (think counties). Then, you have people whose
job is to administrate over individual towns and cities, and if those are large enough, you might have people who manage individual areas of those. In other words, you
often have 4-5 levels of management.

The main differences between types of governments come down to three points:

1. Who can lawfully come into power.

2. How they can lawfully come into power.
3. What they can lawfully do once they get there.

The first item is defined by two things: what whoever is in charge believes makes for a fit and deserving leader, which will depend on a number of factors - which might
be any mix of fair and unfair. Here are a few examples:

• Rulers might create laws forbidding people outside of their own bloodline from ruling to try to ensure their own family's continued dominance.
• There might be laws requiring potential rulers to meet a minimum age requirement, so as to ensure that they likely have sufficient experience in politics.
• If they believe that certain groups might have undesirable or unsavory agendas, they might forbid anyone of those groups from ruling.
• A ruler who believes that leaders should be connected to the common people might create a law that requires potential leaders to travel the country and spend time
among the commoners.
• A ruler who believes that military prowess is necessary to rule well might make it law that all leaders have to serve in the army for awhile before taking the throne.

As for the second, there is of course inheritance, election, or appointment by a higher-ranking authority. Depending on what kind of culture you're creating, there are other
options, too. Perhaps potential leaders must enter some sort of competition (not necessarily a physical one!), with the winner being chosen as the next leader. Perhaps
priests are asked to appeal to higher powers to point out the best possible leader. Perhaps potential leaders have to rise through ranks by earning promotions.

For the third, in an absolute monarchy, a ruler will be able to do anything and everything without legal consequence - though there's always still risk of coups or rebellions
should the monarch be perceived as too intolerable! In constitutional governments, leaders will be be more limited. Though they may still wield some power, they are not
legally free to do whatever they please with impunity, and may even be relieved of title or office should they fail in their duties.

With all this in mind, you can build your country's administrative system up with the particulars tailored to fit the type of government you want - whether it's supposed to
be more fair or more oppressive, whether it's supposed to be an early civilization still wrought with superstition or one that has fostered rationality for ages, or whether it's
supposed to be inspired by a real place and time or if you're going for something else. (One quick note - if you are going for historical inspiration, make sure to look up
information specific to the exact place and time you're going for. You don't want to end up accidentally having your "Medieval" government do something that never
happened until the Renaissance and even then only during a very short period of time, or end up transposing some English custom into a country based on Sweden or
something.)

What kind of help those in power are going to need or want.

Leaders, whether national or local, simply aren't going to be able to get everything done on their own - they're going to need to delegate a lot of work to others.

One thing people in charge are almost certainly going to need are advisors. Exactly which types they'll need will depend on circumstance. As a general rule, if something
affects the safety and security of their jurisdiction (or if they believe it does), they'll probably want advisors on it.

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In any area where trade and commerce happens, they'll probably need economic advisors to look into and report on the state of the economy and advise on what might be
done to improve it. Heads of state will need people to look into what's going on in other countries and let them know if it might affect them negatively, and if so, what
might be done about it. They'll also likely need military advisors to report on how their own military forces are doing and where they might need improved or reinforced,
and whether they might ought to be sent to or withdrawn from somewhere. If leaders are religious, they might have people to advise them on which choices would be
most congruent with their faith. If they see religion as a stabilizing force, they might have advisors who keep an eye on and report on the state of religion.

They'll also likely need record-keepers to keep track of what goes on during official meetings, and they'll likely need treasurers to manage official finances. They might
need people who can see to it that people they work or meet with are provided with refreshments and any necessities they might need. And personal servants/assistants
who can run sundry errands for them might not be amiss, either.

On a more personal level, they might hire tutors and instructors, both for themselves and for their children, depending on what they want or think they ought to learn.
Exactly what these might be will depend on circumstance and personal preferences, of course - horse riding might be a necessity if there's no other real way to travel long
distance. rt might still be seen as a necessity in a world with alternatives if riding horses is perceived as something you just do because it's been tradition so long, or it
might just be seen as an acceptable hobby that one might or might not get into. Alternatively, someone might decide that it's totally pointless and have the kids learn
something else instead.

And of course, there might be domestic servants - anything they or their family doesn't have time for or just don't want to be bothered doing themselves, they'll likely hire
people to do for them if they can afford it. This could include cooking, cleaning, minding the children, home repair and maintenance, looking after riding animals,
managing supplies and personal finances, and so on. If they can afford it and if they are so inclined, they might also hire people for other services, such as entertainment,
making portraits, or grooming and styling.

If they're likely to get attacked, robbed, or spied on, they'll also need security. This can mean getting people to build or maintain fortifications or security systems, as well
as hiring guards.

Of course, these don't cover every possible position they might need filled, and depending on your setting some might not apply. So as you're building and developing
your setting, stop and ask yourself what the people in it might need and want, not just what people in other settings have.

It's worth noting that, depending on, they might have people who fill multiple positions. And if they don't feel it's necessary or feasible to get full-time help, they might
turn to friends and family. (After all, why hire a cook if the spouse is willing to do it and can keep up with the workload?)

And of course, there's the question of just who they're going to get to fill the various jobs and positions they need people for. For anything concerning anything
particularly important or sensitive (EG, money, security, or being in constant proximity to themselves or their valuables), they'll likely want people they feel they can
trust. This might mean running background checks, or hiring people they already know and trust for the job. In a setting where literacy is limited to the upper class, they
won't be hiring peasants for any job that requires reading or writing. (Yes, all of this this means that random peasant girls probably should not be picked to become
personal servants, even if they are pretty.) For anything else - well, it's just a matter of who is available, qualified, and probably not too likely to make a lot of trouble on
the job.

How people can come into power and keep it aside from law or tradition.

Obviously, not everyone came into power through lawful or typical means. Some took it by force, some wormed their way into it, and some just became too big a force
to ignore. Also, those who have law or tradition behind them will need more than that to maintain their power - otherwise, people might just depose them and take their
place.

The first and biggest factor is support. Anyone who hopes to come into power or to keep is going to need lots ofit or face a swift and sure trouncing. It doesn't work like
Chronicles of Riddick, where killing someone means you take over the position with no questions asked. (Any goverrunent like that would collapse in very short order!) If
some lone wolf offs the king and plops down on the throne, people aren't going to just fall in line - they're probably going to mete out whatever punishment is deemed fit
for king-murderers. Things aren't going to be any better if this lone wolf offs every possible heir, either - then you're going to get a power vacuum, which is going to
result in anyone and everyone who'd like to take over the leadership struggling for dominance until one finally comes out on top or until they all exhaust or destroy
themselves.

Here are a few ways people might gain support:

• By claiming a bloodline or divine right. If people believe that right to rule is granted by blood or divinity, this might be a way to bolster some support- even if the
current government doesn't recognize this as a legal stake to claim.
• By appealing to what the people want. Maybe it's prosperity, maybe it's security, maybe it's freedom, or maybe it's a return to spirituality. Maybe it's something
else. Either way, people are more likely to support those who promise them what they want than otherwise.
• By cultivating the right image. For example, if people are tired of the greed of the wealthy, one might instead wear simple clothes, live in a simple home, and
verbally condemn greed and conspicuous consumption.
• By producing results. Actions speak louder than words, and those who can prove themselves this way will strengthen their bonds with current supporters and may
sway those who were on the fence into full support.

Another way to come into power is to hold a monopoly on a highly-desired commodity. In such a case, one can demand nearly anything one wants in exchange for this
commodity. However, if the price is perceived as too high, one risks others getting fed up and trying to take it over for themselves.

In summary!

• Most types of governments have a very similar administrative structure - a primary leadership at the top, followed by regional leaders, then people who manage
smaller regions under that, and then people who manage towns, cities, and then possibly neighborhoods.
• There are three main differences between most types of governments: who can lawfully come into power, how they can lawfully come into power, and what they
can lawfully do once they get there.
• Leaders and rulers will need to delegate a lot of responsibility, since they can't do everything themselves. Exactly what they'll need will depend on what they think
needs done or addressed.
• Those who want to gain or keep power will need to gamer support in some way, such as by appealing to the sensibilities of the people. Holding a monopoly on a
desired commodity can be a way to gain power as well.

Also check out:

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material

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Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters

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Things Writers Need To Know About Security & Concealment
Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations
Creating & Writing Fantasy Armies - Things To Keep In Mind & Consider
Country & Culture-Development Questions
Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable Futures
Tips To Build Better Post-Apocalyptic And/Or Dystopian Settings
On Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments In Your
Fiction

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do ln Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story
Designing Fictional Fashion: Figuring Out What Your SF Characters
Wear

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to Worldbuilding
Go to a random page!

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View privacy policy.

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How To Create Fictional Structured Religions

Table of Contents
• Work out how big it is.
• Determine who leads it.
• Decide how it all started.
• Figure out what the divine powers are expected to do.
• Determine how adherents relate to the divine powers.
• Determine what the clergy is expected to do.
• Figure out how new clergy is appointed.
• Work out what the laypeople are expected to do.
• Figure out how people are supposed to join.
• Figure out what it looks like at different social stratas and in different places.
• In summary!

Work out how big it is.

A structured religion might cover a large area - EG, a whole country. In such a case, then it would be appropriate for it to have an organizational system similar to that of
a large government - IE, 4-5 levels of management. You might have a head whose job is to oversee the entire religion. Beneath that you might have people whose job it is
to oversee a fairly large region, such as a governor would oversee a state or province. Beneath that you'd have people whose job is to manage smaller regions (akin to
counties), and beneath that, you might have the people who deal with the laity directly.

Structured religions can also cover much smaller areas as well, such as perhaps a small town or a tribe. In this case, you won't have the massive hierarchal system you see
in large religions, but rather the whole thing will be run completely locally. Such a religion will most likely have much in common with neighboring religions, though it
will probably have at least some beliefs and practices peculiar unto itself.

Determine who leads it.

Thanks to Catholicism, many people are familiar with the concept of a large religion with a single head (in this case, the Pope) overseeing the whole thing. This is one
possible way to do things. It's also possible for a religion to be headed by a council. It's also possible for a religion not to have a single head or body of leadership, but be
more of a conglomerate group headed by a number of different people.

And then there's the question of how much control the government has over it. Some religions might be fairly well run by the government, with the national and religious
head being one and the same. Or it might be that the religion is lead by someone who reports to the government. And it might be that some religions have little to no
government intervention, and operate independently, or at least mostly independently. (Though people in government might still try to influence religion, or try and get
whatever religious ideas they favor promoted.)

Decide how it all started.

Whether your religion was personally handed down by the divine, developed from human effort, or a bit of both, you should put some thought into how it all came it be.

First, let's go over human-originated structured religion. Religions like these often amount to generations' worth of traditions and teachings that that are curated,
maintained, and practiced under the authority of an organization dedicated to such.

Of course, whoever sets about the task of curating their culture's traditions and teachings will likely try to keep whatever they personally agree with and might toss out a
lot they strongly disagree with, which may be a good or a bad thing depending on what ultimately makes it. While some people might tend to imagine something this as
a sort of mustache-twirling affair where someone decides which traditions are going to be the best for controlling the masses serve them, it's just as plausible for this sort
of thing to be an honest (if sometimes misguided or short-sighted) attempt to keep the true and discard the false.

This isn't to say it's absolutely impossible for someone to create a religion with the sole intent of controlling or exploiting the masses, because it certainly is possible. It's
just erroneous to assume that this is how all structured religions must originate.

Things also get really difficult if one is trying to create an all-new religious system that supplants an old one (King Akhenaten's failed attempt to force Egypt into
monotheism is a good example of this). It also doesn't work well if those trying to force a new religion onto people are perceived as enemies or oppressors. While there
have been some cases where this sort of thing has worked, it tends to involve forcing the culture to forget - EG, such as by destroying literature, killing those who could
pass on tradition, and placing children into controlled learning environments. (If you do ever intend to go this route, try and bear in mind the logistics that would be
required.)

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Now, let's move on to divinely-ordinated religions. If this is what you're doing, take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of whatever divine power handed this religion
down to mortalkind. What did this divine power hope to accomplish by establishing this religion? What does it get out of it? Why does (or did) it think these rules and
ordinances are the way to go, as opposed to anything else? Did this divine power establish rules and ordinances that actually produce the desired results, or were they
actually counterproductive in some way? If you notice a discrepancy somewhere, you'll probably want to tweak and change things - whether in the nature of the religion
or in the nature of the divinity that started it - until everything aligns.

And remember, even if the adherents of the religion never fully understand the nature of the divine force that created it, you, the author, should. Otherwise, you risk
undermining the credibility of your own narrative when people eventually catch on to the fact that the divine force in your story is nothing more than a device to execute
the author's whims. (And trying to claim that the divine is "too far beyond mortal comprehension to understand!" isn't a good way to go, either, because all you're really
doing is asking people to please ignore the man behind the curtain.)

Figure out what the divine powers are expected to do.

Unless you're creating a religion that doesn't have any gods (ala Buddhism), this is a majorly important step because just about everything that follows will ultimately tie
back into this. So stop and put some thought into what exactly the divine powers are supposed to do in related to their worshipers. Some examples include:

• Looking after their worshipers' personal needs or daily lives.

• Helping worshipers out with particular issues they specialize in.
• Saving them from some sort of threat, whether real or imagined.
• Being placated into withholding punishment.

Optimally, the religions you create for your setting will incorporate some mix of the above (and with emphasis on each quality proportioned differently between different
religions in your setting), as it will help them feel more natural and realistic.

Once you've gotten at least some idea of how this is all supposed to work, you're ready to move on!

Determine how adherents relate to the divine powers.

Are adherents, whether clergy or laypeople, expected to essentially serve the divine in some way? If so, how? Or is more a system where they're expected to pay their
respects with occasional displays of fealty or offerings of gifts? Or are they expected to have a more reciprocal system, where if they do or give something to the divine,
the divine gives something back? Or is it a mix of some or all these elements?

Determine what the clergy is expected to do.

Most structured religions will involve clergy- people appointed to positions of managing the religion and its adherents. The exact duties the clergy will need to perform
can vary depending on the exact beliefs and needs of the religion. Here are a few examples of what they might do:

Relating to laypeople:
• Teaching others the beliefs and laws of the religion.
• Giving personalized religious guidance/council to others.
• Conducting religious ceremonies and rites.
• Petitioning the divine for blessings.
• Petitioning the divine for protection or relief from malevolent forces.
• Settling disputes on matters covered by religious law.
• Making sure people have necessities (EG, food, shelter, etc.).
• Making and keeping historical records.

Relating to managing the religion:

• Detennining and setting religious policy - EG, how and when it's appropriate or right to do what, or exactly how a particular issue ought to be handled.
• Preserving and recording laws, traditions, scriptures, etc.
• Maintaining the religion's records and doing its bookkeeping.
• Training new clergy.
• Appointing new clergy.

(Note that structured religions can also have people who fill some of these roles without being considered clergy as such - they may simply be volunteers, or they may
have studied the religion's traditions enough to be considered authorities on them. However, as they are still laypeople, they probably won't perform any function that
would require them to act as an intermediary to the divine.)

As a general rule, if they believe that it's connected to the divine, or if they believe the divine has some sort of mandate about it, the clergy might manage or cover it. For
example, in an agrarian society where people consider celestial objects to be divine bodies, priests might be trained in astronomy so as to inform people of when to plant
their crops and the like. In a society where people believe that laws were handed down by the gods or that the gods ought always be approached in legal matters, clergy
might also serve as lawyers.

If you have a large-scale (IE, nationwide or larger) religion, it might be structured similarly to a large government - a central authority that oversees the whole thing,
followed by those who manage smaller regions and so forth.

The clergy of a large-scale religion might also be more generalized than the clergy of a smaller one. For example, where a clergy member of a smaller religion might tend
a large number of events and issues that are expected some clerical intervention - say, life milestones (EG, birth, marriage, and death), sorting out communal disputes,
etc., in a larger religion, there might be different people for these different functions - those who conduct rites for the deceased might be a separate class of clergy from
those who take care of communal issues.

Another thing to consider is whether members of the clergy are paid for their duties. If they aren't paid, then they'll need day jobs to support themselves. If they are paid,
then who pays them? Are they given money by the laypeople directly, perhaps? Or are they funded by a sponsor (for example, the government)?

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Figure out how new clergy is appointed.

ln many traditions, one can choose to become a clergy member and study for the job. But this need not always be the case (it's certainly not always the case in real life).
Perhaps your clergy are personally appointed by the divine through a mystical experience. Perhaps they are chosen through ritual. Perhaps they are chosen through
bloodline. Perhaps they're selected by a council. Perhaps it's some blend of the above.

So bearing in mind the overall nature of the religion and its divine powers (or lack thereof, if that's the way you're going), put some thought into what might be the most
likely approach and go from there.

Work out what the laypeople are expected to do.

As with anything else, what the laypeople - the everyday followers of religion - are expected to do can differ between religions, so you'll need to put some thought into the
particulars of yours. Here are some examples of what they might be expected to do:

• Attend public religious functions, and depending on their nature, participate in them.
• Attend religious festivals.
• Attend educational/instructional events (lE, where priests teach the laypeople traditions and religious laws).
• Volunteer assistance to the clergy at times.
• Donate goods and/or money to the clergy.

Another thing that can variate is how much pressure there is on people to do what's expected of them, and what sort of pressure it is. For example, it's possible that people
who fail to donate to the clergy might face some sort of legal repercussion, or they might just be considered selfish and greedy by their society.

Also ask yourself, how many functions are laypeople expected to attend? Are there many of them, or are they relatively few? (And don't forget, the more time-consuming
rites and functions are, the less time people will have for other things - so try to keep in mind what their schedules and duties would realistically permit.) And what role do
laypeople play in them? What do these functions mean to them? What are they supposed to get out of it?

Figure out how people are supposed to join.

Many people aren't too familiar with bow religions gain new members beyond how it's usually done in Christian sects, and many assume that's how it's always done.
Many people also assume that all religions are looking to expand. But both assumptions are false, and there are many ways these things can go.

For tribal or national faiths, where the divine is supposed to look after its members, simply being born to a member may be all it takes - because you're part of the group,
the deities are supposed to consider you one of theirs by default. In such cultures, the concept of conversion might not even exist - either you're a member of the culture
and you honor its patron deities, or you're not a member and you don't. ln fact, the idea of conversion may be seen as downright bizarre to members, because shouldn't
outsiders have their own deities to watch over them? It can also happen that they believe that their divine is the only real true divine - but still have no concept of
conversion simply because they believe their gods just aren't interested in other people.

More open belief systems might not actually have a concept of "conversion," either. One might not be expected to pledge oneself to follow its divinities so much as just
start paying respects to it, if one wants its favors and blessings. It might also happen that some choose to dedicate themselves to serve the divine or a particular god, but
this would more likely be seen as an optional and personal choice, much as joining a convent or monastery might be.

And of course, some faiths might involve an actual initiation ceremony as a matter of course, where all new members are ritually and formally brought into the fold. The
particulars of what it involves should relate to what the religion is about and may involve actions or objects that are considered symbolic of that. Think about the character
and symbology of the religion you're developing, and ask yourself what they might go with based on that.

Figure out what it looks like at different social stratas and in different places.

Huge, lavish churches and richly-decorated robes are probably going to be the domain of very wealthy metropolitan regions, whereas those who live in smaller, rural areas
you'll probably see smaller and simpler fare. Relatively few people might personally know the clergy in a big city, but in a small town where everyone knows everyone, it
might be another matter. People in rural areas might also incorporate their own folk beliefs and legends, and depending on how much contact they have with a central
authority, they might have some pretty significant differences from their urban counterparts.

Another thing to consider is that if the religion is polytheistic, people might worship different deities in different places. For example, farmers might honor deities who
relate to agriculture, but those who live in large cities might be more likely to focus on deities who relate to business and prosperity. So if this is what you're doing, put
some thought into what sort of dieties are going to be most relevant to whom.

In summary!

• Work out the size of the religion - whether it's large, small, or somewhere between. lf it's large, it might be structured and operated something like a large
government, with 4-5 tiers of management.
• Determine who leads it. Is it essentially government run, or is it independent? Does it have one leader, or a body of leaders, or does it have many?
• Decide how it started. Did it start through human effort, or was it divine in origin? Or some blend?
• Decide what the divine powers are supposed to do, if they exist. What are they supposed to do for (or refrain from doing to) adherents?
• Determine how adherents relate to the divine powers - are they expected to serve them, or just show them respect, or is it a more reciprocal system where offerings
are made in exchange for help? Or is it a mix of some kind?
• Decide what jobs and functions clerics are expected to perform, and whether they're more generalized or specialized in their duties.
• Decide how new clergy is appointed - whether through choosing to study and become clergy, or divine appointment, or some other means.
• Work out what laypeople are expected to do, and what their roles in the religion and its practices are.
• Figure out whether it allows new members to join or not, and if so, how and just what that all entails.

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You might also like:

Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition
Tips To Create Fictional Philosophies & Value Systems

Random Deity Generator

Deity-Development Questions
Random Holiday Generator
Holiday Development Questions

Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material
Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments

How Good People & Well-Intentioned Groups Can Go Bad

Things About Cults Writers Need To Know

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A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Plants & Herbs

This page contains infonnation that's potentially useful writers in a number of ways - such as to give worldbuilders some things to consider and incorporate when
designing their own fictional herbs and plants, to clear up some misconceptions that many people have about real ones, and to point out a few things that could add some
drama or be spun into a plot. So whatever you're trying to do, there might be something useful for you here!

Why different plants look the way they do. A plant's appearance is shaped by the environs it developed in and the pressures it faced. For example, plants that live in
bright light often have light-colored leaves to reflect unneeded sunlight while plants that live in shadier areas have darker leaves to absorb as much light as they can get.
Plants in dry areas tend to have smaller, thinner leaves to help reduce water loss, while plants in moist areas often have larger leaves. Plants adapted to desert
environments are often much smaller than those adapted for tropical environments. Many plants develop thorns to keep predators from munching them with wild abandon.
This site has an overview of how plants can be adapted to different environments, which can be very useful if you're trying to design your own fictional plants. Likewise,
you might also ask yourself what type of environment you're designing for, then do some general research into what real-life plants that live in similar environments look
like.

The difference between annuals, biennials, and perennials. An annual plant does not live beyond a single year - it grows, flowers, seeds, and dies within a matter of
several months. Biennials spend one year growing, then flower and seed the next year, and then die. Perennials live longer than two years. Some plants, such as
tomatoes, are actually perennials in their native environments but are grown as annuals elsewhere. (Tomatoes will live indefinitely in a warm environment, but cannot
tolerate frost or cold winters.)

That flowers and fruits typically have limited and short seasons. In some works of fiction, you'll find characters picking flowers or harvesting fruits at any time of the
year. However, the reality is that most plants have a season for flowering or bearing ripe fruit that will only last a few days to a few weeks. Apple trees, for example,
bloom in early spring and spend the spring and summer developing their fruits. Depending on the species, the fruits will typically be ripe come late summer to early
autumn. If the fruits are not picked, they'll drop from the tree in a few weeks. Likewise, wild roses will typically bloom for a few weeks, then stop and develop their fruit
(rose hips) which will be mature later. This means that if your characters are picking apples or admiring wild roses just any time of the year, something's definitely wrong.

There are a few exceptions; some tomato varieties, for example, will set flowers and fruit indefinitely once they begin. Domesticated roses might flower until cold
weather sets in. But plants like these are the exception rather than the rule (and are usually highly domesticated), so make sure you check and make sure that the fruit or
flower you're writing about is in fact in season if you're not sure already.

That plants have many different means of reproduction. Some plants are pollinated by the wind (and do not usually have showy flowers) while others rely on insects
and other small animals (and often have showy flowers to attract them). Some plant species produce both pollen and ova; some plant species only produce one or the
other. Some plants reproduce by growing out roots or vines away from the original plant that develops into a new plant - which they may or may not do in addition to
producing seeds. Ferns reproduce via spore-producing fronds. If you're looking to design your own fictional plants, you might take a look into the various ways plants
reproduce for inspiration.

That different plants start growing at different times of the year. Not every plant begins its growth cycle in spring; some begin in summer or even in the autumn. By
having different growth and reproduction schedules, plants can avoid competing with each other.

That introducing new plants into an area can cause a lot of trouble. Plants that are introduced to a new area can potentially become invasive, pushing out native
species and disrupting local ecosystems. There's a number of ways that plants get brought into a new area: they might be introduced by people who plant them for
decoration, food, or other use; or they might end up accidentally being carried in with other things (EG, other seeds).

That most of the food plants you're used to have been domesticated. Anyone trying to forage for wild bounty isn't too likely to come across anything that looks like
what you'd find in a supermarket. The fruits and vegetables you're used to eating have been selectively bred for a variety of traits, including larger size, smaller seeds,
fewer thorns, and better taste. Wild bananas and maize are good examples of this.

That plants have all kinds of ways to protect themselves. You already know about thorns, which discourage predators from eating them. And of course, many plants
produce toxins and many just taste terrible. But many plants actually biochemically communicate with others so that they can prepare their natural defenses (think an
immune system response) against certain threats.

That anyone trying to grow or forage for food can expect bugs. Anything that's tasty and nutritious to you is tasty and nutritious to a bug. Someone harvesting wild
greens for consumption, for example, can expect to have to chow down on at least a few leaves that the bugs have nibbled on first. Fruits plucked from the wild might
have been nibbled on already, or might even have insects (usually larvae) of some kind burrowed inside of them. Edible plants that one attempts to grow are definitely
going to attract hungry bugs, and those are going to have to be contended with one way or another to prevent ruination of the crop - whether through poisons, traps, or
barriers.

That over-harvesting a wild plant can endanger it or even drive it to extinction. It's happened before - for example, one herb that ancient Romans used for birth
control was driven to extinction by over-harvest. Over-harvest is still a serious problem today, perpetrated both by natural health companies and by private foragers. In
order to keep a population safe and healthy, care must be taken that it's harvested sustainably.

That "herbal" does not mean "safe." Many people are under the impression that ifa remedy is "herbal," then it's completely safe. In reality, many medicinal plants are
only safe in controlled quantities. Should these quantities be exceeded, illness, injury, or even death can be a very real possibility. Furthennore, it's also possible for herbal

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supplements to interact with conventional drugs and cause problems. Also worth noting is that many herbal supplements have turned out to be contaminated and in many
cases commercial herbal supplements contain little, if any of the herbs they're supposed to contain.

That cooking plant foods is sometimes a necessity. Some people have a romantic notion that plants are the most nutritious in their natural states and that cooking is the
worst thing anyone can ever do to them. In reality, cooking plants is sometimes the only way to remove dangerous toxins from them. Kidney beans and lima beans are
good examples of this.

Also worth noting is that while cooking can destroy some nutrients, research shows that it can actually increase the amount of others. Plus, it makes them easier to digest
- which can be pretty crucial for a sick person who doesn't have a lot of energy to spare on digestion.

That some plants are only safe to eat at certain times. Some plants are only safe to eat when young, as they'll take on dangerous toxins as they mature. Some fruits
(such as the lY.chee) are toxic before they ripen.

That dangerous lookalikes are out there. Sometimes a very toxic plant looks very much like a safe one, so it's easy for relatively inexperienced foragers to accidentally
poison themselves. This page has some examples.

That sometimes, only parts of the plant are safe to eat. Rhubarb is a good example - the leaf stems are perfectly safe and tasty, but the actual leaves themselves contain
high amounts of oxalic acid, which can cause illness if consumed in large quantities. Likewise, the flesh of fruits like apricots, peaches, and cherries are safe enough, but
the pits contain hydrogen cyanide, which can be dangerous.

(But on this note, it's important to remember that the dose makes the poison: many edible plants contain certain amounts chemicals that would be dangerous in larger
quantities but can be handled safely in small amounts. So anyone who claims that some popular vegetable item is actually harmful and toxic because of some toxic
substance it contains should be taken with a grain of salt.)

That some plants commonly believed to he toxic actually aren't. For example, it's often believed that the tops of carrots are toxic, but it isn't actually so. Likewise,
black nightshade (a different plant from deadly nightshade) bears fruit that is eaten by many. So before using some plant or other as a deadly poison in your stories, you
might want to double-check and make sure you've got your facts right!

That mushrooms aren't plants. They're fungi, and they're actually more closely related to the animal kingdom than to the plant kingdom.

That vines are not as useful as some think they are. You often see characters using vines as if they're interchangeable with ropes, but they are not. Vines are still
plant stems, which means that they are still prone to breaking when bent too far - just try actually tying a vine the same way you'd tie a rope, and you can be guaranteed
that it will snap. Also, vines aren't actually good for swinging on.

You might also like:

Random Plant Generator

Plant, Herb, & Flower Name Generator

Points To Remember When Designing SF Creatures & Species

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Things Writers Should Know About Animal Behavior

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Country & Culture Development Questions

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Points To Remember When Designing SF Creatures & Species

Just some things to keep in mind when you're creating creatures for your science fiction or fantasy settings, so as to make your settings feel richer and your creatures feel
more believable.

Things are the way they are in nature for a reason. When you're designing a fantastic species, it might be tempting to throw out all natural conventions and design
something completely different for the sake of being unique. But if you want your species to be plausible, you first need to understand why real-life species are the way
they are lest you alter something so drastically that your species would realistically have little to no chance of survival in a real ecosystem. So take some time to research
and learn why real-life animals are the way they are or were so you don't end up accidentally making a lifeform that by all rights should have gone extinct - or should have
never even evolved in the first place.

Conversely, researching real-life animals (both living and extinct) is a great way to get an idea of what species that do the things yours are supposed to do might plausibly
be like. For example, if you're trying to create an ambush predator, look into how various ambush predators look and how their bodies are structured. Also take note of
what you do not see in real ambush predators, because there's probably a reason for that, too. So whatever creature you're creating, look into similar ones to get an idea of
how they work.

The purpose of DNA is to make more DNA. So whatever cool feature or nifty ability you might be considering for a given species, ask yourself: "How does it make this
species more likely to survive long enough to reproduce, given the conditions it lives in?" Go this route, and you'll be more likely to end up with a plausible species than
otherwise.

(And while we're here, this is why the claim that humans only use ten percent of their brains is so patently absurd. Why would humanity have developed all of this brain
power in the first place when it can obviously get on just fine without using it? Why waste so much energy and nutrients supporting so much body tissue that isn't even
going to be used?)

Also, even if your species doesn't use DNA to reproduce, the same principle applies as long as the rules of natural selection apply to your setting or species - and the rules
of natural selection always apply if your species reproduces in any way (EG, vampires turning humans into new vampires counts as reproduction), and if there is any
chance of the offspring coming out with slightly different features from the parent or parents.

There is absolutely such a thing as being too successful. For example, a species that has no difficulty finding and acquiring its food, reproduces prolifically, and has an
extremely low death rate compared to anything else is very likely going to eventually proliferate to the point where it destroys the very resources it needs to survive soon
after die out from starvation - unless it's cognizant enough to realize that it has to carefully manage what it does so as to avoid this kind of disaster.

Beware of the "fish in the forest" fallacy. This is a trap occasionally fallen into by designers of speculative future animals - someone might take, for example, an aquatic
animal and plop it into a dry environment with few changes to its body plan and/or with no regard to how similar aquatic creatures adapted to life on land. Fish did take
to a completely terrestrial lifestyle once - by becoming reptiles, birds, mammals, etc. Thus it's likely that any other fish that took to the land would end up just as
different from the fish still living in the water as these creatures are. Ifit was so easy to live as a "fish in the forest," the fishy ancestors of these creatures would not have
needed to change so drastically, and thus would already be the proverbial fish in the forests. Meanwhile, actual animals that didn't change very much from their fully-
aquatic forms when adapting to land - EG, snails and terrestrial isopods - must still live in fairly moist environments.

The same principles go for any animals whose ancestors have adapted to any vastly different environment. Look at the ones who have done it (preferably as many species
as you can) and take into account the changes it took to make it possible.

Life stages do not universally follow the same proportionate lengths across species. It's commonly believed that if a species lives for a very long time, then it must
also take a very long time to mature. But this is false. Macaws can live just as long as humans do, but take only three to four years to reach sexual maturity. The
seventeen year cicada, as its name implies, takes just that long to reach adulthood - and then dies after a few months. A cat reaches sexual maturity in about a year, but
can live for an average of fifteen - if the average human lifespan was proportionate to this, then they would be living well around two hundred years. For more
information on what does affect lifespan, this is a good page on it.

If you're building up an entire ecosystem, don't forget the microfauna! It's sometimes easy to get focused on creating the large, majestic-looking animals that one
forgets the little things, too - the creatures that fill the same ecological niches as small rodents, songbirds, arthropods, etc.

And don't forget the aquatic animals! It happens sometimes that people end up richly developing everything on land, but overlook what's going on down in the water.
Realistically, aquatic animals should be just as varied and diverse as anything on land.

Don't forget your species' close relatives! If your species evolved via natural selection, then it should realistically have - or have had - close relatives out there. For
example, consider bats. There isn't just one bat and one bat alone, but there are many different kinds of bats of all shapes and sizes that live in different climates and eat
different foods. Same goes for just about any type of animal you can think of - so when you're designing animals, keep this in mind.

Run some thought experiments. Did you come up with a predator that hunts using an unusual method? Imagine how an encounter between your predator and its prey
might go down, considering that the prey very much does not want to be eaten and will be doing everything it can to get away. Did you come up with a creature that has
an unusual defense mechanism? Imagine that creature using it against a predator that wants very much to eat it. If your creature ends up losing out, what you had in mind
might not be such a great idea.

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The tail of land vertebrates is simply an extension of the spine. You can see for yourself how this works by looking up pictures of cat skeletons, dog skeletons, bird
skeletons, etc. This also means that if you want to put a tail on a humanoid, the correct thing to do is to visualize what this humanoid would look like if its spine didn't
stop right above the buttocks, but went on past it instead.

Realistically, human/animal hybrids should not have two sets of pinnae (external ears). Although some mammals may have pinnae that are set higher up on the head
than those of humans', the ear canals themselves are always in more or less the same location as humans' are - below the level of the eye sockets and just behind the
jawbone. You can see this for yourself in the skulls of various animals here. (For information on the hearing of aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins, go here.) And
while we're at it, a second set of ears would imply a second jaw, as the bones of the inner ear are modified jaw bones.

If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Things Writers Should Know About Animal Behavior
Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development Questions

Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs

Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story
Things Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Should Know About Science

Fantasy/Mythical Animal Generator

External Resources

Evolution: 24 Myths And Misconceptions

Understanding Evolution@ Berkeley University
How To Create A Scientifically Plausible Alien Lifefonn
The Desert Adaptations of Birds & Mammals
Antarctic Animal Adaptations
Winter Adaptations Of
Animals Rainforest Animal
Adaptations

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Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species

Whether you're looking to create aliens to fill your space opera galaxy with, or trying to figure out what kind of subspecies of arks you need, or trying to develop an SF
world from the ground up, here are some things to keep in mind when creating science fiction and fantasy creatures.

Table of Contents
• Remember, you're creating creatures for y_our world, not someone else's.
• Give your creature the right equipment for the job it's supposed to do, and let your creature use its equipment right.
• Everything about your creature's physiology should exist for a reason.
• Ask yourself what environmental and ecological impacts your creature would have in the world around it.
• Keep in mind: If there was ever a "perfect" lifefonn, it probably wouldn't be what you think it would be.

Remember, you're creating creatures for your world, not someone else's.

lfthe first thing going through your mind is "I want it to be like X book I've read because that book was awesome!" stop. Think about what made that book enjoyable to
you. Some of the most enjoyable books are enjoyed because they brought you something you bad never seen before, not because they repeated what another writer had
already done.

Rather than borrowing someone else's finished SF species to use as a template, start with a blank slate and add things on as they make sense in the context of your world,
not as you think they would be cool to have. Alternatively, if something strikes you as cool to have, stop and ask yourself whether it makes sense in the context of your
world, or whether it needs adjusted or modified to fit, or whether it doesn't make any sense at all and should be discarded entirely.

For example, ifI'm trying to create a world where my elves are A: inspired by actual myths and legends, and B: more or less supposed to follow laws and principles of
real-life biology, then there's no sense in shoehorning other peoples' elf races (eg, night elves, dark elves, moon elves, etc) into my world - I'm making my world, not
theirs. This means that not only can things be different, but they also should - the tone and style I'm trying to set will always trump what anyone else thinks "should" be in
a fantasy or sci-fi world.

Give your creature the right equipment for the job it's supposed to do, and let your creature use its equipment right.

Some people want their fantasy creatures to behave in a certain way, and so they give them these behaviors - failing to check whether the behaviors even make sense
given the biological tools and body plan of the creature in question.

For example, in a lot of popular fiction, vampires are depicted as using their fangs as primary weapons much as a big cat would - they pounce their victims or enemies and
take a strategically-placed chomp and once they do that, the fight's pretty much over. ln reality, this would be a horrible strategy for most vampires, especially in combat
with anything of equivalent physical strength, or even anything that would realistically flail and scream. Big cats have huge mouths and fangs, and their bodies are shaped
in such a way that their momentum is well-focused on their heads when they attack. But most vampires follow the basic human body template, and the human mouth is
pathetically tiny in comparison while the shape of the human body does not lend well to putting force into the mouth and bite. Unless your vampires also have secondary
shapeshifting powers to make their mouths a whole lot bigger and positioned better, their fangs shouldn't even come into play until the victim is already subdued, or as a
last resort against a convenient target in a grapple. Deliberately putting your entire face into an enemy that's fighting back at the same time doesn't do so well for your
situational awareness.

The primary weapons of the human body are the hands and feet - which means that any vampire with a lick of sense would do something like... oh, up and kick the
pouncer's pretty pointy teeth in.

Remember, real-life creatures have the behaviors they do for a reason. While giving humanoid creatures unhumanish behaviors can be a great way to invoke the uncanny
valley effect or make them seem more alien, you also need to ask yourself if the behavior would actually help or hinder with the body plan the creature bas.

Everything about your creature's physiology should exist for a reason.

In the real world, no feature or body part exists without a reason. Everything either serves a purpose, or is a vestigial remnant of something that served a purpose for its
ancestors.

In a world where creatures lack eyes, features such as camouflage or warning colors would have no reason to develop in the first place. If peafowl were sightless,
peacocks would not have their magnificent tail feathers because there would be no point - they serve as a visual cue to the peahens that the peacock is a healthy and fit
mating specimen. A creature that doesn't or never lactated to feed its young would have no reason to have teats.

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And remember - creatures don't evolve to handle hypothetical scenarios; they evolve to handle ones that already exist. Evolution is driven by natural selection, which is to
say that those that are best-suited to the environment are the most likely to produce the next generation.

For example, let's say we have some sort of rodent that feeds primarily on beetles, and most beetles around hide down in small rocky spots. Tfthe smallest rodents are
the most capable of finding these beetles because they can fit into places that larger ones cannot, then the smaller ones will survive to produce small offspring, and thus
natural selection will select for smallness. But if circumstances change - say, a new non-burrowing species of beetle moves in while dropping temperatures make the
area inhospitable for burrowing beetles - then large rodents might be selected for if their larger bodies keep them from losing heat as quickly as their smaller relatives
and/or make it easier to catch non-burrowing beetles. And just as easily, the environment could go back to favoring the smaller rodents. The advantage of one
generation can be the undoing of another.

(And just a quick note - creatures do not have to die from unnatural causes or starvation to be removed from the gene pool; all they simply have to do is fail to breed
before they die. Also, in eusocial and semi-eusocial organisms, having non-breeders can be an advantage, as they can contribute to the survival of the group as a whole
without worrying about tending its own offspring.)

Ask yourself what environmental and ecological impacts your creature would have in the world around it.

As detailed in Common Plotholes In Vampire Fiction, people often don't really consider the realistic impacts that their SF creatures would have on the world around them.
To summarize, the volume of animals and/or people killed by vampires in works such as Twilight and The Vampire Chronic/es would have a significant impact on the
world, but neither of these works acknowledge or address this.

Fantasy writers often throw in huge dragons without regard to the fact that we're dealing with enormous apex predators. If anything, the existence of giant dragons would
demand the need for giant prey. If you're putting huge dragons into your world, does your world have the kind of prey it would take to support them?

Christopher Paolini unwittingly doomed many of his dragons to very cruel fates in Eragon when he declared that dragons were immortal and they never stop growing. If
this were true, the dragons would require ever-increasing amounts of food until it became impossible to feed them - and the dragon would then have to either starve to
death or be put down to keep it from eating everybody's livestock and/or completely destroying the ecology.

Also, a rule of thumb in biology is that when two species that fill the same ecological niche live in the same area, the fitter species will eventually outcompete the other
for resources, which means that the other will go extinct or adapt to fill a different niche. So, let's say that you have dragons as a successful apex predator in your world.
To make them fit into your world, you have to pick one of the following scenarios:

• They don't compete with other apex predators (eg, tigers, lions, wolves) because they feed on different prey.
• They don't compete with other apex predators because they live in different parts of the world/different ecosystems.
• They do compete with other apex predators, and their competition is going extinct or adapting.
• They do compete with other apex predators, and they're going extinct or adapting.
• They don't compete with other apex predators, because the others have already gone extinct or adapted.

The same rule goes for humanoid species, too - if humans and elves essentially fill the same ecological niche and have to compete for resources, then one or the other is
eventually going to lose out.

Keep in mind: If there was ever a "perfect" lifeform, it probably wouldn't be what you think it would be.

Many people, when thinking of"perfect" or "superior" organisms, tend to think in tenns of"something that could easily kill a human in a one-on-one unanned fight" or
"easily able to destroy human civilization without breaking a sweat." In reality, physical might and combat ability are only one of any number of potential factors that
factor into bow fit an organism actually is.

First, it's not about the survival of the individual - it's about the survival of the species. A tiger might be able to easily defeat a single unarmed human in a one-on-one
fight, but when humans are in their natural state - banded together and armed with tools of their own devising - tigers quickly wash out. Compare with the "vermin"
animals - rats, mice, cockroaches, etc. These creatures haven't simply survived humans invading their habitats and trying to kill them - they've thrived. Thus, vennin are
actually much closer to "perfect" than tigers!

A vampire species that subsists on human blood would not be "superior" to humans, even if they were stronger, faster, etc. While said vampire is an apex predator that
preys on humans, they would never be able to supplant humans or fill their ecological niche - in fact, without humans, they'd go extinct. A kaiju-type species that only
reproduces every thousand years wouldn't be superior to humans if humans were able to gang up on it and take it down, then basically wipe out the species in a series of
relative zerg swarms on the kaiju critters.

Hypothetically, a "perfect" lifeforrn would be one that is already capable of handling every possible situation or scenario that could ever possibly exist, up to and
including habitat invasion or destruction from other species (including humans). And in the real world, that isn't too likely, especially since the tradeoffs a species makes
that enables it to survive one scenario (eg, evolving flippers from legs to swim better) can make it more difficult to survive a different one (eg, a lack of water to swim
in).

In the end, a species' ability to successfully replicate and avoid extinction is the only measure of how successful or "superior" that species is.

If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development

Questions Things Writers Should Know About Animal
Behavior
Tricks & Tips For Creating Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Other SF Names
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems

Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery

Worlds Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable
Futures Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
On Worldbuilding A Magical Setting

Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story

Spaceships, Airships, & Other Fantastic Crafts: Things To Think Out & Consider
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Creating Plausibly Functional & Useful Tools, Gadgets, & Weapons For Fiction

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External Resources

Evolution: 24 Myths And Misconceptions

Understanding Evolution@ Berkeley University
How To Create A Scientifically Plausible Alien Lifefonn
The Desert Adaptations of Birds & Mammals
Antarctic Animal Adaptations
Winter Adaptations Of Animals
Rainforest Animal Adaptations

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please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development Questions

Questions to help you better think out and develop your fantasy and science fiction creatures. For more resources, check out the links at the bottom of the page.

• If applicable, what did it evolve from? What is the creature's total evolutionary history?
• What environmental forces and pressures caused it to evolve into the form it has now?
• What vestigial features does it have? What did its ancestors use them for in the past?
• What tradeoffs has it made in its evolutionary history?
• What might it evolve into in the near-ish future, given the general way things are currently going?
• What does it eat? Does it have a wide diet, or a narrow one? How does it find food?
• What does it prefer to eat? What kinds of things will it generally only eat in times of shortage?
• What does it compete with for food, water, territory, and resources in general?
• What impact does its behaviors have on the environment?
• What creatures prey on it? Parasites? Large predators? Carrion feeders?
• How does it defend itself against predators?
• How does it hide or conceal itself when it needs to?
• How has its prey (plant, animal, otherwise) developed to resist or defend against it?
• How does it communicate with members of its own species? Members of other species?
• How, when, and why does it interact with other members of its own species? What are its behaviors like when dealing with young? With adults?
• If it's a social species, how do they structure and organize? Do all members breed, or are some members non-breeders that contribute to the group in other ways?
• How does it reproduce? How often? How many offspring will it usually have at once? How many offspring will it usually have over the course of its lifetime?
• How long does it take to reach reproductive age?
• How long is its average lifespan? How long is its potential lifespan? How often do the creatures reach the end their potential lifespan, if they ever do?
• If applicable, how does it let others know it's ready to reproduce? What all do courtship and mating entail?
• Does it look after its offspring at all? If so, how much, and for how long?
• What is the mortality rate of its offspring? What percentage can be expected to reach adulthood?
• What diseases does it most frequently suffer from? Which of these are the most dangerous?
• What are its physical vulnerabilities? Which parts of its body are most prone to injury? Why?
• What are the most common causes of death among its species? Why?
• What are its strongest senses? What are its weakest senses? Why?
• Which living species are most closely related to this species? What are they like? How do they differ?
• If applicable, how do populations of this species differ across different geological locations, biomes, climates, etc.?

Also, you might find helpful:

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Things Writers Should Know About Animal Behavior
Tricks & Tips For Creating Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Other SF Names
Country & Culture Development Questions

External Resources

Evolution: 24 Myths And Misconceptions

Understanding Evolution@ Berkeley University
How To Create A Scientifically Plausible Alien Lifefonn
The Desert Adaptations of Birds & Mammals
Antarctic Animal Adaptations
Winter Adaptations Of Animals
Rainforest Animal Adaptations

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please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Deity-Development Questions

Questions to help you develop better gods, goddesses, and deities of indeterminate gender for your world's pantheons and mythologies.

• Is the deity concerned with mortal morality, or even mortal action in general? If so, how much?
• How does the deity prefer to be honored/worshiped?
• Does the deity demand offerings? If so, what kind of offerings and when?
• lfthe deity interacts with people, does xe do so directly or indirectly? Why?
• Ts it necessary to be a certain type of person to become a follower of this deity- eg, be a certain sex or belong to a specific tribe or culture?
• How does one become a follower of this deity? ls a simple declaration of faith sufficient, or is an initiation ceremony required?
• Does this deity offer any kind of afterlife to xir followers? If so, what is it like? Ts it conditional or unconditional?
• How does the deity feel about people who don't worship/honor/follow xir?
• Does the deity demand exclusive worship from followers? Or does xe prefer it, but tolerate the worship of other deities? Or does xe have no preference on the
matter?
• Which deities or higher beings are this deity's greatest rivals, and why? How much of a threat do they pose?
• Which deities or higher beings are this deity's greatest allies, and why? How much of an advantage do they give?
• ls this deity responsible (or believed to be responsible) for creating or inventing anything?
• Are any animals or plants sacred to this deity? Why?
• Are any places sacred to this deity? Why?
• Ts anything else sacred to this deity? Why?
• Does your diety have any favorite foods, activities, etc? What are they?
• Are there any holidays dedicated to this deity? If so, how are they celebrated?
• When did mortals first become aware of this deity? How did it happen?
• How has this deity's popularity changed over time? Why has it changed?
• Ts the deity married? To whom? What does xir spouse or spouses do?
• ls the diety a parent? To whom? What does xir child/children do?
• Does the deity have any other family? What are they like? What do they do?
• What acheivements or deeds is this deity most loved for doing? Why did xe do them?
• What deeds has this deity committed that are considered immoral or reprehensible? Why did xe do them?
• What traits, actions, or deeds does the deity find desirable or worthy of reward? Why?
• What traits, actions, or deeds does the deity find undesirable or worthy of punishment? Why?

Also, check out:

Random Deity Generator

Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Country & Culture-Development Questions
Tips & Ideas To Make Better & More Interesting Powers

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief
Systems

Table of Contents
• You need a few good stories - though they don't need to explain or account for everything in the universe.
• Things that its original adherents encounter or place value upon are more likely to have significance or explanations than things that are unheard of or worthless.
• It should appeal to peoples' sense of goodness in some way.
• Adherents should have differences of opinion.
• Religions and religious beliefs are remarkably resilient, and people don't necessarily abandon them just because part of it is proven to be false or questionable.
• If you're creating a polytheistic system, don't make the deities one-dimensional archetypes.
• Don't be afraid to step out of dualism.
• Don't be afraid to step out of every other box, either.

You need a few good stories - though they don't need to explain or account for everything in the universe.

Basically, the first step to creating a believable religion is to create a series of connected stories with a central theme that people would find compelling - EG, freedom
from slavery, living in peace and harmony, or showing courage or faith in the face of adversity, or why you shouldn't sass the gods. (It doesn't hurt to have a little of all of
these show up in various stories, either.)

The more detail you add, the more believable it will be to the audience, whether they intend to believe it or not. Cosmology (bow the world got here, how it came to be
the way it is, where it's going, how it's going to end, and all that fun stuff) is an easy way to add a large amount of detail with minimal effort.

Remember, while detail is good, a religion's cosmology doesn't need to account for or explain everything - it just needs enough to support its own stories and to inspire
faith in the unseen. (Most religions get along perfectly well without explaining black holes, nuclear fission, or baking soda, after all.)

So what makes for a good story? Let's take Zechariah Sitcben's "translations" of ancient Sumerian texts for example. They may not have been accurate, but they were
certainly compelling: bis "translations" tell a tale of early proto-bumans that were engineered to become the slaves of "gods" that were really aliens, and who eventually
left humanity behind and left on their brown dwarfNibiru, but who would be returning and bringing with them massive cataclysm. It's not a particularly happy story, but it
sticks with people, as evidenced by the fact that it's helped bolster widespread belief that Planet X/Nibiru would swing by Earth and cause cataclysm in the near future for
decades now. (It's been supposed to arrive as early as 2003, but rather than give up on believing in Nibiru, believers and proponents just push the date back.)

The story of Atlantis is another good example. It was never even intended to be taken as fact (it's explicitly described as "fiction" in Timaeus), but the story ofa glorious
and proud nation that not only fell but disappeared entirely due to its own arrogance was compelling enough that it was eventually worked into New Age belief, and to
this day people who don't subscribe to New Age beliefs continue to look for Atlantis, or a city that may have inspired the story.

One story that's pretty popular on the Internet is the Thrymskvida, better known as "that time when Loki dressed Thor in a wedding gown, dressed up as the bridesmaid,
and pass Thor off as Freya so Thor could get his hammer back." This story sticks with people for the simple fact that it's funny- Thor, the manliest of the manly, has to
dress in drag while Loki has to make sure he doesn't do something Thor-ish and blow the whole operation.

Also, for an extra layer of realism, don't be afraid to come up with some contradictory stories as well, or stories that tell or explain more or less the same thing in different
ways. Legends inevitably change and diversify over time for a variety of reasons. Ifa single group splits apart they'll each end up with their own variations of the story
eventually. Stories introduced to a new audience may end up altered slightly to fit the new audience's understanding of the world better. Furthermore, two close, yet
somewhat separated groups may come up with two entirely different stories to explain the same thing on their own.

Things that its original adherents encounter or place value upon are more likely to have significance or explanations than things that
are unheard of or worthless.

When it comes to real religions, you'll invariably find that their symbolisms and beliefs are shaped and influenced by the regions they developed in. Things that are highly
valued are more likely to be seen as sacred, whereas things that present danger or are associated with danger or destruction are more likely to become symbols of evil or
rum.

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok is supposed to be preceded by three years of solid winter - and in the northern regions where the Norse belief system came into being, cold
temperatures are a very real and present threat. The Greeks were pretty big on engineering, so it should be no surprise that their mythology incorporates IQQQis.. They
were also pretty big on arts and entertainment, hence the muses and the critic god Momos.

For the ancient Egyptians, the Nile was a pretty big deal in their religious belief - which makes sense given the Nile was what enabled them to live in such a hot, dry
region in the first place. On the other hand, Egyptian spirituality doesn't have much to say about ice.

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So when you're thinking out your fictional religions or belief systems and the stories and symbols attached to them, think about what the people who created them would
have been familiar with, and work from there.

It should appeal to peoples' sense of goodness in some way.

Generally speaking, most people want to be good. Now, while peoples' personal definitions of what 'good' means can vary, the vast majority of people would agree that
the world would be a better place ifwe all stopped killing and bickering with each other and started focusing on actually fixing the world's problems. (Unfortunately, the
sad fact remains that we will never agree on exactly what is or isn't a problem, let alone on which problems should be given priority. Bickering and fighting are inevitable
no matter what happens.)

With few exceptions, people believe that those who need help should be helped and that we shouldn't be wantonly cruel - and this is reflected in the tenets and
philosophies of pretty much every religion out there, even some that people would consider to be... ah, unsavory. Basically, this stuff is hardwired into our coding. Any
religion that doesn't have good things to say about peace and kindness is going to be in the minority - and then, it's going to have an extremely short shelf-life.

You don't see people lining up in droves to join religions that outright tell them to go and cheat lonely old ladies out of their money. You don't see people jumping to join
religions that require followers to kidnap and murder random babies.

Of course, there are plenty of religions that encourage or allow their followers to do absolutely awful things - but the thing is, it won't be framed that way. The lonely old
lady might be framed as a supporter of an oppressive system (read: one that doesn't accommodate the religion's whims at the drop of a hat), and those who would cheat
her out of her money as Robin Hood-like heroes.

Basically, it should give adherents/believers a reason to feel like the good guys at least some oftbe time.

Adherents should have differences of opinion.

Religions are comprised of individuals, and this means that even if they are cohesive and cooperative on the whole, there will always be some differences of opinion. Let's
say for the sake of argument that the fictitious religion bas the following mandate:

On Tuesdays, you will eat fruit and meditate upon the sacred writings.

Jane might believe that this is something you have to do all day, whereas Bob thinks that a few hours will suffice. Carol might think that fruit leather counts, but Lauren
thinks it has to be fresh fruit all the way. Patrick might think this means nothing but fruit, but Ted might think it's all right to have anything else you want in there so long
as most of your meal is fruit. And then there's Lucy, who's oftbe view that you just need fruit in there somewhere... (and cucumber is technically a fruit, so...!)

Depending on just how important the practice of eating fruit and meditating on the holy writings on Tuesdays is considered, this could eventually lead to rifts and splinter
groups forming. In fact, assuming a group doesn't just die out altogether, rifts and splits are inevitable. If your fictional religion's been around for awhile, consider
developing a few different subgroups, each with variations in practice and creeds.

Religions and religious beliefs are remarkably resilient, and people don't necessarily abandon them just because part of it is proven to
be false or questionable.

In Fictionland, all a protagonist has to do to get people to stop following a false religion is to dig up a little dirt on its origins, find a few contradictions, or show that some
belief or other held by its adherents is patently false. In reality, belief does not collapse so easily. Today, many religious groups are quite happy and functional believing
that certain elements of their stories were meant to convey spiritual messages via allegory, rather than literal accounts of history.

Believers in Nibiru/Planet X by and large are not discouraged by the mysterious planet's failure to arrive, but instead just wait for it to arrive on a later date ad infinitum.
Similarly, when nothing happened on December 21st, 2012, proponents dealt with this in a number of ways - some "recalculated" and re-set the date a few weeks ahead.
Some claimed that the prediction really did come through, though curiously the "fulfillment" was imperceptible from everyday socio-political problems. Some claimed
that God delayed it for divine reasons.

Overall, people have a wide variety of ways to retain their current beliefs against apparently incontrovertible evidence. Dismissing the source of the information as
deluded or deliberately trying to destroy the group with lies and misinformation isn't uncommon, the latter particularly among the more paranoid types. Some people will
just compartmentalize contradictory evidence away and forget all about it. Other times (such as in the case of those who interpret their religions allegorically) people find
way to harmonize their religious beliefs with current knowledge, and the religion thereby adapts and survives.

If you're creating a polytheistic system, don't make the deities one-dimensional archetypes.

Fictional deities are often portrayed as one-dimensional in their areas of expertise or influence - eg, you have a "god of war," a "goddess oflove," a "god of thunder," and a
"goddess of wisdom." In real pantheons, deities are not pigeonholed so neatly. First, deities typically have more than one area of influence/expertise. Secondly, overlap
can and does happen - frequently. Let's take Thor, for example. Many folks see him as a god of thunder. In reality, he was quite a bit more than that - he was also a
protector of mankind and a fertility god. But he wasn't the only god who dealt with fertility in the Norse pantheon - Freyr and Freya also dealt in that department. In this
same vein, Loki wasn't "the" god of cunning and trickery- Odin was also into that, and what's more he was into poetry (though Bragi tended to specialize in poetry). And
speaking of Loki, he wasn't just a god of cunning and trickery - he was also a hearth god.

Basically, give your deities the same complexity in skills and personalities as you find in real people, and you'll be good to go.

Don't be afraid to step out of dualism.

In a nutshell, you know that whole "conflict between good and evil, cosmic battle between light and darkness" thing? In the real world, this actually doesn't exist for a lot
of religions. Sure, it's a big thing in some of the most popular and well-known religions out there, but it's nowhere near universal. While it's not necessarily bad to use in

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and of itself (some religions are dualistic, after all), a complex and well-built world would do well to incorporate a few religions/belief systems where duality isn't a very
big theme at all - or where it just doesn't exist period.

Let's take Greek belief, for example - these days, writers often present it so that the Olympians are good and the Titans were evil. Tn actual Greek belief, the Olympians
may have overthrown the Titans, but the Titans (lead by Cronus) ruled over Earth during its Golden Age, a time without strife and pain. Of course, Cronus did eat his
children to prevent a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him from taking place, and that's not so nice. But then again, Zeus, who overthrew him, would
later go on to imprison and torture the Titan Prometheus for making sure humanity had fire and good food. (Zeus did eventually allow the release of both Prometheus and
Cronus, fortunately.) There is no light/darkness dualism here, no struggle between good and evil. It's family drama and political struggle.

Similarly, some recent interpretations of Norse mythology cast the Aesir into the role of the good guys and the jotnar into the role of the bad guys. In reality, it wasn't
nearly so simple. The Aesir weren't portrayed as wholly good, but as complex and fallible as anyone else. The main difference between the Aesir and the jotnar was that
the Aesir were pro-human while the jotnar generally didn't care one way or the other (and given that they are frequently associated with the forces of nature, this would
make sense - nature isn't good or evil, it just is). As far as causing trouble for the other side goes, the jotnar and Aesir were pretty well tied. That said, the Aesir frequently
married jotnar women or had a jotnar mistress (or several). And then to add to the complexity, the Aesir weren't the only gods around - there were also the Vanir, who
ended up in a war with the Aesir, which resulted in a few of their number (notably Freya and Freyr) joining the Aesir. Again, family drama and political struggle.

Don't be afraid to step out of every other box, either.

In the real world, religions are far more varied than most people give them credit for - so when they all follow the same conventions in Fictionland, it's a little strange.

Religions and belief systems can exist without any gods at all. There are no gods in Buddhism, for example - the whole point is to release yourself from earthly
attachments so that you have no reason to reincarnate and thereby return to the suffering of this mortal coil.

Gods can also exist without religion - someone can try to interact with a deity outside of religious structure.

Everyone knows gods are immortal... right? WRONG. In many pantheons (eg, Norse, Yoruban, Egyptian) gods can indeed die. (Though this doesn't necessarily prevent
them from being active players in the cosmic drama!)

In Star Trek, it was eventually revealed that in Klingon mythology, the Klingons actually killed their own gods because they were too much of a pain. The good Klingon
afterlife is said to be looked over by Kah'less, a legendary Klingon hero. Mortals killing gods sound ridiculous? In the Gesta Danorum, the god Balder was killed by the
mortal Hother. A non-mainstream myth, but a myth that exists nonetheless.

Also check out:

Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition

Tips To Create Fictional Philosophies & Value Systems
Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations
How To Create Fictional Structured Religions
How Good People & Well-Intentioned Groups Can Go Bad

Deity-Development Questions
Random Deity Generator
Not All Myths & Legends Are Based In Truth
Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Common Misconceptions About Old Mythologies & Religions

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Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition

Many myths and superstitions can be traced back to man's early fears, his natural curiosity, and his desire to explain and understand the unknown.

Human survival instinct tends to make people wary of things that might be dangerous. Animals that might feed on humans, insects and snakes that might have toxic bites,
environments where these creatures might be found, and even other humans (especially those from other racial groups) are all things that we're programmed to be careful
about. You're undoubtedly aware with a natural tendancy for people to be afraid of the dark; this makes perfect sense if you consider that many predators are noctoumal,
and quite frankly, people can't see to get around as well in the dark. Thus, it's only natural for the dark to be frightening.

Generally speaking, when humans face the unknown, their primary instinct is to play it safe and distrust it. After all, if the human race was naturally inclined to go out
hugging every strange animal they came across, we wouldn't have lasted very long after a few encounters with creatures like crocodiles, bears, or mountain goats.

Although it may seem backward to initially distrust other humans, there is - or at least was a perfectly good reason for it. The people closest to you (your family and/or
friends) are probably the people you're most inclined to trust. (Even if you don't get on with them all the time.) You know them, you're familiar about them, and they may
have their problems, but overall they're probably not too threatening. Since people prefer safe, familiar territory, they're more likely to instinctively associate with people
who remind them in some way of those they are familiar with. The less familiar someone else appears, the more likely they are to be perceived as a potential threat. In the
past, other tribes might be competition for food and living space. Long story short, the ones who looked like your family were more likely to be from your tribe - the
friendly one.

In short, the primitive world was a frightening place, fraught with dangers and mysteries of every kind.

Now, humans like explanation. They like to know. They're curious creatures, poking their noses here and there, trying to make some kind of sense of their surroundings.

When they can't get a definitive answer otherwise, they tend to start doing a little hypothesizing of their own, which can vary in accuracy depending on their pre-existing
knowledge of the world around them.

If knowledge is power, then believing you have knowledge likewise makes you believe you have power - and humans would like to at least believe they have power, as it
makes them feel less anxious about what's around them.

Any sapient species would likely be the same, since advanced logic and reasoning skills tend to go with the territory. (Yes, "the great lobster Grorg makes it dark at night
by putting out the sun with his tail" would be advanced logic, as silly as it may sound to us.)

And then there's the huge third factor in the equation: false observation. A human who dropped threw a rock in the ocean right when a thunderclap occurred might be
inclined to believe that the action of throwing the rock into the water actually caused the thunderclap. Or they might see a large animal with birds on its back and
rationalize that small plants growing on the animal were producing seeds that the birds were eating, rather than that the birds were eating parasitical insects.

The last factor is the simple fact that most humans enjoy positive attention and being paid attention to. By telling stories, they can hold large amounts of people in rapt
attention, from wide-eyed children listening in awe to the hunter tired from his last excursion. By embellishing details, the storyteller can further ensure that the story will
keep the audience listening. After many generations of beefing up the story a bit here and there, along with a few misremembered details, a fantastic legend is born.

How do all these factors help myths and legends take shape?

Consider the animals the Western culture has looked down upon - bats, for example. Darkness frightens humans, and bats, being noctournal creatures, become associated
with darkness. Also, their being the only true-flying mammal makes them even more strange. To the primitive eye, they are some strange combination of familiar daytime
creatures such as mice and birds, but are neither.

The bat, feared because of its seemingly paradoxal appearance and association with the night, has been borrowed upon by artists depicting fearsome creatures such as
demons - often shown with features such as a bat's wings, horns, and a tail. (The horns being a feature borrowed from potentially dangerous/aggressive animals such as
oxen, goats, etc.) This image has become so ingrained into our imaginations that if you asked almost anyone what a demon looked like, you'd probably end up with a very
similar description.

On the other hand, things that are associated with good are often depicted with less-fearsome features. The phoenix is an exceptionally beautiful bird. Pegasus has
feathered wings.

Of course, positive figures can also have features from 'dangerous' animals. It all comes down to what a certain group fears or admires. Although many predators are
dangerous, humans admire them for their strengths. Thus, a god of strength or combat may be depicted as having the mane of a lion. Because the owl was believed to be
wise, the Greek goddess Athena, associated with wisdom, was depicted with a pet owl.

Depending on the culture, humans can fear or admire a wide variety of things. Water is one such thing. It's necessary for survival, but at the same time, you can also
drown in it. In places where drowning presents a very real danger, the local cultures often have legends of creatures that live in the water waiting to pounce on
unsuspecting victims and drown them. In places where water is scarce, a spirit associated with water might be a more welcome entity. People who live in a place where
rockslides were frequent might be inclined to think that goblins lived at the tops of mountains pushing on the rocks. Large rocks in more stable positions might be
considered to be the homes of friendlier spirits.

Also, legends are quite mobile. lfa group of people terrorized by falling rocks moved to a place where large stones were sitting in the ground without bothering anyone,
they might still harbor fears toward the stones, perhaps thinking that those nasty goblins are waiting to push more stones on them. After a few generations, they might

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forget exactly why they don't like the stones; as far as they're concerned, they're just 'unlucky.'

Myths and legends can also be formed to help abate fears. Although the Greeks believed there were malevolent entities living in the sea, they also believed the sea was
home to the Nereids, divine women who were helpful to sailors. Some native Americans wove dream catchers to keep themselves free from bad dreams. Many people
wore (and still wear) small trinkets with symbols or objects associated with positive figures to ward away negative influences.

Myths are cumulative; new ideas often build and expand upon old ones. lfa group of people moved into an abandoned area where a previous culture had left behind some
kind of structures, they might form the belief that these structures were left behind by a supernatural entity of their own culture, especially if the means to produce
something similar was beyond their comprehension. The natural human tendancy toward distrust would probably make them more likely to believe that it was left by a
negative force than a positive one.

By the way, remember the rock and the ocean? People might start putting two and two together and decide that if throwing the rock into the ocean makes thunder, then
they must be making the sea-spirits angry.

Also, legends with similar motifs can eventually merge. A real-life example of this is the legend of Excalibur. Many people mistakenly believe that Excalibur was the
sword pulled from the stone, although originally, it was acquired by King Arthur much later as a gift from the Lady of the Lake. Likewise, other legends involving similar
items or themes can get tangled up and merged. Two channs to ward off evil might get combined by someone wanting to make sure it worked. Or, after hearing a
stranger's tale about a legendary warrior, another culture may retell the story, but replace the warrior with a hero from their own stories.

Myths often have several variations apiece. Many folk charms often vary in complexity and detail - and in some cases are contradictory. For example, some maintain
that a lucky rabbit's foot must come from a rabbit shot under the full moon, while others believe it must come from a rabbit shot under the new moon. There are dozens
of Cinderella stories all over the world, each one tailored to fit the place from which it came.

Another thing about myths is that they're remarkably persistant. Even in our time, when science and reason have largely overcome many superstitions, you'll still find that
some people carry objects they consider to be lucky. Perhaps people don't entirely believe in their power, but perhaps even the thought that an object is considered lucky -
wishful thinking, if you will - has a positive psychological effect. Although we now know that unicorns were either a fabrication or a misinterpretation of another animal
(such as a rhinoceros), their beautiful, graceful image has become a permanent part of our culture. Most of us have listened to fairy tales as children. Who hasn't heard of
Hercules at some point?

Myths can also merge with science. For example, the Romans knew that a certain blood vessel lead from the second finger on the left hand to the heart. Believing the
heart to be the center of emotion, it was on this finger that they placed iron wedding bands on their brides.

Putting It All Together to Form Plausible Myths

Adding myths and superstitions to any fictional world can help make it seem more real, especially in one that hasn't yet reached the modem era. The farther back you can
determine its origin and why it's a part of a fantasy culture, the better.

• An animal perceived to be exceptionally caring for her young might become associated with a goddess of motherhood, and she may be depicted as having some of
the animal's physical traits. Likewise, the animal or goddess's likeness may be illustrated on items a child would use to encourage the goddess's protection.
• Someone might trace a protective deity's symbol in the air to ward off harm.
• Because of their resemblance to humans, some cultures might be inclined to think that apes or monkeys were once human themselves, but were placed under a
curse for some terrible crime against the gods.
• Remember Grorg? If a smaller lobster knocked over a lamp at one point, maybe someone figured that there was a bigger lobster putting out the sun at night. (This
would probably require figuring out who lights it the next day.)
• Was a flower blooming upon a field of victory? This flower may be considered a good omen by future generations, or may be worn by people wishing to
gain victory in any type of competition.
• People might form the belief that a statue of gigantic proportions was once an evil giant turned to stone as punishment.
• Guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open; what kind of strange ideas might people fonn about that?

Keep in mind, chances are good that unless a race was fanned with full knowledge of the workings of the universe, they're going to have some myths. Even if at some
point they no longer believe in them, they're probably still going to be a part of their culture and history. "Lucky" designs may continue to appear purely for aesthetic
value. Old legends would continue to be told for entertainment. Mythical beasts might appear in design or stories because they continue to amaze and fascinate.

Like the Roman wedding rings, even we continue to repeat traditions steeped in myth, superstition, and legend without really knowing why, other than that it's tradition or
fun. We throw rice at weddings; how many of us realize it was originally meant to ensure children? We make noise when the new year arrives; this was originally a
custom to drive away evil spirits.

There are infinite possibilities; the only limit is the limit of your imagination.

Also, check out:

Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Holiday Development Questions
Not All Myths & Legends Are Based In Truth

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Things To Know When Writing Historical Fiction & Fictional History

I find that there are some pretty knowledge gaps and misconceptions that people trying to write historical fiction and fictional history end up falling prey to. So to help
those of you aiming to write this kind of thing, here's an article to clear up some of the misconceptions and point you in the direction ofa few things you might need to
research.

Table of Contents
• You should watch out for the urge to romanticize and/or demonize certain time periods.
• You should never assume that anything worked the same way forever
• Philosophical boundaries and divides that you're used to now may not have existed way back when.
• You can't rely on laws to tell you what people actually did or didn't do.
• Nobody liked being abused and oppressed.
• Signing the peace treaty didn't mean everything was okay.
• The recorded word doesn't necessarily reflect how most people spoke.
• Many "historical facts" that have floated around for years are just plain wrong.
• Art and media were not "better" back then.
• In summary!

You should watch out for the urge to romanticize and/or demonize certain time periods.

It's awfully easy to think of the Medieval period as this wonderful era of courtly love and dashing knights, or as an era of endless torture and constant soul-crushing
oppression, but neither one of these extremes are true. And the same goes for pretty much any time and place you can name. Most time periods are complicated, with their
good sides and their bad sides. Even the best and brightest were only human and had their flaws and shortcomings, and in even the most bigoted and prejudiced eras
someone was calling out for compassion and tolerance. For one quick example of the latter, there are some who believe (or seem to believe) that all men were raging
misogynist pigs during the Victorian era. Yet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle often featured intelligent women who acted outside of social norms and treated them as
sympathetic. (Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia is a good example.) So whichever point in history you're going for, understand that it would have been neither all good
nor all bad.

You should never assume that anything worked the same way forever.

It's easy to think that the way things work now is probably how they've always worked, or at the very least is how they've worked for a very long time. But this is never a
safe assumption to make. Anything, no matter how commonplace it seems today, could have been very different in the past - even the fairly recent past. For example,
magnetic stripe credit cards are everywhere these days, but you wouldn't find anyone in the 50's or 60's using one as banks didn't start issuing them to the public until the
early 70's. The practice of dating, which started around the early 20th century, has entailed different things for different generations.

Another mistake along these lines is assuming that one part of the past worked like another part of the past. For example, I occasionally see people and works that assume
the 1940s was as gender essentialist as the 1950s. In fact, that gender essentialism came about in the 50s as a panicked backlash to an ongoing breakdown of gender roles
that had reached a fever pitch during World War II. The Leave It To Beaver lifestyle was essentially a post-war product.

So don't assume that something in one time period worked the same way as in another time period, even if the difference is only a decade. Things change faster than you
might thing!

Philosophical boundaries and divides that you're used to now may not have existed way back when.

One example is the perceived boundary between the natural and the supernatural. Many people see these two things as natural opposites, and sometimes treat them as
antagonistic forces. This results in tropes such as magic vs. technology, magic dying out as people come to rely on technology, and so on. However, this divide didn't exist
for most of history. The natural and the supernatural were one and the same. This didn't mean that science was magic, but rather that magic was simply another natural
phenomenon that you could harness and study just like anything else. It had rules that it was expected to consistently follow. Supernatural beings such as faeries were as
natural to the land as birds and squirrels.

So when did the idea that magic and technology were opposing forces? To the best that r can tell, it happened at some point in the second half of the 20th century.
Before that point, magic and fairytales were fairly popular, and no one seemed to have any notion that magic and technology would be at odds with each other. In L.
Frank Baum's Oz series, the character of Tik-Tok was essentially a robot living in a magical land. During World War II the idea of gremlins - supernatural creatures
that sabotaged airplanes - became part of the public consciousness. In 1950, Rosemary Clooney sang a song about a goblin who exchanged a malfunctioning flying
broom for an airplane.

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So what happened?

After this point, magic and fairytales largely fell out of favor. There was a much bigger focus on technology and the wonders of modem science (no small thanks to the
newly-invented consumer culture), and Westerns sated people's hankerings for old time adventures. JRR Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings at this point, which
featured a world in which magic was fading out as it marched on toward something resembling modernity.

Those who were children at this time and literally witnessed modem science and technology push out and displace fairies and magic would have come of age in the
I970's, which is also the time when people were beginning to take a dim view of all this modem technology and living. The economy was in bad shape and pollution was
rampant. Many started to think that a "return to the land" was the answer. (The sustainable living magazine Mother Earth News was first published in January of 1970.) At
this point, fantasy set in magical, Medieval-esque lands gQ.Lp...QJlUlar.

In 1988,_The Turkey City Lexicon: A Primer For SF Workshops defined "Tabloid Weird," a term that The Turkey City Workshop had invented to deride stories that mixed
science fiction and fantasy elements. In their view, such elements represented fundamentally incompatible worldviews. Through this we can induce that by the late 80's,
there were a fair number of people who felt very strongly that magic and science were diametrically opposed.

So the idea that magic and technology were natural enemies didn't even exist until sometime around the 70's and 80's. Yet we often treat it the way things simply are and
apply it to mythological and folkloric elements that predate this concept by centuries. This isn't to say that the trope is bad in and of itself, but rather that we should think
twice before shoehorning it where it doesn't actually belong.

Another big divide that too many people take for granted is Western dualism. Based largely in Christianity, it tends to divide opposing factions into good/evil camps, or at
the very least Jesus-inspired and Satan-eqsue. This concept and how it doesn't actually apply to a lot of things is explored more over here.

You can't rely on laws to tell you what people actually did or didn't do.

Many people assume that they can always infer how people generally behaved based on what was or wasn't legal, but this really isn't the case. For example, many assume
that because it was legal in the Middle Ages for people to marry in their early teens, means that early marriage and sex were commonplace. But records show that the
nobility and wealthy merchants tended to marry quite a bit later - men in their early twenties, women somewhat earlier. (When people did marry early, evidence shows
that they were often expected to wait until they were older to consummate their marriage.) Likewise, in many parts of the US it's completely legal for women to go topless
lll..Jll!];tlk, but most of them don't actually do this in practice because it's not customary in American culture.

In addition, some laws were not heavily enforced, or were impossible to enforce effectively. After all, it's illegal to produce or sell most recreational drugs in the US, but
that doesn't mean people don't do it. The Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking - people were drinking in speakeasies all over the place. The American Revolution
was illegal in Britain's eyes, but that didn't stop it from happening.

So never assume that law dictated behavior, because it very often didn't.

Nobody liked being abused and oppressed.

Although we can't interview each and every slave, serf, and second-class citizen that ever lived to know how they personally thought and felt, we do know two things:
One of them is that fundamental human nature has not changed since the dawn of civilization. The other is that those who were able to tell us their stories of living like
this pretty much all agree that it sucked, and the techniques and tricks used to keep them in line all come down to the same basic baloney.

Here's the deal: People don't comply with governments and social mores that decent people these days would consider unfair and cruel because they somehow like it or
are indifferent to being abused. Rather, they are kept in line through what is referred to as FOG (Fear, Guilt, Obligation) these days. Fear-inducing tactics can include
harsh punishments for perceived misbehavior and/or threats of eternal damnation. A sense of obligation can be cultivated by teaching people that they owe their "betters"
unwavering service and loyalty. Guilt can be cultivated by teaching people that certain desires or deeds are unthinkably shameful or selfish. You don't have to look very far
to find numerous case examples. Just pick any country headed by a tyrant or dictator, or look into any abusive cult whose activities have been documented. Those who are
oppressed, abused, and marginalized aren't happy people. They simply either can't do anything about the way they're treated, or don't believe it's possible to do anything
about it. At best, they might internalize a belief that they deserved it, but they weren't really happy, and they weren't mentally unscathed.

Some people will act like people in the past never questioned anything and just accepted the status quo without complaint, which isn't at all true. Again, fundamental
human nature hasn't changed, and rising up against mistreatment is human nature. One group of ancient Egyptian construction workers went on strike to protest a lack of
food and other supplies. And it worked!

So never assume that people back then were just fine being abused and that they never did anything about it, because it's absolutely not true.

Signing the peace treaty didn't mean everything was okay.

Signing a peace treaty to end a war simply means that two or more factions agree to stop fighting each other if certain terms and conditions are met. It does not mean that
the losing country will be treated fairly, nor does it mean that everyone is going to drop their prejudices and be friends now.

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, and it forced Germany to pay such steep reparations that the country's economy was ruined. This lead to massive desperation
and discontent that Adolf Hitler was able to exploit to seize total power.

Signing a treaty also won't do anything to get rid of the mutual hate and distrust that everyone has for each other. Just because your government agrees to stop fighting the
other, doesn't mean you're going to forget what they did to you and your people, let alone feel comfortable having them over for lunch. Sometimes this kind of tension can
take decades, even generations to fix. Sometimes the people are so steeped in hateful, vengeance-oriented ideologies that treaties can do little to nothing to prevent
violence from breaking out between them.

So essentially, a treaty can begin a healing process between warring factions, but it's not always a given.

The recorded word doesn't necessarily reflect how most people spoke.

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Old-time texts and recordings aren't necessarily indicative of how the average person spoke back in the day. One good example is how Medieval Europeans often wrote in
Latin. Another example is the Mid-Atlantic accent, which was invented in the early 20th century and appears in many old movies and was used by the likes of Eleanor
Roosevelt, Jaqueline Kennedy, and Katherine Hepburn. It was designed to make people sound fancy and refined, and was never spoken by anyone except actors and
upper-class Americans trained to do so.

Another thing to keep in mind is that through most of history, most of the writing was done by the wealthy and the upper class, who usually spoke in whichever language
and dialect was associated with taste and refinement. These people tended to avoid speaking like the lower class, whose speech they usually associated with ignorance and
bad manners. (Imagine how a lot of people think of "redneck" accents, and you wouldn't be far off.) This means that you can't be sure of how the servants spoke based on
how the lord wrote his personal journal. Additionally, even ifhe did try to capture the vernacular of the servants, he may have gotten it wrong or exaggerated it to make
them seem coarser and less intelligent than they really were.

Likewise, anyone who has watched cartoons as a child can probably tell you that few (if any) of the child or teenage characters in them ever spoke like real children or
teens. They tended to speak how writers thought that people in those age groups spoke, which usually involved using a lot of slang that was at least several years out of
date by that point.

Additionally, a work may have been written decades, if not centuries after the events it describes took place, and thus the language it uses may be closer to language used
during the author's time than in the time the story describes. It might also overestimate how much slang people used, or use slang that would have been out of date or a
few years ahead of its time.

Thus there are numerous reasons why the language in a given piece of media might not reflect how most people actually spoke. What this means in practice is that if you
want to capture how people really spoke in the I940's, you can't rely on a movie or two made during the day plus a historical novel set back then. Nor can you read a few
books written by the English upper class and have any idea how the lower classes would have spoken. The best thing to do is try and find things said by the very type of
people you're trying to write about. It's not always easy to find these materials, but if you can, they will help you create more authentic dialog.

Many "historical facts" that have floated around for years are just plain wrong.

Numerous fake history facts have been believed as truth for ages. Many people are doing their best to clear them up, but nonetheless there are many people who believe
them. I've even seen a few pop up in historical documentaries.

One fake history fact is that Victorian women used to have their lowest ribs removed so they could have smaller waists. This isn't true at all. The relatively primitive
medical knowledge and technology of the day would have made such an operation too dangerous to be considered feasible.

Another one is that the Ring a Ring a Roses nursery rhyme is about the Black Death. In reality, the rhyme comes from the Victorian era - centuries later.

A more recent historical myth is that one that the radio broadcast of War o.f the Worlds sparked a mass panic. It didn't.

Some things that people believe go back to contemporary propaganda or slander. Marie Antoinette never said "let them eat cake," nor did she say anything remotely
similar. French royals of the day were frequently accused of saying things like this.

There are far, far too many misconceptions to list here, but if you want to learn more you might take some time (like an afternoon) to read what comes up if you search for
"history myths", "medieval history myths", "ancient history misconceptions", or something more suited to whichever time and place you're interested in. (And do keep in
mind that some sites that aim to correct historical myths are themselves wrong. Research is a messy, snarly beast!)

Art and media were not "better" back then.

Every now and then I see comments on old music videos talking about how music was so much better back then, unlike all the garbage that comes out nowadays. Now
here's the thing: people have been doing this this on the Internet for decades now. Back in the 90's, you'd find people complaining that 90s music was garbage and
declaring that real music was the stuff that came out a few decades ago. In the 2000s, they complained about 2000s music and declared that real music was the stuff from
the late 80's or so. In the 20 IOs, people are complaining about 201Os music and declaring that the 90s and 2000s had real music.

It's not just music that gets this treatment, either. All kinds of art and media do - movies, children's cartoons, books, video games, whatever. You name it, people will
insist it used to be better back then.

So what does this mean? Is all art and entertainment just on a downward spiral?

Not at all!

There are four potential factors at work here. One if them is nostalgia. We tend to think that the stuff we liked when we were younger (usually in our childhood and
adolescence) was the greatest stuff ever. And there are reasons for this. When we're younger, we're less adept at spotting poor quality. We also tend to forget the flaws that
things had. So as we get older, we really believe that these things were the greatest things ever made. Yet if we actually looked back on them, we'd often find that they
weren't quite as great as we remembered.

The second is a sort of false nostalgia held by people who were never there to experience the thing when it was new, but buy into the hype that it was the best stuff ever.
Since these people are essentially enamored with a romanticized image of the past, we'll call it "romantia." People with romantia tend to look at the present world and see
mainly the bad things. Then they read nostalgic accounts of the past or dip into the most popular media from the era and conclude that this was the best time period ever.
They fail to realize that the books and movies made in the past don't necessarily reflect reality any more than the books and movies made in our time do. They don't
realize that the erstwhile media they're consuming is the cream of the crop and does not represent the average quality of media produced back then. (As Sturgeon's Law
declares, "90% of everything is crap.")

The third is our habit of damning new things for no particularly good reason. We declare it stupid and wrong simply because it's different from what we're used to or
because it's not tailored toward our own personal tastes. Most people are not very good at distinguishing between what's bad quality and what's simply not to their tastes.

And finally, sometimes we like things because they're different from what we're used to. Maybe we're weary of contemporary styles all the time, and maybe listening to
something from the past gives us a refreshing change of pace. But if you went back in time and that was the only thing you ever heard, you'd eventually get weary of that,
too. Sometimes we find that a piece of media touches on a theme that's often overlooked or speaks to us in a way that modern media doesn't. And yet if you were to go
back in time, you'd find that their media overlooked different things.

Now, there are absolutely short-term dips and rises in tenns of media quality, and sometimes certain flaws are more prominent than others. The 2000s attempted to meet
growing demand for grit and realism in ways that would often be considered contrived or over the top today. People often found entertainment from the 90s to be too

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saccharine, too sanitized, and much too ignorant of real social issues.

So no, art and media is not actually getting worse. People just don't understand how the past was, or certain new things just aren't to their tastes.

In summary!

• Try to avoid romanticizing or completely demonizing any particular time period. Every time and place had both bad and good.
• Don't assume that how things work in one time period is how they work in another. Tradition, social norms, etc. have changed significantly over time, and they can
change very rapidly.
• Don't assume that people in the past subscribed to the same ideological boxes and boundaries as you or most people do today.
• You cannot directly infer what people did or did not do based on what was legal. Just because it was legal didn't mean it was customary, and just because it was
illegal didn't mean no one did it.
• There was no point in history when people were completely content to receive what we would consider to be abusive and oppressive treatment today. It always was
and always will be soul-sucking and damaging, and people will always try to fight back against it if they think they have a chance.
• Art and media were not "better" back then, and it's not getting inherently worse as time goes on. There are short-term ups and downs, but that's about it. Nostalgia,
romantia, and the fact that most of us are only familiar with the best and most famous works from way back when create a false impression that everything better
back then than it is now.

You might also like:

A Few Things Writers Need To Know About The Medieval Period

A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Medieval Feudalism

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Advice & Tips On Developing Fictional Timelines & Histories
Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to
Worldbuilding Go to a
random page!

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A Few Things Writers Should Know About Medieval Feudalism

If you're aiming to write about or capture the spirit of Medieval Europe, then it's paramount to understand Medieval Europe - and feudalism is a pretty big part of it,
particularly from the 9th to the 15th centuries. This article is intended to provide a very basic overview to help people unfamiliar with it get a basic overview of the
concept. That said, this article provides a very basic overview, and is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to all of Europe at once. Not every country practiced
feudalism, and a lot of what people did or didn't practice depended on the time and region. So, if you're trying to write Medieval-inspired fantasy, the information in this
article may be all you need to work with. If you're aiming to write historical fiction, you'll need to do a lot more research after this.

How it worked: the bare bones

The king would grant out portions of land, or fiefs, to nobles or knights to oversee and govern. These people would swear oaths of duty and of fealty to their kings, and be
thus bound to this service for life. Knights and nobles who had pledged their allegiances thus were known as vassals, and those they had pledged their allegiances to were
their lieges or lords. Duties of vassals included protecting the peasants/commoners (most of them serfs), and providing the king with military support and a portion of
goods and/or money they had produced. Sometimes vassals might give out parts of their land (subfiefs) to others to manage, sometimes not. (fn 1290, subfeudination was
made illegal in England with the Statute ofQuia Emptores.)

Now, the serfs were considered to be part and parcel to the land they lived on. They couldn't legally up and leave of their own volition, and they were stuck to serve
whoever owned the land they lived on. They were required to work for their lords a few days a week - often around three days. This could include labor such as mining,
maintaining roads, and farming. In the case of farming, serfs often had to work longer during particularly busy times such as harvest. Serfs also had to work for
themselves to produce their own food, clothes, etc. Serfs also had to pay taxes to their lords in the form of goods and livestock they had produced on their own time. A
serfs children would also be serfs, and they would be expected to work for the same lord as their parents.

Peasants who were not bound into serfdom were known as freemen. They could go where they liked, though they were still expected to pay rent to whoever owned the
land they were currently living on. However, they were in the minority, and it's not hard to guess why: free peasants probably wouldn't put up with what the serfs were
forced through for very long. The intolerableness of serfdom becomes apparent when you look at what happened after the Black Death: With so many members of the
working class killed from the plague, laborers were no longer plentiful and easy to replace. This gave them leverage over the nobles, who relied on them to produce their
goods. And use that leverage they did: they rebelled, revolted, and demanded better treatment. And they got it, because the nobles had no real choice at this point.

For its time, feudalism was a relatively stable form of government, but "relatively" is the key word here. While it gave countries enough unity that they could often
withstand foreign invasion, there was also no shortage of internal conflict. Lords would often go to war with each other in grabs for land and power. Should a ruler die
with no clear or uncontested successor, war might be fought over who would ascend the throne.

Yet, life in this system often wasn't quite as violent or brutal as many imagine. Some would have you think that torture and the death penalty were extremely common.
However, the death penalty was mainly reserved for crimes such as arson, murder, or treason, and torture wasn't especially common, nor were devices like the Iron
Maiden or the Pear of Anguish ever used. There was also a justice system, and it wasn't even that bad all things considered. And while women's rights left much to be
desired, there's no substantial evidence that primae noctis/droit du seigneur existed as anything more than a monetary tax.

On the other hand, there was still plenty that was genuinely bad. Serfdom has often been compared to slavery, and it certainly violates the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights on many points. And sure, vassals were charged with the duty of protecting them, but at the end of the day protecting the serfs was as much about
protecting their own economic interests as much as anything else. After all, who's going to work their fields and produce goods for them if they've all been killed by the
rival lord? And while the knights and lords of yore might have argued that the protection they gave the serfs entitled them to keep them in bound servitude for life, it
must be remembered that American slave owners said the very same thing about their slaves, and the slaves heartily disagreed.

Now, sometimes serfs could get lucky and end up becoming quite wealthy, and sometimes they could even buy their own freedom. However, the fact remains that the vast
majority of them would remain poor and bound for life, and they never had any real shot at changing that.

In addition, all those oaths, rules of chivalry, and whatnot that knights and nobles were supposed to honor were no guarantee that they'd behave themselves, either. Just
like the Hippocratic Oath doesn't stop medical malpractice from ever happening, rules and oaths didn't ensure that knights and nobles would behave themselves. If
anything, we know from historical records that kings, knights, and lords were often as cruel and brutal as anyone in the modern world can be.

And speaking of chivalry, it wasn't quite what many people imagine it was, either. For one thing, it didn't revolve around how a man was to treat a woman. There wasn't
even a single official set of rules. Rather, it was more a set of ideals and guidelines geared toward keeping knights as decent, upstanding people who didn't use their might
to abuse anyone weaker and less capable than themselves, which included women, children, clergy, and cornrnonfolk in general. But as the previous link demonstrates,
these ideals were often not practiced in reality. It's not so much that chivalry is dead anymore, as much as that it's always been something of a shambling zombie.

The importance of the Catholic Church

Most of Medieval Europe was Catholic, and so the Catholic Church had an immense influence on politics. Then (as now), the Pope was believed to directly receive and
act upon God's will, so to flout the Church's authority or otherwise earn their condemnation was often political suicide. If the king didn't have favor with the Church, he
didn't have favor with God. If the Church didn't recognize him as a legitimate king, then neither did God. For those pious enough to care, overthrowing the king might be

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seen as a holy duty. For those who weren't, it might still be seen as an opportunity to seize power. Conversely, to oppose any king or lord that the Church did not
disapprove of was to defy God, a belief which no doubt kept many peasants in line.

The Catholic Church played a large role in people's regular, everyday lives, too. lnfants were baptized shortly after birth. People were expected to attend service on
Sundays and on church holidays. Weddings and funerals were conducted by the Church. Peasants were also expected to work on Church land for a few days out of the
week, and everyone was expected to pay tithes - ten percent of what they had earned or produced - to the Church every year.

One thing the Catholic Church did not do was encourage or perform mass-scale witch hunts. In Medieval times, witches were understood to be people who had made a
pact with the Devil to gain power for malicious purposes. For years, the Church held that Satan could not grant power to people, and therefore, there were no witches -
only people who had been tricked into believing they had been given power. While inquisitions did eventually happen, they were aimed more toward rooting out heretics
than witches per se, and it wouldn't be until the Renaissance that major witch hunts started taking place.

The Catholic Church also collected and copied books, both religious and secular. In this way it helped preserve knowledge and literacy throughout the Medieval period. It
also provided education in topics such as art, language, rhetoric, and arithmetic, though it was mostly only noble boys who received it. (In fact, it was sometimes illegal
for peasants to receive such education without permission from their lords.) Monks also taught agriculture to the people and engaged in craftwork themselves.

To use or not to use this in setting

So now that you've got the gist of this down, you need to decide how much of this, if any, you actually want to use in your setting. Lords and rulers who support and
enforce the institution of serfdom might not make for very sympathetic characters, which could be a problem if that's who you want people to root for. (You might still get
people to care about them as flawed human beings who are the product of a very different time, but don't expect you can get away with presenting them as ideal rulers.)

Likewise, oaths of fealty might seem romantic and noble at first glance, but they start looking considerably less ideal when you consider how they could be abused to
coerce people into enabling a liege's atrocious behavior, and when you consider just how ineffective oaths have ever been at keeping awful people from doing heinous
things. Just because your knights and lords are all swearing oaths doesn't mean that we should just assume that everything is picture perfect. Do you want to have oaths
and vows for historical flavor? Then go on ahead and include them, but be mindful of the unpleasant historical realities that went along with them.

A feudal government is also likely to hinder having much in the way of roving adventurers and mercenaries, or characters who just up and decide to seek their fortunes
away from home. This won't be a problem if you never planned to focus on such characters, but if you did, well, this isn't the kind of setting that's going to be very
friendly to them.

Maybe you'll find that a feudal system honestly isn't what you want. In that case, you might start looking into what followed feudalism. Once people were properly able to
revolt against the upper classes and demand better treatment, more and more people were allowed to own land and go into business for themselves. (It also helped that the
increasingly coin-based economy freed them up from having to pay taxes in actual goods, allowing them to do pretty much whatever they wanted so long as it made
money, rather than directly producing what their lords needed.) In many places, absolute monarchy gave way to constitutional monarchy and democracy.

And then there's the matter of religion to contend with. Tfyou include the Church, or a fantasy counterpart, it might have some implications and create some hindrances
you never wanted. lfyou choose to leave it out, you're going to have to ask yourself who is taking on the roles they played. Who's running the libraries and collecting the
manuscripts? Who is providing education to the nobles? Who is providing moral and philosophical guidance to the people? What will motivate people to create complex
art and music? How about beauty in architecture? (After all, castles were mainly designed to be strong, not pretty. Churches and cathedrals, however, were beautifully
designed so as to impress the majesty of God upon the people.) And very importantly, how are they being funded? There are plenty of very good answers to all of these
questions, of course; it's just important that you do answer them. Perhaps you might make things more like the ancient world, where nobody really minded all that much
that everyone else had different religious beliefs. Maybe you might take things forward to the Renaissance, where the diminishing control of the Catholic Church allowed
greater numbers of ideologies and religious beliefs to come into being - and into conflict.

And speaking of the Renaissance period, although basing your story in it might not sound appealing if you'd set your heart on using the Medieval period, it's still worth
considering. For one thing, a lot of the gorgeous architecture and fashion that people think of when they imagine the Medieval world actually dates to the Renaissance
period, anyway. For another, the socio-political climate of the Renaissance allowed more things to happen, both good and bad. People had greater freedom to choose their
own destinies. More and more people learned to read. The invention of the printing press made it easier to publish and obtain books. Alchemy and other mystical arts
flourished. Europe's massive witch panic took off at this point. Coinage became more and more co1mnon, giving the cotmnon person greater economic freedom and
buying power. Mercenaries become more commonplace. Royals and nobles financed voyages to find new trade routes, though unfortunately many people on the other
ends of the routes they discovered often ended up exploited and oppressed. Not only might you find that the Renaissance works just fine for your story, you might find
that it works even better than the Medieval period.

As always, exactly what you should do depends on the kind of setting you want and the kind of story you're trying to tell. Consider which elements you'd like to have
compared to what you need to have happen and how you'd like to have your characters perceived, and aim for something that balances what you want with what works
while remaining plausible and internally consistent.

You might also like:

Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments

"How Should My Royalty/Nobility Behave?" - How To Answer This For Yourself! Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters
How To Avoid Elitist Overtones ln Your Fiction

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
A Few Things Writers Need To Know About The Medieval Period

More external resources:

The Significance of Feudal Law In 13th Century Law Codes

Knighthood As It Was, Not As We Wish It Were
Religious and Intellectual Life in the High Middle Ages

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Holiday Development Questions

Before we begin, here are a few things to remember!

Holiday traditions are forever evolving. Over time things are altered, dropped, or added - for example, to not give Christmas presents wrapped in festive paper seems
pretty odd now, even though the custom only started in the early 20th century. And while telling ghost stories used to be a Christmas tradition (it's even referenced in
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"), pretty much nobody does that anymore. And finally, the Christmas traditions we have today weren't invented all at once,
but over time.

Also, if your holiday is particularly widespread, region-specific customs can be expected. If you're creating a holiday that's celebrated worldwide (or even across worlds
:P), answer the questions with this in mind. Now, let's go!

• What and/or who does the holiday celebrate or commemorate? Why and when did people decide to celebrate/commemorate this particular person/thing?
• When did people start observing this holiday? How long has it been observed for?
• How popular and/or widespread is it?
• How has the popularity of the holiday changed over the years? Why has it changed thus?
• When is it observed? How long does it last?
• Is the holiday more sacred or secular? Has this changed over time? If so, how and why?
• How important do people generally consider observing this holiday? Which people consider it more important or less important? Why?
• Are there any games or fun activities traditionally associated with the holiday? lf so, what are they? How, when, and where did they originate?
• Are there any games, activities, or customs that are generally only participated in by people of certain age groups - TE, specific to children, young adults, etc.?
• Are there any songs or musics connected to the holiday? If so, how and when did they come about?
• Are there any colors or other symbols associated with the holiday, and what do they represent? lfso, how and when did they come to be associated with it?
• Are there any traditional decorations associated with the holiday? If so, when and where did they develop? Why?
• Are there any traditional clothes or garb associated with the holiday? If so, what is it, and why?
• Are there any "holiday spirits" connected to the holiday? If so, how, when, and where did they originate? How have they changed over time?
• Are there any superstitions connected to this holiday? If so, what are they? When, where, and why did they originate?
• Are there any particular foods or beverages associated with this holiday? If so, what are they, and how and when did they become associated with it?

You might also like:

Random Holiday Generator

Country & Culture-Development Questions
Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species

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Town & City Development Questions

So you want to create a town or city to set your story in, or maybe you're trying to populate a whole world full of towns and cities. Here's a list of questions to ask yourself
when developing your town and city.

Before we begin, there are a few very important things to bear in mind. Boredom and dissatisfaction in general is often at the root of many criminal behaviors. People who
are bored (which is easy to be if there's nothing around to do, or if you're too poor to afford what there is) and dissatisfied (which is easy to be if you can't afford nice
things other people commonly have) are more likely to join gangs or get into other kinds of trouble.

Likewise, the people who are most likely to turn to substance abuse (and potentially get into all of the trouble related to it) are those who are bored out of their skulls or
have problems that they can't otherwise escape. Read Rat Park and Other Children's Stories for more information.

People and groups who are distrusted or held in low regard by those who hold most of the wealth and political influence will be less likely to get to get high-paying jobs,
contributing to the above. And schools attended primarily by distrusted or poorly regarded people may be given less funding or sponsorship, meaning that graduates often
won't have the qualifications to work in higher-paying jobs.

So when it comes to the relevant questions, always factor these in. Now, onto the questions!

• When was it founded? Who founded it?

• What's the local climate and biome like? What's the geography like? What about the geology?
• What racial and ethnic groups comprise the population? What percentage of the total population comprises of each group?
• Which religous groups comprise its population? What percentage of the total population comprises of each group?
• In which parts do the wealthiest people live, shop, and work? What about the middle class? What about the poor?
• What are some notable places to shop and eat that cater to lower class people? What about to middle class people? Upper class people? Who owns and manages
these places?
• Are there parts of it that are heavily populated by certain racial, ethnic, or religious demographics? If so, how did it come to be this way?
• Which groups are considered strange, unsavory, or suspicious by its "upstanding" or "respectable" citizens? Why? How do the people viewed thus see the
"upstanding" or "respectable" citizens?
• Who are the biggest employers, and what kind of businesses or industries do they run? What types of people work for for these employers, and in what positions?
How much does the economy depend on these employers?
• Are the jobs provided by the biggest employers likely to remain stable in the long tenn, or will resources soon run out or demand for the product decrease
dramatically for one reason or another?
• What are the highest-paying jobs around? What are the lowest-paying jobs around? Which ones are in the middle?
• Which demographics most often end up working which jobs and for which level of pay? Why is it this way?
• Ts there any correlation between race, ethnicity, or religion and overall net worth, even if actual income is about the same? If so, why is it that way?
• What schools are there? What demographics make up the student body of each one? How well-run and organized is each school? What is the quality of education at
each school? Why is it this way?
• What hospitals, clinics, or equivalent are there? What types of people go to each one? How well-run and organized are they? What quality of health care can people
expect to receive from them?
• How religious are its various demographics overall? Where, if anywhere, do they go to hold services, meetings, or rituals pertaining to their faiths?
• Where do the locals get their news? What types oflocal newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, or websites does it have? Or if these things do not exist, are people
limited to a notice board or word of mouth?
• What types of transport are used by citizens? What types of people are most likely to use which?
• How efficient is the police force or equivalent law enforcement system?
• Are there certain types of crime that the police (or equivalent) will put little, if any effort into solving? Why?
• Will the police often overlook or put little effort into solving certain types of crime if the people were involved were members of certain demographics? Why?
• Does any organized or syndicated crime go on? If so, how much, and what it's about? What kinds of people are involved in it?
• What types of crime are the most prevalent? Why?
• In which parts does the most crime occur? Why?
• How much substance abuse goes on? What types of substances are the most commonly abused, and by which groups? Which demographics are the most prevalent
substance abusers? Why?
• How much gambling goes on? How much of it is legal? How much is illegal? Which demographics are the most likely to gamble over what? Which demographics
are the most likely to gamble, period? Why is it this way?
• Has any crime garnered national attention? If so, what was it?
• What efforts have been taken to keep certain crimes or criminal activity from occurring? How well do they work?
• Are there any notable local ordinances? Are there any that are downright ridiculous? Are there any that are just plain odd? Are there any that are so weird,
ridiculous, or outdated that nobody bothers to enforce them?
• Who is the mayor, or equivalent? Who all is in charge of running it? What kind of people are they? How well do they do their jobs, all things considered? ls there
any notable amount of corruption that goes on?
• What local venues, if any, offer fun and entertainment? What types of patrons do they cater to and/or attract? Or is there such a dearth of decent places to go that
people would often find themselves having to look elsewhere for fun?
• Does it have any parks? What are they like? What kinds of people most often visit them?
• Does it have any museums? If so, what do these museums display? What kinds of people do they attract?
• Is there a library? How big is it? What kind of books does it have? Where is the library located?
• Does it have any festivals, holidays, or events unique to itself? If so, what are they? What are they about? How did they start?

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• Does it have any other local culture, EG, food, music, clothes, etc. that originated there? Who invented it? How well-known is it to non-locals?
• Does it have any sports teams? What do they play, and how well do they play? How much are people invested in their team or teams?
• Are there any notable subcultures living there? How large are they? How are they perceived by other people not in these subcultures?
• Are there any social clubs? If so, what are they like?
• Does it contain any locations considered historical? If so, why are they considered historical?
• Is there anything that attracts tourists? If so, how much tourism occurs? How many people make a living off of it?
• Does it have have stores, restaurants, or attractions that are famous outside of it? How many people come to visit them? From how far away?
• What are the oldest buildings around? What are the newest? Who built them?
• Are there any places that are utterly run down, if not abandoned? If so, why did this happen?
• Are there any places that have been recently renovated and renewed? If so, why did this happen?
• Does anyone famous live there? Has anyone famous ever come from there? What did or does that person or people do?

You might also like:

"I Need A Name For My Town/City!" - Help Coming Up With Names For Fictional Towns And
Cities Country-Development Questions
Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development

Questions Tips To Write Better & More Believable Cover
Ups Worldbuilding-Relevant Generator Index

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"I Need A Name For My Town/City!" - Help Coming Up With Names For
Fictional Towns And Cities

The first thing to remember is that town and city names don't just spring out of nowhere. By naming a town or city, you are saying or implying something about its history
and the people who live or lived there. Here is a list of things where you can derive your town and city names from (any and all of which can overlap with each other).

• Name it after someone important in its history. If it was founded by a someone named Carlos Roscoe, you might Name it something like Carlostown or
Roscoeville. !fit grew up around a trading post run by someone nammed Sally Derwood, you might Name it Sallytown, Derwood's Post, or even just Derwood. !fit
grew up around a field owned by someone named Fred, you might Name it Fredfield. Maybe it was named after its first pastor or postmaster, or maybe it was
named after someone that everyone liked. (Tfyou need names, you can try the random name generators.)
• Name it after a loved one of a figure important in its founding. No small amount of towns in the US are named after the wives and children (particularly
daughters) of men who were involved in the founding of various towns in the US.
• Name it after a religious figure. Such as a saint or deity important to the person or people who founded the town. Tfa group of people consider Saint Odile to be
their patron saint, they might choose to name the town St. Odile.
• Name it after some other admired figure. Such as a ruler or a prominent military figure.
• Name it after a geographical or geological feature. A town near a forest on a hill might be descriptively named Forest Hill. A on a river might be named
Riverside. If there is a mountain known as Cranberry Mountain, then the nearby city itself might simply be called Cranberry Mountain. Is there a proliferation of
white rocks, or a giant white rock that's hard to miss? Then the city might be called White Rock. (For geographically or geologically-inspired names, the
Landscape Generator might give you ideas.)
• Name it after an animal or plant prolific in the area. If wild strawberries grow all over the area, a town founded there might be called Strawberry, Strawberry
Meadows, or Strawberry Hill. Ifthere are a lot of geese in the area, you might call your it Goosetown, Goose Lake, or even just Goose.
• Name it after anything else that stands out. Is there a great place where you can watch the sun come up? Then Sunview might be an appropriate name. Did it
spring up around a church, and does that church have a unique feature, such as a belfry that leans at an angle due to a mistake by builders? Then Crookchurch could
work.
• Name it after something the local economy thrived or thrives on. A coal-mining town might be named Coaltown. A town that developed in an area where
fanners made most of their money selling carrots might be named Carrotville.
• Name it after another town/city. Many European colonists named towns and cities after those of their homelands... or places they'd probably never been to, but
still sounded fancy.
• The name can come from someone's whim, fancy, or odd circumstances. Just take a look at these towns and their names. lfyou can think of it, it can be a town
or city name. Just ask yourself - what would inspire a person to name a town that?

So with all that in mind, stop and think about the town you're developing so far. Does it have any characteristics or history yet that you could draw a name from? None
yet? Then go to a website like randomwebsite.com or Wikipedia and go to a random page, or go to the Random Town Creator and generate a random town and see if
anything on that page sticks out at you or sparks an idea either for a name or for part of your town or city's history. Repeat process as necessary or desired.

You might also like:

Town & City Development Questions

Country-Development Questions
Worldbuilding-Relevant Generator
Index

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Tips 'n Stuff To Make Better Science Fiction/Fantasy Slang & Swear Words

So you want to create some slang for your fantasy world? Want to make up some swears for your space captain to bark out in a bracing battle? Here are a few things to
remember and consider when coming up with it all.

Remember, slang words develop organically from pre-existing elements.

Slang doesn't just pop out of nowhere, but borrows elements from pre-existing languages, either from the originator's native language, or from a language the originator is
familiar with. Here are some examples of how slang can originate:

• A slang word can be a portmanteau (a combination of two or more words blended into one word, such as "sloots" for fuzzy, slipperlike boots, or "netbook"
for "lntemet notebook").
• They can be an abbreviation or truncation of a longer word (such as TV and fridge for television and refrigerator).
• It can simply be a brief, catchy-sounding word that initially carried another meaning (cool, epic, etc).
• Some slang tenns are derived more indirectly, through prominent names associated with the concept one is trying to describe - such as Googling for the act of
searching for something on Google, or fedora from a hat that was worn in a play by the same name.
• Some slang tenns begin as wholly constructed words (but they will borrow from the sounds and sound patterns the originators of the slang are familiar with).
• Other slang terms begin as loanwords from other languages, particularly the languages of cultures perceived as being classier or more intelligent than one's own
culture. (And loan words, if difficult to pronounce by the adopters, will end up modified to something closer to their native phonemes - eg, the French word
beaucoup becoming the English slang term bookoo.)

Remember, slang terms don't only catch on just because they sound neat - they also need to serve a purpose.

Slang tenns that catch on not only sound neat and flow easily from the mouth, but they also serve a useful function to the speaker. For example:

• Slang can be used simplify an expression that already exists, such as using "l can't!" in place of a longer expression such as "l can't even begin to describe bowl
am feeling right now!"
• Slang can also be used to clarify a concept that doesn't really have a well-defined word, such as "cool," which describes something that is simultaneously awe
inspiring and respectable, or is iconic enough that adopting it is meant to gain respect.
• Other times, slang tenns exist not to clarify, but to muddy: a group who finds themselves frustrated by their lack of power in society might assert themselves by
developing unique terms that those outside their group (typically those with more power) are unable to understand, as in the case of Cockney rhyming slang.

Slang terms used to simplify will usually sound like the expression they started from. Terms used to clarify otherwise difficult-to-describe concepts may sound similar to
another word, or they may be fabricated from whole cloth. Terms designed to confuse will often derive directly from the language, but be taken so far out of context that
they are impossible to understand, or they may be invented from scratch.

Epithets and swear words need to be high impact and low effort.

Fictional epithets and swear words are easily the most popular type of slang to show up in a science fiction or fantasy story. They're also the easiest to make unconvincing,
because the traits needed to make a good epithet or swear word are often overlooked. Generally speaking, uttering your swear words should should feel like throwing a
good punch, which means they need to be:

• Effortless. For practical reasons, most are meant to be blurted, usually in a moment of heated anger or irritation. Consonant clusters (fl, rs) and multiple syllables
should usually be avoided, as they increase the effort required to speak the word and thereby diminish its usefulness.
• Inappropriate. Most epithets are satisfying to say because they're also a slang word for something that makes people uncomfortable. There's a special kind of
catharsis that comes from uttering a word that you KNOW is going to rustle someone's jimmies. Your word doesn't have to have a specific, offensive meaning (at
least not in English), but it should either carry some taboo connotation in its originating culture, or be vague enough that it sounds like something you should not
say.
• Quick to end. Generally, you should avoid beginning or ending your swear word with either vowels or soft consonants (I, z), both of which pad the length (violating
rule #1). Be particularly wary of ending with a soft sound, which can change the word from blunt to flowing and can tum your punch into more ofa glide.

Some of these rules are more flexible than others. Depending on the language your characters speak, it may not be practical or possible to employ words that are shorter
than two syllables or end in hard consonants, and other traits - such as context and the speaker's tone of voice - provide the necessary force. Even in English, in both real
life and fiction, there are multiple successful epithets that don't possess every single one of these traits. Ignore all of them, however, and you get epithets like "frell" -
which is needlessly complicated, completely inoffensive, and sounds less like a punch than someone shuffling their feet through mud.

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You might also be interested in:

Of Character Voices & Slang

Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do Tn Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy
Story Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery
Worlds Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable
Futures
Names of THE FUTURE!!!

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Moral & Ethical System Development Questions

Questions to help you figure out your science fiction and fantasy cultures' moral and ethical systems. You also can use this to troubleshoot for potential problems in a
system that's supposed to be good, or find ways to make conflict in one that isn't!

• Who originally designed it? What kind of person/people were they? What did they want out ofit? Why did they choose this, and not something else?
• What is it supposed to accomplish? What are its goals?
• Who is this system supposed to benefit? In what ways? Who might be left out of this system's benefits, whether in whole or in part? !fit benefits people unequally,
why is it seen as right and/or acceptable that one group should benefit while another does not?
• How might any of its precepts end up being used against the very people it's supposed to benefit or protect?
• Does following its precepts genuinely make things better for people - TE, promote harmony and reduce suffering while delivering the greatest good to the
greatest number? If so, in what ways?
• Or are the consequences of not following its precepts mainly constructed - IE, you'll be punished by authority/the system if you fail to comply?
• Does it provide an actual ethical framework? Or does it mostly just provide a list of dos and don'ts?
• How might this system be exploited by a ill!.!..!Y. with a victim complex?
• How might it be exploited by someone who wants to take down an innocent person out of malice or spite?
• Does it have any measures in place to prevent people from exploiting it thus? Does it have anything along the lines of due process and "innocent until proven
guilty"?
• How might someone with absolutely no compassion or empathy exploit it for personal gain or pleasure?
• How could it be applied to hinder or stop someone from helping others, or from otherwise behaving in an ethical manner?
• How could it be applied to pressure people into harming others, or otherwise behaving in an unethical manner?
• How could its precepts be applied in a morally abusive manner?
• What kind of people might find it stifling? What sorts of harmless behaviors or forms of self-expression might it serve to inhibit?
• Are there any particularly heinous and atrocious actions that are technically not prohibited by this system, or are even implicitly encouraged? What are they?
• Is it more concerned with actual personal behaviors and actions, or is it more concerned with public appearances? Does it ever get looking good confused with
actually doing good?
• Does it have any rules or guidelines to prevent people from taking its philosophies or precepts too far?
• Does it have any measures to prevent or remove corruption? If so, what?
• Does it have any mechanisms in place to allow people to improve upon it and fix any errors or oversights it might have? If so, what?

You might also like:

Country & Culture-Development Questions

Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Tips To Create Fictional Philosophies & Value Systems

How Good People & Well-Intentioned Groups Can Go Bad

On Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments In Your Fiction
Factors That Contribute To Abusive & Dysfunctional
Systems/Institutions

Ethical Considerations For Fantastic Situations - Are Your Sci-Fi & Fantasy Heroes Ethical People?
Character Morality & Ethics - What Separates Your Heroes From The Villains?

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Tips To Create Fictional Philosophies & Value Systems

Aiming to develop fantastic cultures with philosophies and value systems that are supposed to be different from our own? Not sure how to go about it without resorting to
handwaves like "they're just too alien for us to comprehend!"? Or are you unsure of how a value system might develop in the first place? Whatever your troubles may be,
here are some tips that will hopefully help you out on this.

Table of Contents
• First of all, get your mind outside of modem western dualism (if you haven't already).
• Know how philosophies and value systems might originate in the first place.
• A few more points to keep in mind.
• What to do (and avoid doing) now that you know all this.

First of all, get your mind outside of modern western dualism (if you haven't already).

This section presumes that you live in the Western world, as most readers of this site do. As it is, western culture today is entrenched in a particular dualistic mindset, and
unless you can train yourself to think outside of it, you're going to have a hard time creating anything genuinely different from it. This becomes a problem if you're aiming
to create a culture that seems truly different to your fellow westerners without resorting to fiats like "their ways are simply incomprehensible to us!"

So what is western dualism? In a nutshell, it's that whole good vs. evil, darkness vs. light theme. In manifests in media in many ways: angels vs. demons, seelie vs.
unseelie, heroes vs. villains, the light side of the Force vs. the dark side of the Force, etc. Western dualism holds that the "bad" side is always plotting and scheming to
destroy the "good" side and/or that it'll probably pounce full-force as soon as good lets its guard down even a little. (This sort of thinking has led to cautionary moral
stories of characters whose one-time indulgence in something selfish or morally questionable leads down a slippery slope to indulging every sin and vice ever, or even
going full-blown villain.)

We're so used to this paradigm that we don't think twice about it, and yet this idea is far from universal. This doesn't mean that other cultures don't a concept ofright and
wrong, because they absolutely do. What they don't necessarily have is an entire cosmology or mythos that wraps around this whole dark vs. light, good vs. evil idea the
way Western culture does.

A good example of modern western dualism versus other viewpoints is how modern westerners perceive other people's deities associated with death. In their original
cultures, these deities weren't seen as evil per se. They might have been seen as frightening and intimidating, but they weren't necessarily more likely to do horrible things
to you than any other deity, and they weren't all plotting to overthrow the other gods so they could take over and rule. This is what westerners, accustomed to the narrative
of Lucifer and his fallen angels, assume they must want to do. Go and look at how deities like Hades, Hel, and others were originally perceived - it's a far cry from the evil
mustache-twirling attitudes that many people ascribe to them today.

Now, at this point some of you might be asking, "All right, so what ifl write a story where the guys who are usually 'bad' are actually good and the guys who are usually
'good' are actually bad?" You can certainly do that if you really want to, but you're still operating within the framework of western dualism. All forms of dualism think in
terms of opposites; so if you simply try to reverse or invert something, you haven't escaped it at all. Trying to escape duality by reversing or inverting it in some way is
like trying to escape your coat by wearing it inside out. You haven't escaped it at all because you're still wearing it. If you really want to get away from your coat, you
have to take it off altogether and leave it behind.

One thing you might do is look at the concept of yin and yang. It's a fonn of dualism that operates very differently from western dualism. Neither side are good, nor evil;
they are simply opposite, yet complementary forces that create a unified whole when working in tandem. The concepts that each side represents have nothing to do with
western concepts of "darkness" and "light." Rather, they represent an entirely different system altogether. Thus you can see how another form of dualism can be far
removed from western dualism.

For a pop culture example, you might also look into Dungeons & Dragons's alignment system. Although its concepts are recognizeable to those who are familiar with
western dualism, it incorporates additional axes that add new depths of complexity. Being lawful does not encourage one to be good nor discourage one from being evil,
because laws can be oppressive. Being chaotic (having no real inclination to follow other people's rules per se) does not mean that one is necessarily going to be gleefully
torturing and stealing from people for just no reason. This site explains them fairly well.

A few more things you might look into (though by no means the only things) include Taoism, wabi-sabi, kintsugi, the Havamal, Stoicism, and Dudeism. The idea, of
course, isn't to end up copying somebody else's system, but rather to expand your ability to conceptualize systems beyond your current comprehension and to come to
appreciate just how many ways people can perceive things.

Know how philosophies and value systems might originate in the first place.

In a way, philsophies and cultural values are essentially opinions that went viral. Someone at some point thought that something was bad or good, or that things ought to
work a certain way, and that person's opinion spread out and became the dominant viewpoint - whether peacefully or by force. And some of these opinions may have had
better grounding in reality or practicality than others. For example, "don't be pointlessly cruel to people" is very practical - it promotes cooperation and reduces conflict,

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which makes everything better for everyone. On the other hand, "boys and girls must dress in certain ways or else they are failures at being boys and girls" has no
practical value whatsoever - it mostly just makes people who have unconventional tastes miserable.

lfyou're trying to build up a cultural value system or philsophy from scratch, it can be useful to look back in time and ask yourself what could have happened that might
have prompted a strong opinion about how things should be. Here are some ways that this can potentially happen:

Someone wanted to have control over someone else. It's not hard to imagine that a bunch of guys sick of their partners up and leaving them (perhaps because they just
weren't very kind and considerate to them) might decide together that there ought to be laws and rules against such a thing - thus giving rise to an oppressive patriarchal
system.

Someone really found the idea of something repulsive or disturbing. People can be repulsed over things for rational and irrational reasons, and when someone is really
strongly repulsed by something, it's rarely hard for them to think of "moral" reasons why no one should engage in it. For an irrational example, someone strongly
repulsed by instant gelatin desserts might come up with all kinds of "moral" justifications as to why nobody should eat it - EG, they encourage laziness by allowing
people to make a sweet treat in a matter of minutes instead of putting work into something for hours, they encourage anti-intellectualism because they require no
creativity, and they encourage anti-community values because they're bought from a store instead of being made from ingredients grown and harvested by the
community.

Someone thought it would make a better world. For example, someone might decide that modem machinery is the source of everyone's woes (after all, Grandma insists
that life was so much better when she was a girl!) and that the key to happiness is to eschew all oftbat and live rustic existences. Or for another example, someone might
have realized that if people got into the habit of forgiving each other instead of taking petty revenge over each and every little slight, the world would be a whole lot less
violent and nasty.

Somebody otherwise thought it made things fair and equitable. For example, someone might decide that if somebody destroys the property of someone else, then it's
only fair that this person pays the other back for as much as the damage would cost one way or another.

Something was a necessity at one point. For example, in an era when war and strife were common, training every able-bodied person in combat may have been a matter
of survival. At a time when food shortages were common, preserving and stockpiling large amounts of food may have been the only way to avoid starvation. These
practices might persist as a cultural value even if they aren't strictly necessary anymore.

Something was believed to be a necessity at one point. For example, someone might have genuinely believed that unless children were brought up in a very particular
way, they would all grow up to be too irresponsible and undisciplined to maintain an orderly society.

People found it enjoyable. For example, if people enjoyed listening to storytellers, they might come to consider storytelling to be a very valuable skill and encourage
people to learn it.

People found it useful. For example, people who discovered that scientific development brought them lots of good things might go on to encourage others into making
scientific endeavors for themselves.

Someone wanted to make an identity statement. Refusing to participate in a culture's normal conventions is an effective way to say that you are not one of them. You
might have someone who finds the practices of a culture at large abhorrent or ridiculous decide to refuse to wear the same types of clothes or eat the same kinds of foods
as they do.

Someone decided that because the enemy did it, it was bad in and of itself. People tend to extend their feelings about a group to that group's practices as well. So for
example, somebody might refuse to play some musical instrument that an enemy group plays because it's perceived as evil. Over time, people might come to consider that
instrument uncouth or uncivilized for no real reason except that they learned to think of it that way from other people.

Someone thought that avoiding it put them above someone they considered inferior. For example, someone might avoid dressing like a group of people considered to
be uncouth rabble in order to remain "above" them, and encourage others to do the same so they don't "sink to their level" or somesuch.

A few more points to keep in mind.

An extremely detrimental value system is not likely to survive long. Cultures can absolutely maintain some heinous ideals for a very long time, but if a system severely
impedes a culture's ability to survive and protect itself, it probably won't last long - either the culture will have to change or it will go extinct. Furthermore, extremely
repressive values can provoke revolutions and rebellions.

People tend to assume that whatever they grew up with is the right and proper way to do things. They tend to automatically assume that there's a good reason things
are done this way. Although they're not always wrong, this can sometimes lead to a counterproductive fear of change and cause them to get in the way of useful or even
necessary questioning and reform.

People will create justifications for maintaining what they're used to. Going back to the combat training example, people might decide it's still a necessity because it
teaches the youth discipline or somesuch (never mind that there are any number of other things, arguably far more useful, that can do that). With the musical instrument
example, somebody might justify continued refusal to use it by claiming that using it in their music would destroy their own music's distinctive qualities.

Exessive admiration of something can lead to it becoming grossly exaggerated. Again with the combat training example, if too many people idealize this as a cultural
value, it can lead to a culture becoming excessively militaristic. Or for another example, someone who admired somebody's somewhat stern method of child-rearing might
decide that the best way to improve upon it is to make it even sterner.

What to do (and avoid doing) now that you know all this.

Tailor the philosophies and value systems to fit your fantastic people. You don't want to end up imposing mores on them that are a complete mismatch for what they
are and how they live. For example, if you're writing about a non-human species with a very different reproductive cycle from humans, then their values and ideas about
mating and reproduction should be about equally different. (The belief that you should be a doting and attentive parent doesn't really apply if you spawn thousands of eggs
into the ocean and you don't meet your offspring until they find their way back to the colony as adults!) Also, environment can play a huge role, too - places where
scarcity is common will probably develop different values from places where it's relatively unheard of. Put yourself in their shoes and think about the challenges and
pressures they face (or don't face, as the case may be), and consider how these might shape how they see the world.

Resist the urge to try to show up humanity with a "superior" system. It can be tempting to create a fantasy or science fiction culture that embodies what we consider
to be perfect ideals and have them come and tell humanity just how much they're awful. However, this usually just a very good way to end up with a bunch of smug know
it-alls your audience will bate en masse - especially if they scold humanity for doing things they really have no feasible alternative for right now.

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Remember that "they're aliens, they have different values from us!" is not a free pass for them to ignore and violate human boundaries. It's on them to try to
learn and respect our boundaries just as much as it's on us to accept that they aren't like us and that it's not our place to tell them how they have to live and conduct their
personal affairs. If they act like a human is doing something wrong or cruel by telling them to stop it with the personal contact or to get out of a private space, the problem
is them, not the human. (See also "Is This My Character's Fault?" -A Flowchart for how one might handle an alien who doesn't understand human culture very well and
makes a few innocent mistakes along the way.)

You might grab a pair of six-sided dice and roll them to determine how positively or negatively they regard certain things. 2 would be complete disapproval; 12
would be ubiquitous encouragement. 7 would be neutral or mixed opinions. So, how do they see, perhaps, different forms of affection, and when? How do they feel
toward martial force? What's their view on hair dye? When you've figured a few things out, stop and think up some reasons that all of these views got started.

Think up some particularly unusual or eccentric viewpoints you've heard, then imagine a culture where they're normal. What might a culture like that be like?
Could it actually work out? lfso, you might have yourself an idea to work with.

If it's supposed to be oppressive or unfair in some way, this section of this article should be taken into account, and Mindsets & Rationales That Lend Well To Villainy
might be useful in general. Factors That Contribute To Abusive & Dysfunctional Systems/Institutions might also be of help.

If this system is supposed to be informed by experience and wisdom, On Writing & Roleplaying Wise Characters, On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are
Good Leader Material, On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Competent Tacticians, and On Writing & Roleplaying Smart Characters all have points to take
into consideration.

Ask yourself some critical questions about your system to minimize consequences or implications you never intended. Moral & Ethical System Development
Questions can help you with this.

Remember that any well-developed and "deep" philosophical system will have been passed through numerous thought experiments and critical debates. A good
philosophical system can start with one person, but it ends up refined by many. This refinement process can involve up to generations of people questioning, debating,
troubleshooting, and re-interpreting it.

Also check out:

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Country & Culture-Development Questions
How To Create Fictional Structured
Religions
Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations

Moral & Ethical System Development Questions

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Points To Remember When Designing SF Creatures & Species
Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development Questions

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Country & Culture Development Questions

Questions to get you thinking so you can better develop your countries and their cultures, whether they're fantastic fairytale kingdoms or futuristic space colonies.

• What biomes does it contain? What's its topography like?

• What are its most notable geological features or natural landmarks?
• Which resources are abundant? Which are scarce?
• What kinds of natural disasters are likely to occur? How often? How do the people deal with them?
• What kind of wild animals live there? What kind of wild plants?
• What kind of animals do the people keep as livestock? What about pets?
• What kinds of foods do most of the people eat? Where does their food come from?
• What are its most notable/famous man-made landmarks? How and why were they constructed?
• What are its holiest or most revered sites? What are their histories?
• What kinds of holidays do the people usually celebrate? How did these holidays originate?
• How are events such as weddings and funerals typically conducted?
• What kinds of musical instruments are played by its people? What does their music sound like?
• What forms of art do the people create? What does it look like?
• What are the most well-known folk stories? When and where did they originate?
• Who are the most famous historical and/or folkloric figures? Why?
• How and when do people typically receive their education?
• How important is education considered?
• At what age are people considered legal adults? Are there any rites of passage typically performed?
• What kind of games do the people play? What kinds of sports?
• What are the dominant culture's biggest taboos? Why?
• What are the dominant culture's most serious crimes? How are they punished?
• What are the dominant culture's most honorable achievements? How are they rewarded?
• What are the most prevalent attitudes toward sex? Marriage? Divorce?
• Which traits, actions, and attitudes do most of the people admire? Why?
• Which jobs or skills are considered the most prestigious or useful? Why?
• Which jobs or skills are considered the least prestigious or useful? Why?
• How are the sick and injured treated? How about the mentally ill? The physically disabled?
• What are the most common religious/cosmological beliefs? How did these originate and develop?
• If the people are religious, how many deities do they have? How are these deities properly honored?
• Which deities have come into popularity lately? Which have fallen out of favor?
• What are the biggest sources of controversy and division? Why?
• What kinds of minority groups live in it? How and why did they come to be there?
• How are the minority cultures different from the dominant culture? How have they influenced it?
• How does the dominant culture feel about these minority groups?
• How do the people feel about foreigners and outsiders?
• Who are its enemies? Why are they enemies?
• Which of their enemies are the most dangerous, and why?
• Who are its allies? Why are they allies?
• Which of their allies are the most helpful, and why?
• What was the last war it was involved in? What was the most impactful war it has been involved in?
• Who do the people trade with? What do they trade for?
• Which other countries have influenced it the most? How and why?
• What atrocities is it responsible for? Why were they committed?
• What good things has it done? Why?
• Which types of people are the most privileged? Which types of people are marginalized? How did it come to be this way?
• Which moments in its history are so embarrassing that they are rarely, if ever talked about anymore?
• Which moments in its history are the people most proud of? Why?
• Which non-natural disasters are the most likely to occur? How would the people deal with them?
• What do the people perceive to be the biggest threat or threats to peace and order? Why?
• How much corruption is in the government?
• What and how much can people say without fear of censure?
• Who controls most of the wealth and resources? How did it get to be this way?

You might also like:

Moral & Ethical System Development Questions

Town & City Development Questions
"I Need A Name For My Town/City!" - Help Coming Up With names For Fictional Towns And Cities
Holiday Development Questions

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Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development Questions
Creating & Writing Fantasy Armies - Things To Keep In Mind & Consider
Points To Remember When Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding-Relevant Generator Index

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Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

The items on this page are mainly meant to bring light to many things that people often fail to take into account when working out their worlds and settings. So think
about your setting and the characters or factions in comparison to any items on the list you may not have yet considered, and consider how it might affect or apply to them.

• Different people will react to new things differently! Some might be intrigued, some might be amazed, some might be fearful, some might be suspicious, some
might be annoyed, some might be some combination of the aforementioned, and some might care any way. Someone seen as a prophet by some will be viewed as a
deceiver by others. A book heralded by some as fresh and innovative for its unusual ideas might be seen as the death of literature by others.
• Anything perceived as strange, unusual, or novel will provoke curiosity in many, causing them to want to study it and learn more about it.
• If people perceive something as dangerous and threatening, they'll try to figure out how to keep themselves safe from it - and they'll be keeping record of what they
learn and swapping tips with friends and allies.
• People often tend not to worry or think too much about things that have been present or practiced as long as they can remember. It's the new stuff that grabs the most
attention and scrutiny.
• People's ideas and perceptions of "normal" are typically based on whatever and whoever they grew up with and around. Everyone and everything else typically is
seen as strange or odd, at least until they learn enough about other people to put their own experiences into context and perspective.
• Ancient people typically viewed their own homelands as the center of the world/universe.
• People also tend to view themselves and their own groups as normal and relatively diverse individuals, while they often see others more as collectives or hive
minds. They will also notice the big differences first, and many will incorrectly assume that these other people have some sort of special obsession or fixation on
these different elements, and that their cultures somehow revolve around them.
• People tend to remember good things while forgetting the bad - the "nostalgia glasses" effect - and are often prone to romanticizing times and places they didn't
have first-hand experience with, as they aren't familiar with the depth and scope of the troubles of the time/place. Thus there are good odds that the "golden days"
people long for or dream about weren't quite as golden as they think.
• If anything that people have to do or use is risky or dangerous, people will sooner or later try to make it safer and/or find a safer alternative.
• If there's a widespread problem, people will be trying to fix it. They might have different ideas on what the correct approach is and may spend a lot of time arguing
with each other, but they will be trying to fix it.
• Legends and prophecies of coming saviors, returning rightful kings, and glorious new eras right around the corner have kept some people from getting up and taking
action to solve their problems, but never all of them.
• Any apparent or perceived political/ideological shift will experience opposition - sometimes verbal, sometimes political, sometimes physical - from those who see it
as a bad thing and have the power to make their disapproval known.
• Anything that people believe will muck up a just, stable, and productive society in general will be met with resistance. It might lead to a moral panic.
• Anything that's perceived as glamorous, romantic, exciting, mysterious, or edgy will prompt people to fantasize and write stories. Some ofit might end up as pop
culture. Some might end up with cult followings.
• Also, anything perceived as cultured, glamorous, romantic, exciting, mysterious, or edgy will inspire people to imitate it, or at the very least imitate its aesthetic.
• People will always find ways to express themselves and to amuse/entertain themselves and others - even in times of hardship and oppression.
• Countercultures and attempts to mock and deconstruct the previous generation's art and philosophy are inevitable.
• Society's sensibilities do not always progress unilaterally; what one generation approves of or doesn't mind, the next might disapprove of; but then the generation
after that might not mind it as much.
• Ideas and philosophies that seem clever and intelligent, or that come from people/groups that people romanticize or admire, will be adopted (sometimes
syncretically, depending on what the idea is).
• People are more likely to adapt their old customs, traditions, and myths to fit new philosophies and ideologies than discard them entirely, if it's at all possible for
them to do so.
• Fables, folklore, and legends often spread to other people cultures, who localize them with names, locations, objects, and other details they're familiar with and retell
them. (Hence why there are so many versions of the Cinderella story!)
• Fables, folklore, legends, and even historical events or figures will often be embellished or exaggerated over the years for dramatic value, or to make the
"good" figures in them look more noble and virtuous and "bad" figures more horrible, and/or to drive home a moral or political point the storyteller wants to
make.
• Sometimes, people just make things up - in whole or in part. Sometimes it's for attention, sometimes it's to make money, and sometimes it's for propaganda reasons.
• Fables, folklore, legends, and history can be passed along orally for years before they're ever written down. Some bits of lore or folklore might be so commonly
known that nobody sees any point in writing them down - possibly resulting in them being lost forever if something happens to the culture.
• As different people who originally came from the same culture spread out across the world and separate from each other, their myths and legends will mutate and
evolve in separate ways from each other's. So their lore might share many similar motifs while having some pretty significant differences.

• Does someone have a monopoly on a valuable c01runodity, a superior technology, an advanced form of magic, or something along these lines? Others will be
trying to get their hands on it and/or will be looking for ways to compete.
• If it's been invented, developed, or discovered, someone will try to figure out how to use it to improve overall standards of living and make life easier in general.
• If there are positions of power and authority, control freaks, Jlredators, and other abusive people will try to get into them so they can use them to control
and dominate others. Not every authority figure will be abusive, but plenty of abusive people will try to put themselves in authority, and some will succeed.
• Scapegoating is inevitable, especially during times of hardship or uncertainty. The usual target is whatever or whoever is poorly understood enough that people have
room to imagine that it's up to or promotes whatever evils they can imagine, and/or people/things that are widely viewed with some measure of distrust and
contempt. This also frequently leads to moral panic.
• Hardship and uncertainty also breeds change and revival in religion and spirituality. Religion and spirituality can offer people hope and a sense of meaning in
difficult times. Religious and spiritual teachings that no longer explain the world to the satisfaction of believers will be examined and questioned. Believers may
change and adapt their current beliefs to better fit and explain the world they know, or they may drop them in favor of another ideology that makes more sense.
• Ideologies that claim to have absolute answers, give people a sense of hope and purpose, punishes non-believers or claims they will be punished in the afterlife, and
allow and permit believers to dehumanize those who don't believe in it are among the most likely to spread and propagate. They are also the most destructive and
damaging, as they are the ideologies most easily used to justify abuse, cruelty, genocide, and "convert or die" policies; and believers may be any mix of too fearful

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of punishment, too hooked on the superiority high, too invested in getting the rewards or perceived rewards, too deeply brainwashed that their belief is true and
righteous, or too afraid of losing everyone and everything they knew to seriously consider changing their views or ways.
• But even then, such ideologies will never succeed in holding utterly everyone forever; some people's consciences will get the better of them (especially if they know
people on the outside and can't find it within themselves to justify hatred toward them, or can't bring themselves to see them as deserving of whatever punishment
their beliefs deem them worthy of), and they'll abandon their beliefs or modify them to something less harsh and/or they'll find reasons their beliefs cannot be true or
at least find no compelling reason to assume they are true.
• People who feel that life has been unfair to them and/or lack a sense of purpose, fulfillment, or belonging are the among easiest targets for extremists to convert.
And any ideology can potentially become extremist in nature.
• There will always be disagreements within groups; if the disagreements become severe, the group will likely splinter and may end up competing/fighting with each
other. Also, groups that are extremely strict on what constitutes correct behavior and belief are more likely to split apart than groups who give members more wiggle
room, as even the tiniest of disagreements are perceived as severe issues.
• Dense population plus poor sanitation creates the perfect environment for deadly epidemics. Poor nutrition can exacerbate disease crises as well.
• Ships can carry and vermin to new places, which can unbalance the ecosystems they infest and even spread disease to the local people. Sailors can also carry and
spread disease.
• Desperate situations drive people to desperate (and sometimes despicable) measures.
• Most people don't want to fight unless they're desperate, or have been brought to believe that they are in desperate straits.
• Material shortage drives people to explore and find new sources for whatever they need - or richer territory to migrate to. In the former case, conflict will likely
arise if locals are unwilling or unable to trade. In the latter, conflict will likely arise if the land is already well-populated.
• Possible reasons for shortage include overpopulation, depletion of natural resources, economic crisis, and crop failure. Possible reasons for crop failure include plant
diseases, pests, natural disaster, depleted soil, contaminated soil or water, and climate change.
• A thriving civilization needs a thriving economy. This means they most likely need to be producing products and goods that they can trade with others - and/or be
out pillaging what they need from other civilizations.
• If they built, created, or produced it, then they needed workers, tools, and workshops/factories/construction yards/fields/etc. to do it.
• Every civilization leaves behind refuse - even ancient cultures left behind things like broken/damaged pots, tools, and furniture; also, they left behind human waste
and bones from the animals they used for food or for utilitarian purposes.
• Everything, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem, has a story behind it. That pebble on the beach? It might be a worn-down chunk of stone from an
ancient volcano. The wallpaper in the lady's tearoom was created somewhere, the paper, dyes, and adhesive sourced from yet other places. The mashed potatoes
on the table were planted and harvested by people somewhere, and then cooked and prepared by someone. Take nothing for granted.

You might also like:

Town & City Development Questions

Country & Culture Development Questions
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Human Psychology and its Effect on Myths, Legends, and Superstition

How Good People & Well-Intentioned Groups Can Go Bad

Villain Tips: Of Conquest, Minions, Progress, & Planning
Things About Moral Panics Writers Should Know

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please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story

Following up Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs, when you're writing science fiction or fantasy, there are a few things you need to do with your
settings and characters to make a good, solid work.

Table of Contents
• Be clear on what you're talking about
• Remember what is going to be novel and what is going to be mundane to your characters
• Use your extraordinary elements to create extraordinary adventures.
• So, in summary...

Be clear on what you're talking about

In one story I read, a major hullabaloo was made over the fact that the protagonist was a witch - this made her Really Super Important somehow. But because the story
never explained or shown what a witch even was or did, I had no real way to understand just why everyone was making such a fuss over the character, let alone what
was at stake for her and those around her as a consequence of her witchiness. From where I sat, she was basically special because the Story Said So, which made it very
frustrating to read.

Many times, it seems that the authors of assorted Internet fiction have read or watched perhaps one or two stories containing a particular magical creature and simply
assume that that's the way they universally or traditionally work, and so they figure that dropping the name of the creature will be enough for people to know what they're
talking about without further explanation. But it just ain't so.

Out of all of the stories I can think of that involve witches, there isn't a one of them where they work the exact same way as in another work. What they can do, how they
do it, and how powerful they potentially are differ significantly. In some works they may be ordinary humans who learned a skill; in other works they may have been
blessed with a gift or have an inborn ability that others don't. In some stories witches can easily turn someone into a frog with a snap of their fingers; in others, magically
lighting something as simple as a campfire may take a great deal of effort. Sometimes witches need special tools or ingredients to work their magic; sometimes they don't.

If there's one thing you can count on in fiction you read, it's that the fantastic creatures will differ from a universal or traditional standard somehow. There's nothing wrong
with this, because quite frankly, a lot of traditional creatures don't make for very good drama, and following universal standards to the last detail easily results in a story
that feels old and stale simply because there are only so many types of stories you can do if you follow all of those standards.

Whatever fantastic or supernatural element you are using, be it ghosts, aliens, vampires, fae, centaurs, mermaids, sirens, or even magic itself, you have to show people
what they they are or mean in your story, or else you run the risk of leaving people clueless or with the wrong idea entirely. Simply dropping a name and expecting them
to be clear on what you're talking about just doesn't work when there are so many differences between the way these things work in different works of fiction and even in
traditional folklore. So whatever you do, make sure that you give people enough information that they can understand how the fantastic elements work in your world.

Remember what is going to be novel and what is going to be mundane to your characters

Whatever people are accustomed to and experience on a daily or near-daily basis is what they will perceive as normal and ordinary. If your character has grown up in a
world where magic is a daily fact oflife, it's not going to seem like anything especially wondrous and special. A spell to light a candle isn't going to be any more exciting
or interesting to xir than a butane lighter is to you, nor is using a magical communication mirror going to seem any more remarkable than you would find using Skype
with a webcam, and going to a magical school wouldn't be seen as any more exciting or interesting to xir than going to a regular middle or high school would seem to
you.

On the other hand, if someone grew up in an environment where finding new information meant digging it up in a library, running around for hours trying to find the
right person to ask, doing the research yourself, or summoning a spirit in a ritual that could potentially take awhile or even go horribly wrong if done improperly, that
person might find an Internet search engine with which xe can easily and instantly find new information to be something utterly amazing and novel. A scholarly mage
who long had nothing to write notes with but paper and ink might find a modern word processor to be a marvel, even a miracle.

If your character had spent a long time in an environment where running into alien races was a relatively regular occurrence, meeting an alien wouldn't seem any more
remarkable to xir than running into someone from another country on the Internet seems to you. And while a city of sparkling golden spires may invoke awe and gawking
for the first few visits, after awhile the novelty will wear off and by the fiftieth visit you probably won't be gawking much, if at all. Meanwhile, natives of the city
wouldn't be doing any gawking at all - to them, it's just as mundane and unremarkable as your local neighborhood is to you. While your eye might be drawn by the
strange alien fashions around you, to the aliens they're just as ordinary as jeans and t-shirts are to you.

However, if your character is supposed to be an alien from a highly advanced civilization lost on Earth, that alien might find xirself almost helpless. Sure, maybe the
computer systems in its spaceship can plot a course between planets, but that doesn't mean the alien would know how to use a laptop or smartphone any more than the
average early 21st century American would know how to operate an ENIAC or Commodore PET. Maybe the alien has some kind of advanced kitchen appliances that can

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assemble a meal in a matter of minutes, but that doesn'tSpringhole.net
mean xe'll have the first idea how to use a toaster any more than the average college student would know how to
get the temperature right and cook in a Medieval oven. And in general, many, if not most of the things that you take for granted might seem pretty strange and interesting

Similarly, if your character is an ordinary human transported to an alien or magical world and doesn't react to the shiny new things by gawking and staring in awe at
least a little bit, that's pretty unrealistic, too. Such characters are pretty obviously written by writers who themselves have become numb to the wonders of the fantastic
worlds their characters are supposed to have just entered, and are failing to take into account that their characters should still feel a lot more awe and wonder.

Use your extraordinary elements to create extraordinary adventures.

Whether you're writing a story about a mermaid coming to land and attending a human high school, a human entering the realm of the fae and falling in love with one, an
alien trying to blend in on Earth, or someone just trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic future, ask yourself: what kind of adventures and shenanigans can happen directly
because and only because of the fantastic elements in your story? How might characters with access to fantastic phlebotinums try to solve their problems, as opposed to
characters who only have access or ordinary and mundane ones? How might fantastic characters solve their problems when only mundane elements are around?

If your mermaid in highschool doesn't do anything or be involved in anything that couldn't happen to any highschool student in the exact same way, people who picked
up your story looking for an honest-to-goodness mermaid adventure are going to be very disappointed when they realize that your story is essentially interchangeable
with any number of other highschool dramas except perhaps for the fact that your character really likes going to the beach alone. lfyour protagonist does nothing that a
human protagonist couldn't do and gets into no adventures or trouble that could only happen because your protagonist is a mennaid, then why are you writing about a
mennaid in the first place?

Likewise, if nothing in your story would really change if you made your vampire love interest human all along, then there's no point to having a vampire love interest. If
your crew of space explorers don't do or experience anything that couldn't happen or happen that way if they weren't exploring space and fantastic alien worlds, then they
might as well be ordinary humans living on Earth. While your basic plot premise and characters should be able to hold up even if there are no fantastic elements involved
(EG, "three friends must stop an evil would-be tyrant despite incompetent and corrupt politicians" or "a group of unlikely companions with criminal histories must band
together to stop a threat" are solid enough premises for any type of story), your fantastic elements must be more than mere set pieces and costumes or else there is no point
to having them.

(A caveat - the plot where two lovers are forbidden or discouraged from being together because of enmity between their kinds or because the masquerade must be
upheld is ve,y frequently used, so used on its own is rather likely to create a story that feels stale and old.)

So, in summary...

• Your story needs to make it clear how the fantastic elements you're using work in your story or setting rather than just assuming that people will immediately
know exactly what you mean. Because these things typically work very differently in different works of fiction and folklore, if you fail to show them how they're
supposed to work in your story, you risk leaving people clueless or with the wrong idea.
• If your character would be familiar with something, it shouldn't seem especially strange or curious to xir, even if it's strange or curious to you. Tfyour character
wouldn't be familiar with something, it should seem strange and curious to xir, even if it's completely boring and ordinary to you.
• You need to use your fantastic elements to create plots and scenarios that couldn't happen or happen the same way if the fantastic elements weren't there - otherwise,
they're just gimmicks and serve no purpose.

Also check out:

Tips to Create Better & More Believable Fantasy & Science Fiction Species
Fantasy & Science Fiction Creature Development Questions
Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery Worlds
Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable Futures
On Plot Structure & Plotting
Phlebotinum-Development Questions
Spaceships, Airships, & Other Fantastic Crafts: Things To Think Out & Consider

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please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to Specific Plot Events, Scenarios, & Story Setups

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Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures &
Civilizations

Table of Contents
• Remember, civilization requires specialists.
• Make sure your economies look viable.
• Include cultural variance and blending.
• Aim for plausible levels of knowledge.
• Come up with some holidays (and put some effort into them).
• Give your cultures their own idioms and figures of speech.
• Don't rename the wheel.
• And the bottom line...

Remember, civilization requires specialists.

While it might be tempting to create a culture whose members all specialize in one thing (EG, perhaps a culture of fierce and awesome warriors), the reality is that any
functioning civilization requires people who specialize in many different jobs. There would need to be people to design and build structures, people to procure food,
people to make personal items, weapons, clothes, etc. If they do any sort of business they'd need merchants, accountants, and so forth.

"But maybe they could do these things, and train to be fierce and awesome warriors?" some of you might be asking. What you'd mainly end up with is a bunch people
who are not remarkably good at anything because by having divide their time maintaining multiple unrelated skills and disciplines, they'd never be able to get as good at
any of them as they would if they spent their time focusing on one. Then, they could easily find themselves up against an enemy anny made up of people who made
combat their full-time careers, armed with weapons developed by people who devoted their entire lives to creating superior weapons technology. In such a case, it would
very likely not end so well for them, as they'd be facing superior soldiers armed with superior weapons.

Make sure your economies look viable.

It isn't always necessary to figure out a culture's economy in complete detail (especially if it's not going to be that important to the story), but it's a good idea to see to it
that what the audience will see looks fairly plausible.

First, supply and demand should be taken into consideration. Now, supply is simple - it's about how much of something is available, nothing more. Demand is a little more
complicated - sometimes it's about the actual necessity or usefulness of a product, but sometimes it's about symbolic value (EG, being a status or loyalty symbol), or about
being perceived as something that someone needs in order to fit in or keep up with everyone else.

Products that are rare and highly desired will be the most expensive. (And depending on what it is, the product may become a status symbol, which can make the product
become even more expensive for as demand goes up for it.) However, the rarity of a product may be ended by the very people looking to profit from it, as new methods of
production or procurement might allow them to create or distribute the product in such large quantity that they can sell it at a much lower price and still make a profit. A
good example of this kind of thing is aluminum in the 19th century- because refining aluminum was difficult, the metal was available in very limited quantities. Because
of its scarcity and attractive appearance, it was considered to be even more precious than gold. But after more effective methods of procuring aluminum were developed
in the late 1880s, the metal ultimately became so commonplace that it became cheap enough to make single-use products such as soda cans and foil from.

Sly businesspeople may also deliberately manipulate public perception of a product and/or limit its market quantity in order to keep prices from deflating. Perhaps there's
no more audacious example of this than the De Beers manipulation of the diamond industry in the late 19th and 20th century.

First, the De Beers company itself was formed when British investors realized that large amounts of diamonds coming out of newly-discovered diamond deposits in
South Africa would cause the price of diamonds to drop, and so bought up the mining companies in order to take control of the diamond supply and prevent too many
diamonds from reaching the market. When diamond sales later dropped during the Great Depression, De Beers went to the N. W. Ayer advertising agency for a solution.
The agency came up with a plan aiming to make diamonds a symbol of romance and glamour, and to make them seem not a luxury, but a necessity. The methods they
used were brilliant, if insidious. Among other things, the agency contacted Hollywood and convinced filmmakers to include scenes with movie stars receiving or wearing
diamond jewelry and put out advertisements that played diamonds up as the paramount symbol of love and devotion. Their methods worked so well that even to this day
diamonds are perceived as valuable and precious even though they're not actually rare, and the ultimate symbol of love even though there's nothing that makes them
especially superior to any other gem.

Then, there's the matter of how the government gets it funding. While it might be tempting to create a utopia where nobody has to pay taxes, remember: governments
have to be able to pay for their projects and pay their employees somehow; they can't simply pull money out of nowhere - not without wrecking the economy, anyway.
(When the Weimar Republic began printing more paper notes to try and boost its failing economy after WWI, the only thing they really ended up accomplishing was
devaluing

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Germany's currency and causing hyperinflation to the point where a newspaper that cost one mark in May of 1922 cost seventy million marks by November of 1923. The
German mark became so worthless that people literally papered their walls with it.) So odds are good that for your civilizations, taxes would be a necessary evil.

Something else to consider is that any time there are restrictions on goods of any kind, or where customs or taxation might present an inconvenience, there will be a black
market. You can count on people from all social stratas to take advantage of it, both in buying and selling.

Include cultural variance and blending.

People are constantly corning up with new ideas and re-evaluating and modifying old ones, be they political, religious, artistic, etc. which means that in a single culture,
you're going to see at least some variation in what people think, do, and believe - especially so if it's large and/or spread out. So while most members of a culture might
celebrate one particular holiday, there might be regional differences in the traditions that go along with it, and some families might have their own personal traditions.

Different words and expression may catch on in different places - such as how in the US, some regions use "pop" to describe the fizzy drink, whereas others use "soda."
Song lyrics, rhymes, or expressions might be altered by people who mishear them or adjust them to make more sense or to be more amusing in their perspectives. (The
many, many variations of"Oh Little Playmate, Come Out And Play With Me" is a good real life example of how this can work out.)

Variation and change might come out of necessity, too - a recipe prepared one way in one area might be difficult to replicate in another area because a major ingredient
can't easily be found there, requiring that the ingredient is omitted or substituted. Differences in climate might necessitate differences in clothing and building styles.

Furthermore, two cultures that make prolonged contact with each other will inevitably end up swapping and borrowing ideas from each other - particularly ones that are
perceived as useful, fun, aesthetically pleasing; or are perceived as something that high class, sexy, or 'cool,' people do. Aside from some sort of draconian culture
policing going on, you'd never see two cultures living side-by-side for any length of time that haven't swapped ideas to a noticeable degree. Likewise, two groups who
make prolonged contact with each other will inevitably end up with individuals getting together and having children and families. Basically, any time two groups come
into contact with each other, both rnernes and genes are going to spread and mix. So if, for example, you had an area where dwarves, elves, and humans frequently came
into contact and interacted with each other (and there was no biological reason why they couldn't produce offspring with each other) you'd likely end up with a culture
comprised of people with ancestors among all three races with a blend of traditions from each.

Aim for plausible levels of knowledge.

When you try to figure out what your cultures or people from those cultures would and wouldn't know about, use some logic. Do they really have any way to know about
XI Is it really that likely that they'd be clueless about Y?

As an example of the first, it'd be a bit strange to see a culture ofhurnanlike aliens with a technological level similar to Neolithic humans who know for absolute certain
that some of the lights in the sky are planets much like their own, as there's no way to tell with the naked eye that the planets are a different type of object than the stars.
People with technology comparable to what was available in the Middle Age could easily understand concepts like heredity and dominant traits, but they'd have no idea
what DNA was, let alone what cells were.

As an example of the latter, it often happens that when people try to picture someone who is naive about Earth and Earth culture, they default to their mental images of
young children. Thus, many aliens or people from fantastic worlds are depicted as being blithely innocent about sex, courtship, etc. However, as these same characters are
typically humanoid, adult, and haven't exactly been living under rocks back where they came from, this just raises a lot of questions: Have they never had any friends,
relatives, peers, etc. who fell in love, got married, had children, and so forth? Have their own parents never talked about how they met? Did they never encounter a single
love story in their lives? Did nobody ever give them "the talk?" How the heck has their species not already gone extinct if they're all so clueless? Basically, the basic facts
oflife is something every hurnanlike culture would know.

Come up with some holidays (and put some effort into them).

Holidays are a great way to flesh out a fictional civilization. Not only do they let us know what at least some of the people do some of the time, but they can be a great
way to convey information about their beliefs, values, and history. Also, they can make your world seem more fun and exciting, which will help keep your audience
interested in it.

Barring some kind of totalitarian government decreeing otherwise, the holidays should be about a variety of things. If all of your holidays commemorate, say, historical
people and events, or if they're all about atonement/spiritual purification/getting closer to the gods, sornething's pretty off.

Your world's holidays should also be diverse and varied in how they're carried out. There might be some holidays that are rather solemn, but others that are more
lighthearted. Some holidays might be quite sacred, while others have little to no religious significance at all. Some might be fairly simple, celebrated with little more
than a special dinner and family gathering (think Labor Day), while others might be lavish and extravagant (think Christmas or Halloween). Some might be celebrated
largely at home, while others might be public affairs, or have public events connected to them (pageant plays, public festivals, etc).

Also, there are a few things you should be cautious of, lest you end up with holidays that feel lackluster or artificial:

The Major Holiday of Generic Parties: Where the celebrations of what's supposed to be a major holiday are indistinguishable from any other party or social gathering
unless you were actually told it was a holiday, you'd never guess that's what it was. lf the holiday is supposed to be a big deal, make sure you spice it up with something
special that you wouldn't do or see at any regular party.

The Christmas Clone: Where the holiday is essentially (commercial) Christmas with a sci-fi/fantasy paintjob slapped on. It's not necessarily bad to borrow some
elements of the holiday, but if you've got a winter holiday where friends and family gather and exchange presents, and a magical/higher being is supposed to deliver gifts
and/or people decorate trees, you should probably dial it back a few notches. (Note that the same principles apply to any Earth holiday - avoid copying any of them
willy nilly.)

The Solemn Holiday of Stoic Austerity: Where the entire holiday is super-serious from start to finish and there's not a whit of levity or fun to be found anywhere. This is
not to say that all of your holidays must be all fun and games, of course. Some holidays might be largely serious and solemn in nature, but then finished off or followed up
with something more lighthearted.

If you're having some trouble thinking up holidays or holiday traditions, check out the random holiday generator.

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Give your cultures their own idioms and figures of speech.

When people are trying to make their fantasy and sci-ti cultures markedly different from Earth culture somehow, they often default to making people who are completely
literal-minded- so much so that if someone says "well, the cat's out of the bag," they'll all immediately start looking around for the escaped feline and/or demand to know
why the cat was bagged up in the first place.

But here's the thing: idioms and figures of speech are universal in every language. So rather than simply erasing them from your civilization's culture and putting them
entirely beyond their comprehension, give them some of their own.

Sure, in some cases you could handwave a lack of idioms and figures of speech by saying that your civilization's species simply cannot comprehend non-literal speech at
all. However, it's still really lazy worldbuilding, and you can only play up the "alien gets confused by Earth speech patterns" gag so many times before it gets old. Play it
too long and with too many members, and people might start to wonder how these people got as far as they did without at least coming to the understanding that people
from other cultures sometimes say weird things that don't actually mean what they sound like, and that instead of making assumptions you should just ask them for
clarification.

And on the flip side of the coin, you should watch out for any Earth idioms that have no business being used by your fantasy/sci-ft culture. For example, nobody should be
saying "newsflash!" in a world where newsflashes (short news reports on TV or radio) never existed in the first place.

Don't rename the wheel.

Some authors try to make their cultures and civilizations feel more exotic by using new or obscure names for things that don't really need it. For example, instead of
calling it a "birthday," the author might call it a "life anniversary." Instead of calling it a "horse," the author might call it a "hoofrunner." And so on and so forth.

It's all right to rename things if it's going to provide an important insight as to the cultural perspectives, values, or history of the people using the term. But if not, just use
terms your audience will already be familiar with. Throwing unfamiliar terms at people out of left field can be jarring enough to break their immersion in your story,
which is something you always want to minimize.

And the bottom line...

• A functional civilization will require people who specialize in a variety of skills - an entire civilization that really only does one thing doesn't fly.
• Put a little thought into your civilization's economy. While you don't need to go into the gory details if they're not relevant to the story, it should at least look viable
so far as the audience can see.
• Add in some cultural variance and blending. Give people different traditions, beliefs, slang, etc. across regions, and take into account the fact that two cultures don't
meet but what they swap ideas and genes.
• Aim for realistic levels of knowledge. Try to avoid having people know things they had no possible way of learning, and try not to make them ignorant of things it
would be impossible to miss.
• Corne up with some holidays for your civilization to celebrate, and make them diverse in terms of how elaborate they are, what they're about, what kinds of
activities they involve, etc.
• Give the culture its own idioms and figures of speech, and avoid using any Earth expressions that have no reason to exist there.
• Don't rename common objects or concepts that don't need renaming. Unless it's going to add nuance or depth to the culture, stick with familiar terms.

Also check out:

Deity-Development Questions
Basic Tips To Create More Believable Sci-Fi & Fantasy Religions & Belief Systems
Country & Culture-Development Questions
Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do In Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy
Story How To Write People On Large Scales

External Links & Resources

Horror Stories of Hyperinflation: Germany in 1920s

Aluminum: It Used To Be More Precious Than Gold
The Engagement Ring Story: How De Beers Created a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry From the Ground Up
The Incredible Story Of How De Beers Created And Lost The Most Powerful Monopoly Ever

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please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

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Writing Historically Accurate European Magic & Witchcraft: A Starting Guide

Want to write magic that lines up with historical practices, or at least takes a little inspiration from it? Itching to build up your own old fashioned magical setting after a
certain writer let you down? Or are you perhaps looking for ideas for some supernatural horror?

Then this is the place to begin!

In this article I'm going to introduce you to concepts, practices, and general history of magic and witchcraft in Europe - which is quite possibly way more complicated than
you ever imagined!

First uploaded: November 5, 2020. Last revision: April 20, 2021.

Table of Contents
• First, understand the worldview.
• Know who practiced, and who practiced what.
• Know how it was done.
• Tips for further research on this topic.

First, understand the worldview.

To really capture the spirit of old-time magic and mysticism, one must first understand how the world was perceived and understood by those who lived in the past. Many
scientific discoveries that are fundamental to our own understanding of the world today had yet to be discovered. For a long time, the concept of cells, germs, and
chemical reactions simply didn't exist.

Sure, people understood that certain substances reacted in certain ways when you mixed and/or heated them, and they knew that certain herbs could treat certain illnesses,
but they had no way of understanding the underlying chemical mechanisms. It wasn't until the 18th century that chemical reactions began to be understood.

People definitely knew that diseases were often contagious, and they knew that certain plants and minerals were effective in treating or preventing them. However, it
wouldn't be until the 17th century that cells and microorganisms were demonstrated to exist.

And of course, Medieval Europe was largely Christianized by way of the Catholic Church. However, this often didn't impact people's beliefs or worldview in the ways
people often imagine. While the Catholic Church didn't exactly approve of beliefs and practices they took for pagan superstition (if not outright demonolatry), they were
generally somewhat more concerned with whether the peasants were showing up to church every Sunday and paid their tithes than in keeping them perfectly orthodox.
And so in practice, people were often permitted to practice their folk traditions provided they were sufficiently Christianized. So rather than invoke the gods they
worshiped before Christianity, they might invoke the Holy Trinity or the Virgin Mary. And of course, it was entirely possible for members of the clergy to believe in
fairies and such as much as anyone else in their communities.

Many people tend to imagine the Middle Ages as a world where pro-magic pagans clashed with anti-magic Christians. In reality, it was by and large a world where
many of the ideas and principles we classify as magic today were considered fundamental facts of nature by pretty much everyone. The real point of contention was
whether people were loyal to state-approved religious institutions, or being led astray by false doctrines, or even worshiping or colluding with malefic spirits. ln the
Middle Ages, relatively few people were put on trial for witchcraft, and those who were found guilty were rarely given severe punishment.

Now, a couple of things to make clear before we proceed: First, Wicca did not exist yet. There were no secret cults of wand-waving witches worshiping the Lord and the
Lady. Wicca was created in the mid-20th century and was heavily based on ceremonial traditions such as Hermeticism, which is closer to Gnosticism and Christianity
than any actual indigenous European religion. (While Hermeticism itself dates back to Late Antiquity, it wouldn't be popular in Europe until the late Middle Ages or early
Renaissance, and even then was largely practiced by the relatively privileged, not the common folk.)

Secondly, it's important to acknowledge that most folk magic practitioners wouldn't have been called "witches." The tenn "witch" often referred specifically to
practitioners of malefic magic, while those who practiced beneficial magic might be called cunning folk, wise folk, or something else. Additionally, "witch" is an
English word, and wouldn't have been used in non-English speaking regions. Therefore, it's important to research the particular terminology used in the specific time
and place you plan to write about.

Okay, so what did pre-modem people believe? How did they understand the workings of the universe?

First of all, pre-modern people didn't distinguish between magical and mundane like we do today. They distinguished between sacred and secular, clean and unclean, holy
and unholy. Exactly what was which depended a lot on culture. It was commonly accepted that one ought to be in a reasonably "clean" state before engaging in any
magical or spiritual endeavours. Cleansing oneself might involve bathing, fasting, or sexual abstinence; or other culturally-recognized forms of ablution or abstinence.

People (especially the common folk) had a lot of animistic beliefs. They believed that life was sustained through the presence of life force, which they believed was
contained in one's blood. They believed that most things had a soul, or spiritual essence, and that the spiritual essences of different things were naturally friendly
(sympathetic) or hostile (antipathic) toward each other. Ergo, strong-smelling herbs could drive out disease-causing spirits due to their natural antipathy, while bees were

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drawn to flowers because of their natural sympathy. One might create a charm to ward off snakes out of the bones of a rooster based on the perceived natural antipathy
between snakes and roosters (as chickens will eat small snakes, even venomous ones). Conversely, one might create a charm to attract stray dogs by using a big beef
bone.

Some things were also believed to have natural dominion or power over other things. Because God was considered to have dominion over all things, commanding demons
to leave in God's name would force them out. The lion, being the king of beasts, supposedly held the power to frighten away just about any animal.

Spiritual essence was considered transferable or contagious. Just as putting clothing into a cedar chest would make the clothes smell like cedar, and just as standing close
to a sick person could result in catching the illness, one might gain the ability to easily escape trouble by carrying around a rabbit's foot. Or one might gain the ability to
easily multiply their fortune because rabbits, well, breed like rabbits. A folk remedy for a wart might involve pricking the wart and letting it bleed onto a piece of bread,
then burying the bread; as the bread rotted away, the wart was supposed to rot away as well. This principle is also how vampiric creatures were supposed to work; they
drained life force from living things to feed and sustain themselves. Personal items were believed to have their owners' essence in them and were considered thus linked to
their owners; therefore, if someone fell seriously ill, a knife they often carried with them might begin to rust; conversely, keeping the knife clean might prevent a sick
person from coming to worse harm.

The image of a thing was also believed to contain the spiritual essence of the actual thing. If you wanted to make yourself brave like a lion but had no lion parts to spare,
you might create and wear a pendant in the shape of a lion. And for this same reason, a plant with heart-shaped leaves might be considered appropriate for treating heart
ailments. In medical context, this concept was known as the Doctrine of Signatures.

There was also a kind of"like cures like" or "hair of the dog that bit ya" logic. In this line of reasoning, holy water that a snake had been rinsed in might be able to cure
snakebite, or a bitter drink might be able to cure a bitter stomach.

Physicians of the day also believed in humorism. Each of the four humors were connected to the four elements: yellow bile with fire, black bile with earth, phlegm with
water, and blood with air. Poor health was believed to be caused by having one's humors out of balance. Therefore, ifa patient was believed to be lacking in yellow bile,
they might be instructed to eat food with a fiery nature. In the late Medieval period, astrologY. was considered important in medicine.

People, particularly the rural folk, also believed in land spirits and in plant spirits. They believed that spirits could be angered if one treated them with cruelty or
disrespect. They believed in demons that could torment and angels that could protect.

People believed in creatures such as trolls, dragons, elves, brownies, vampires, werewolves, dwarves, imps, nixies, and suchlike, though the exact details of what they
believed about such creatures varied from region to region. For example, the Irish j:lOOka was generally a playful prankster, while the German nixie was seen as more
hostile toward humans, and horrible fathers besides. Fairy beings were sometimes seen as helpful as well; many folk magic practitioners worked with fairies as familiar
spirits, as demonstrated by Emma Wilby in Cunning Folk And Familiar Spirits.

You must not take any belief or assumption you have about any folkloric creature for granted; there's a good chance that it's based on a fiction trope originating in the
early modern period at the earliest. Many tropes originate in Hollywood, or as backlash against perceived Hollywood sanitization. While it's true that old folklore
generally isn't as bright and sparkly as Disney's interpretations, it's rarely as grim and gruesome as Eric Kripke would have it, either.

As mentioned earlier, the Catholic Church wasn't excessively concerned with making sure the peasants had perfectly orthodox beliefs. Consequentially, many people's
conception of the universe blended Christian elements with a pre-Christian worldview. As Cunning Folk And Familiar Spirits demonstrates, some people were apparently
unclear on the distinction between demons and fairies, and angels and fairies. Their reckoning of the hereafter might blend pre-Christian traditions of a placid underground
afterlife with Hell or Lake of Fire. (And goodness knows how many fairy tales depict the Devil (and possibly his grandmother) living in a cave much as one might expect
to see an ogre or troll.) Conversely, these subterranean afterlives might be imagined as pleasant, with angels mingling among fairies.

European Christians also came up with ways to explain the existence of fairy beings within a Christian cosmology. In Ireland, the sidhe were sometimes explained as
fallen angels. In Germany, a legend explained dwarves as the descendants of children cursed by Jesus when their mother hid them in the cellar. (Naturally, exactly how
people reckoned the nature of their local fairy creatures depended on the time and region.)

Ancient Greeks adopted astrology from the Babylonians, and from there it was introduced into Europe. Astrology was practiced throughout the Middle Ages,
particularly so in the late Middle Ages when Christian Europe began paying more attention to the writings of Islamic scholars.

In Hermetic thinking, things got their magical properties from the constellations and planets themselves. In The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
describes how astrology affects the properties of things and how they receive their virtues from the planets. (Quick note for anyone who wants to read Agrippa's work: he
was an elitist snob with antisemitic views. Bear that in mind whenever he talks as ifhe has ultimate authority and/or whenever he kisses up to Plato, who also had a lot of
terrible political opinions that very likely influenced the kind of metaphysical ideas he perceived as good and sensible. Like, Platonic ideals are basically just reality
prescriptivism, which is entirely absurd and borderline fascist.)

Once you understand these principles, the sense behind most folk channs readily becomes apparent. Nothing about them is random or whimsical, but crafted according
to a certain understanding of the universe. When an old charm says you can make a dog stay at home by scraping the corners ofa table with a knife, putting the
scrapings onto a piece of bread, and feeding the bread to the dog, the idea is that you are binding the dog to you and your home. When a protective spell calls for red
string, it's because the color red is associated with vitality and strength (think blood and Thor's red hair!). When instructions tell you to cut your divining rod on a
Wednesday, it's because Wednesday is associated with the planet Mercury, which magically pertains to communication and divination.

Know who practiced, and who practiced what.

Today there's a common perception that most practitioners of folk magic were women, but historically this was not the case. Generally, both men and women practiced
magic. However, women often were considered more likely to fall for Satan's wiles. Consequentially, a disproportionate number of women were tried and executed for
witchcraft, and the myth that witches were all or mostly women was born.

Henneticism, which grew popular in the late Middle Ages, was practiced by relatively wealthy men, who were generally not tried for witchcraft, nor generally censored.
(Even during the height of the witch trials (I 580-1650), no small number of occult books were published.)

In the 14th century, The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus Honorii in Latin) and The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis in Latin) were available. In the 16th
century, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa published his Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia libri 111 in Latin). The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
appeared in the 18th-I 9th century. These and similar texts frequently appropriated no small amount of Jewish mystical tradition and were chock full of Oriental ism (EG,
falsely claiming that their information came from Egypt), which the modern reader should always be critically aware of.

This is not to say that no one was persecuted for these practices; according to Richard Kieckhefer's Magic in the Middle Ages, quite a few members of the clergy were put
on trial for practicing necromancy, TE, conjuring demons.

Such books did occasionally came into the hands of the common folk, particularly as printed books became more widely available. The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses,
for example, is now part of folk traditions such as braucherei and hoodoo.
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The purpose of folk magic has remained largely consistent throughout the years: solving problems and making life easier. Common purposes for folk magic included
treating the maladies of people and livestock, warding off malefic spirits and malicious magics, keeping thieves away or finding lost items, securing good favor with
people, rousing or cooling physical passions, and staying safe on journeys. Generally, people didn't have any particularly fantastical expectations from magic, but were
more concerned with addressing fairly mundane problems.

Know how it was done.

The fundamental principles of folk magic have remained fairly consistent for generations; in fact, they can be found all over the world, which suggests paleolithic origins.
Yet at the same time, folk magic has always adapted to fit its time and place. (Again, for most of human history, people didn't distinguish between magical and mundane
the way we do today, so they didn't share our sentiment that things were hostile to magic simply because they were new or "scientific" in nature.)

Folk practitioners carefully passed their traditions on to the next generation, and they improvised with what was available. They practiced magic rooted in ancient
tradition while devising new charms to meet contemporary needs.

(Naturally, the following will pertain to how these principles were applied in Europe in particular; keep in mind that people in other places would have applied them in
somewhat different ways.)

Practitioners often kept their charms and remedies secret so they wouldn't lose their business. Even when they weren't selling their services for money (and keep in mind,
most peasants didn't have money, anyway), they might still receive goods from their clients. And while keeping a personal grimoire (EG, a Book of Shadows) is common
practice these days, not everyone would have been able to do so, nor would have felt it necessary. (Wo11h noting, many modem-day folk practitioners don't write down
their charms or methods, let alone talk about them publicly, as it's considered a sacred and personal business.)

But that said, a lot made it into books, such as these Old English metrical charms and these Old English charms. One can compare these with folk charms found in The
Long Lost Friend, or with these old folk remedies. If you can get your hands on it, Gotfrid Storms's Anglo-Saxon Charms contains dozens of charms and spells dating
back to the Middle Ages. Richard Kieckhefer's Magic in the Middle Ages contains a lot of in-depth info, and is fairly easy to get. You can also download volumes I, II, and
111 of Leechdoms, War/cunning, and Starcraft of Early England from Google Books for free.

(A warning: many old spells and charms contain antisemitic content in their incantations, or are otherwise racist in nature.)

One very important thing to remember, folk practitioners would have worked in a focused, even prayerful state of mind. Although an entire formal ritual wouldn't be
necessary for most things, people were still invoking divine forces, or at least forces that merited some amount respect under the circumstances. Accordingly, many spells
and charms were accompanied by an appropriate prayer.

Other spells didn't use a prayer per se, but invoked a story that was thematically or symbolically appropriate for the magic's intended effect. The Merseberg charms are a
good example of this.

Spells or channs might involve a symbolic act of some kind (remember the whole sympathy thing). For example, it was believed that one could summon the wind by
whistling.

Practitioners absolutely weren't shy about working with animal ingredients. You might hear from some modern writers that every reference to an animal ingredient
actually referred to a plant part, but if you actually read through old spells and charms, it becomes very clear from context that they were using real animal parts. Agrippa
even insists that wolf teeth must be taken from live wolves - yikes! (Of course, one must question how many people were actually willing to risk life and limb to pull teeth
from a live wolf, and how many hunters were willing to say they did ifit meant getting paid extra.)

Some charms involved perfuming or fumigating spaces or objects. This might be accomplished burning herbs, or by mixing herbs, minerals, and/or animal ingredients
into animal fat, dividing the mix into grain-sized portions, and leaving them in whatever spot one wanted to perfume. (For example, one might place them in one's
bedroom if the spell was supposed to make one dream of the future.)

Paper or parchment with channs written on them were believed to have power. One might carry such on one's person or place it somewhere safe inside the home. Such
papers might protect their owners from hann or bring good fortune.

Poppets were used as well; practitioners might fashion small dolls out of wax, cloth, clay, or whatever was available (Cunning Folk And Familiar Spirits mentions a
human figure drawn onto a piece of parchment). Something pertaining to the intended target, such as a lock of their hair or their name written on a piece of paper, would
be placed inside the doll. From there, the practitioner might cast healing spells to treat the target from a distance, or cast curses on it, drive sharp objects into it, hold it
over fire, or some other symbolically hurtful act to cause harm to them.

Wax might also be used as a medium for writing prayers or charms on, and the occasional folk charm does call for candles. For example, Gotfried Storms's Anglo-Saxon
Magic mentions a charm to find lost or stolen cattle that involves letting the wax of three candles to drip into the animals' footprints; and The Book of Secrets of Alber/us
Magnus: Of the Virtues a/Herbs, Stones, and Certain Beasts, Also a Book of the Man1els of the World says that if adder's skin, orpiment, beeswax, and donkey fat are
made into a candle, then anyone seen in its light will appear headless. (That said, the kind of candle magic that's popular today wasn't a thing until the 20th century; to the
best of my knowledge, our modern focus on candles is something of a byproduct of ceremonial magic, where candles were often used for invocation rituals.)

Eucharist bread was sometimes used. It was, after all, supposed to be the body of Christ, and therefore contained Christ's divine essence. Thus it might be used for
protection, healing, or whatever else might seem appropriate to use the Body of Christ for. Such is the case in the metrical charm against a dwarf. ("Dwarf' referring to a
kind of illness, perhaps one thought to be caused by dwarves.)

There was also the Sator square, which was used for general protection and good fortune. (According to Richard Kieckhefer in Magic in the Middle Ages, it could be used
to ease childbirth or easily make friends.)

Numerous methods of divination existed. People have used reflective surfaces such as mirrors or bowls of water since ancient times. Bibliomancy is attested in the late
Medieval period, as is dice divination. Supposedly, placing the heart and left foot of a toad over a sleeping man's mouth would force him to answer any question you
asked.

Many spells and channs attempted to cure illness by transferring the illness away from the body. A chann might have a sick person blow onto a dog while the practitioner
recites an appropriate prayer or incantation. Then the practitioner drives the dog away, and supposedly the sick person will recover. Similarly, Medieval physicians
believed that bloodletting could allow the illness to escape the body.

In a similar fashion, a charm to get rid of warts might have the afflicted person cut or prick the wart, let the blood fall onto a piece of bread, and then bury the bread out
in a field. Because the bread and the wart now had a sympathetic connection, the wart was supposed to shrink and disappear as the bread decayed. A spell of this nature
might stipulate that one must not look back on the return journey, lest the discarded affliction follow one back home.

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Spells intended to discard something might also involve burying an object in a liminal space, such as a crossroad; or tossing it into a river where it will be carried away.
Someone who wanted to cure a rash might surreptitiously rub the rash on the clothing of a corpse, supposing that the rash would be carried to the grave with the corpse.

Someone who wished to undo a spell worked by the use of a physical (perhaps, say, a poppet used for malicious purposes) might break the object apart and toss it in a
river - thereby breaking its power and carrying its remnants away to oblivion.

Witch bottles were apparently invented in the the early 16th century - in other words, during the time of the Protestant reformation and the early days of Europe's witch
panic.

Tarot cards were a fairly late arrival in the divination scene; they didn't arrive in Europe until the 14th century and were intended for playing card games. These cards
were based on playing cards from Islamic Egypt, which in turn ultimately trace back to China. The practice of using playing cards for divination seems to have arisen in
18th century, as did the speculation that tarot cards originated with ancient mystics.

Something I've been unable to determine when is when cord/knot magic was first used. String has been around for quite awhile, so much that a lot of myths developed
around goddesses that spin and weave, and the practice of tying wind into knots certainly wasn't invented yesterday, but 1 don't yet know whether this practice existed
before the early modern period. Witches' ladders are another one of those things that seems like they ought to be really old at first, but apparently the first one was
discovered in the late 18th century in Somerset. Perhaps if anyone knows of a good source on more information about old-time cord and knot magic, they can point me to
it.

Some folk practitioners worked with familiar spirits, or as many people call them today, spirit guides. Familiars might be fairies, angels, or demons; or might be
reckoned as some syncretic blend of these categories - again, many laypeople were somewhat unclear on Christian cosmology and ended up blending it with pre-
Christian beliefs about the afterlife and the otherworld, and some reconciled pre-Christian beliefs with Christian cosmology by declaring fairies to be a kind of fallen
angel. Some people claimed to keep fairies or demons inside crystals, baskets, or bottles. Going by what's described in Cunning Folk & Familiar Spirits, it largely
worked in much the same way as modem spirit work or hedge witchery.

And one last thing: There were definitely Jews and Muslims in Europe, who were practicing traditions of their own. This isn't an area I'm even remotely qualified to
cover, so I recommend you find more qualified people. Ali A Olorni Tweets and hosts history podcasts on Islamic tradition. (And of course, if you don't belong to these
cultures make sure you talk to someone who does before inserting it into your work.)

Tips for further research on this topic.

Magic and witchcraft is an absolutely massive, incredibly complicated topic, and it's impossible to do the half of it justice in this article. The generalities I've given
might be enough to work with if you're writing straight-up fantasy, but actual historical fiction will most likely require a lot more research. So here's some tips to help
you get started with that.

First, never take any historical claim from any book, blog, or podcast about practicing witchcraft at face value. Pagan and occult movements have been rife with
misinformation for many years now, so it's really important to check and see where their info comes from. Key points to remember:

• "Witchcraft" is not a religion. Folk magic was and is practiced by people of many faiths, and people of many faiths are sometimes accused of working malefic
magic.
• Wicca is not an ancient religion; it's a modern religion that copied notes from ceremonial traditions such as Henneticism, particularly as practiced by the Hennetic
Order of the Golden Dawn. Just compare the ritual tools and the concept of the watchtowers/four quarters, and the influence is impossible to deny.
• Before Christianity, there was no "Lord and Lady." There were a bunch of large, diverse pantheons.
• Any resource that tries to frame ancient mythology and ancient gods through the lens of"the Divine Feminine" or "the Divine Masculine" is garbage.
• There is no evidence whatsoever that prehistoric people worshiped a supreme goddess until they invented agriculture and patriarchy. If anything, the fact that large,
diverse pantheons are found all over the world, even among cultures that don't rely on agriculture, should also be considered evidence that large, diverse pantheons
have always been the nonn.
• Wealthy, educated people wrote books - tons of books - about ceremonial magic in the Renaissance. Sometimes they got in trouble for practicing it, but it was
mostly members of the working class who were tried and put to death for practicing witchcraft.
• Folk magic was not the exclusive domain of women. Men and women alike practiced.
• Folk magic was largely integrated with Christianity, particularly Catholicism.
• Tarot cards aren't ancient, and weren't used for divination until the 18th century.
• Christmas trees were invented by German Protestants in the 16th century, not "stolen" from ancient pagans, let alone Celts or druids.

Keeping all this in mind will help you filter out a lot of historical rnisinfonnation and spot sketchy resources in a hurry.

Most of the books 1 mentioned earlier have a lot of researched historical information, or were written during relevant time periods. 1 recommend looking into them if you
can. I'll also link to more books and articles below.

If you're aiming to write about a specific time and place, then it's important to research its particular political climate. What might have got someone executed in the late
Middle Ages might have only warranted a slap on the wrist in the early Middle Ages. The Salem witch trials took place over a year, whereas the peak of Europe's witch
hunting ranged from 1580-1650. And it wasn't just witches or alleged witches who faced heat in those days - as Catholics and Protestants battled for supremacy, Jews and
Anabaptists faced persecution as well. Additionally, many people were accused of being werewolves.

And while there's obviously wiggle room to create your own charms and spells, it's also important to understand how people in a given time and region generally
constructed them and to understand what would have been available to them. It's sometimes easy to forget that materials that are readily available to us today may not
have been so in another time or place; or conversely, that they may have had easy access to something we consider uncommon.

For the reasons listed above, it's also important to consider the time and place a particular piece of information originated from. lfyou're trying to write something set in
10th century Scotland, you don't want your information corning from 16th century Germany. It's also important to consider how the writers may have been influenced by
the political and social climates they lived in, and how that may have biased their views. There's nothing politically neutral about the way so many occult writers gush
over Plato and the like.

Whether you intend to write historical fiction or just take a little inspiration from history, I hope you enjoyed this article and found it infonnative. If you liked it, please
share it with your friends and consider supporting me on Patreon. Thanks!

More onsite pages you might like:

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6/2/24, 10:30 PM Writing Historically Accurate European Magic & Witchcraft: A Starting Guide - Springhole.net
A Brief Primer on the Four Elements
A Few Things Writers Need To Know About The Medieval Period
A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Medieval Feudalism
European Dragons: What You Might Not Know About Them
Things To Know When Writing Historical Fiction & Fictional Histor y
A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Plants & Herbs

On Worldbuilding A Magical Setting

Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery Worlds
Magical School Development Questions

More offsite resources:

Medieval necromancy, the art of controlling demons

A brief history of medieval magic
Folk magic, Witchcraft, What's The Difference?
Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland
Bewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland
Magic: Magic In Medieval And Renaissance Europe
10 Surprising Facts About Magic In The Middle Ages
Fairies, witchcraft and healing charms: how folk medicine and the supernatural entwined
Magic or Medicine? Healing Charms in Fifteenth-Century English Recipe Collections
Odd Ways People Protected Themselves From Witchcraft
Spells and charms from the Pendle witches echo down the ages
The Complete Herbal by Nicolas Culpeper
The Mirror of Alchimy by Roger Bacon
Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland
Ancient legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde
Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by Campbell
Lancashire Folk-lore by John Harland and Thomas Turner Wilkinson
The magic of jewels and charms by George Frederick Kunz

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to Specific Plot Events, Scenarios, & Story Setups

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Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments

Whether you're trying to create a fantasy kingdom or flesh out a futuristic country, this can help you figure out how to structure just about any fictional government and
determine how it should work and what kind of people should be working for its leadership.

Table of Contents
• How most types of governments are organized.
• What kind of help those in power are going to need or want.
• How people can come into power and keep it aside from law or tradition.
• In summary!

How most types of governments are organized.

Most types of governments administrate their countries using the same basic organizational structure. First, there will be a primary leadership (whether an individual, a
body, or a body headed by an individual) that manages the whole country. Under the primary leadership will be regional leaders whose jobs are to manage smaller
portions of the country (think territories, provinces, or states). Below that are people who are in charge of smaller areas yet (think counties). Then, you have people whose
job is to administrate over individual towns and cities, and if those are large enough, you might have people who manage individual areas of those. In other words, you
often have 4-5 levels of management.

The main differences between types of governments come down to three points:

1. Who can lawfully come into power.

2. How they can lawfully come into power.
3. What they can lawfully do once they get there.

The first item is defined by two things: what whoever is in charge believes makes for a fit and deserving leader, which will depend on a number of factors - which might
be any mix of fair and unfair. Here are a few examples:

• Rulers might create laws forbidding people outside of their own bloodline from ruling to try to ensure their own family's continued dominance.
• There might be laws requiring potential rulers to meet a minimum age requirement, so as to ensure that they likely have sufficient experience in politics.
• If they believe that certain groups might have undesirable or unsavory agendas, they might forbid anyone of those groups from ruling.
• A ruler who believes that leaders should be connected to the common people might create a law that requires potential leaders to travel the country and spend time
among the commoners.
• A ruler who believes that military prowess is necessary to rule well might make it law that all leaders have to serve in the army for awhile before taking the throne.

As for the second, there is of course inheritance, election, or appointment by a higher-ranking authority. Depending on what kind of culture you're creating, there are other
options, too. Perhaps potential leaders must enter some sort of competition (not necessarily a physical one!), with the winner being chosen as the next leader. Perhaps
priests are asked to appeal to higher powers to point out the best possible leader. Perhaps potential leaders have to rise through ranks by earning promotions.

For the third, in an absolute monarchy, a ruler will be able to do anything and everything without legal consequence - though there's always still risk of coups or rebellions
should the monarch be perceived as too intolerable! In constitutional governments, leaders will be be more limited. Though they may still wield some power, they are not
legally free to do whatever they please with impunity, and may even be relieved of title or office should they fail in their duties.

With all this in mind, you can build your country's administrative system up with the particulars tailored to fit the type of government you want - whether it's supposed to
be more fair or more oppressive, whether it's supposed to be an early civilization still wrought with superstition or one that has fostered rationality for ages, or whether it's
supposed to be inspired by a real place and time or if you're going for something else. (One quick note - if you are going for historical inspiration, make sure to look up
information specific to the exact place and time you're going for. You don't want to end up accidentally having your "Medieval" government do something that never
happened until the Renaissance and even then only during a very short period of time, or end up transposing some English custom into a country based on Sweden or
something.)

What kind of help those in power are going to need or want.

Leaders, whether national or local, simply aren't going to be able to get everything done on their own - they're going to need to delegate a lot of work to others.

One thing people in charge are almost certainly going to need are advisors. Exactly which types they'll need will depend on circumstance. As a general rule, if something
affects the safety and security of their jurisdiction (or if they believe it does), they'll probably want advisors on it.

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In any area where trade and commerce happens, they'll probably need economic advisors to look into and report on the state of the economy and advise on what might be
done to improve it. Heads of state will need people to look into what's going on in other countries and let them know if it might affect them negatively, and if so, what
might be done about it. They'll also likely need military advisors to report on how their own military forces are doing and where they might need improved or reinforced,
and whether they might ought to be sent to or withdrawn from somewhere. If leaders are religious, they might have people to advise them on which choices would be
most congruent with their faith. If they see religion as a stabilizing force, they might have advisors who keep an eye on and report on the state of religion.

They'll also likely need record-keepers to keep track of what goes on during official meetings, and they'll likely need treasurers to manage official finances. They might
need people who can see to it that people they work or meet with are provided with refreshments and any necessities they might need. And personal servants/assistants
who can run sundry errands for them might not be amiss, either.

On a more personal level, they might hire tutors and instructors, both for themselves and for their children, depending on what they want or think they ought to learn.
Exactly what these might be will depend on circumstance and personal preferences, of course - horse riding might be a necessity if there's no other real way to travel long
distance. rt might still be seen as a necessity in a world with alternatives if riding horses is perceived as something you just do because it's been tradition so long, or it
might just be seen as an acceptable hobby that one might or might not get into. Alternatively, someone might decide that it's totally pointless and have the kids learn
something else instead.

And of course, there might be domestic servants - anything they or their family doesn't have time for or just don't want to be bothered doing themselves, they'll likely hire
people to do for them if they can afford it. This could include cooking, cleaning, minding the children, home repair and maintenance, looking after riding animals,
managing supplies and personal finances, and so on. If they can afford it and if they are so inclined, they might also hire people for other services, such as entertainment,
making portraits, or grooming and styling.

If they're likely to get attacked, robbed, or spied on, they'll also need security. This can mean getting people to build or maintain fortifications or security systems, as well
as hiring guards.

Of course, these don't cover every possible position they might need filled, and depending on your setting some might not apply. So as you're building and developing
your setting, stop and ask yourself what the people in it might need and want, not just what people in other settings have.

It's worth noting that, depending on, they might have people who fill multiple positions. And if they don't feel it's necessary or feasible to get full-time help, they might
turn to friends and family. (After all, why hire a cook if the spouse is willing to do it and can keep up with the workload?)

And of course, there's the question of just who they're going to get to fill the various jobs and positions they need people for. For anything concerning anything
particularly important or sensitive (EG, money, security, or being in constant proximity to themselves or their valuables), they'll likely want people they feel they can
trust. This might mean running background checks, or hiring people they already know and trust for the job. In a setting where literacy is limited to the upper class, they
won't be hiring peasants for any job that requires reading or writing. (Yes, all of this this means that random peasant girls probably should not be picked to become
personal servants, even if they are pretty.) For anything else - well, it's just a matter of who is available, qualified, and probably not too likely to make a lot of trouble on
the job.

How people can come into power and keep it aside from law or tradition.

Obviously, not everyone came into power through lawful or typical means. Some took it by force, some wormed their way into it, and some just became too big a force
to ignore. Also, those who have law or tradition behind them will need more than that to maintain their power - otherwise, people might just depose them and take their
place.

The first and biggest factor is support. Anyone who hopes to come into power or to keep is going to need lots of it or face a swift and sure trouncing. It doesn't work like
Chronicles of Riddick, where killing someone means you take over the position with no questions asked. (Any government like that would collapse in very short order!) If
some lone wolf offs the king and plops down on the throne, people aren't going to just fall in line - they're probably going to mete out whatever punishment is deemed fit
for king-murderers. Things aren't going to be any better if this lone wolf offs every possible heir, either - then you're going to get a power vacuum, which is going to
result in anyone and everyone who'd like to take over the leadership struggling for dominance until one finally comes out on top or until they all exhaust or destroy
themselves.

Here are a few ways people might gain support:

• By claiming a bloodline or divine right. If people believe that right to rule is granted by blood or divinity, this might be a way to bolster some support- even if the
current government doesn't recognize this as a legal stake to claim.
• By appealing to what the people want. Maybe it's prosperity, maybe it's security, maybe it's freedom, or maybe it's a return to spirituality. Maybe it's something
else. Either way, people are more likely to support those who promise them what they want than otherwise.
• By cultivating the right image. For example, if people are tired of the greed of the wealthy, one might instead wear simple clothes, live in a simple home, and
verbally condemn greed and conspicuous consumption.
• By producing results. Actions speak louder than words, and those who can prove themselves this way will strengthen their bonds with current supporters and may
sway those who were on the fence into full support.

Another way to come into power is to hold a monopoly on a highly-desired commodity. In such a case, one can demand nearly anything one wants in exchange for this
commodity. However, if the price is perceived as too high, one risks others getting fed up and trying to take it over for themselves.

In summary!

• Most types of governments have a very similar administrative structure - a primary leadership at the top, followed by regional leaders, then people who manage
smaller regions under that, and then people who manage towns, cities, and then possibly neighborhoods.
• There are three main differences between most types of governments: who can lawfully come into power, how they can lawfully come into power, and what they
can lawfully do once they get there.
• Leaders and rulers will need to delegate a lot of responsibility, since they can't do everything themselves. Exactly what they'll need will depend on what they think
needs done or addressed.
• Those who want to gain or keep power will need to garner support in some way, such as by appealing to the sensibilities of the people. Holding a monopoly on a
desired commodity can be a way to gain power as well.

Also check out:

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material

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Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important Characters

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Things Writers Need To Know About Security & Concealment
Tips To Create Richer & More Realistic Fantasy & Science Fiction Cultures & Civilizations
Creating & Writing Fictional Organizations
Creating & Writing Fantasy Armies - Things To Keep In Mind & Consider
Country & Culture-Development Questions
Tips To Write & Create Better & More Believable Futures
Tips To Build Better Post-Apocalyptic And/Or Dystopian Settings
On Designing & Writing Oppressive Governments In Your
Fiction

Points To Remember When Worldbuilding

Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
Things You Need To Do ln Your Science Fiction Or Fantasy Story
Designing Fictional Fashion: Figuring Out What Your SF Characters
Wear

Enjoyed this? Don't forget to share with your friends, and

please consider supporting my work on Patreon!

Back to Worldbuilding
Go to a random page!

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Tips To Write Better Royalty, Nobility, & Other Upper-Class & Important
Characters

You may have seen this one before: a young woman gets roped into attending an upper-class party of some kind. She hates the dress. She can't stand the chit-chat that
goes on between the guests. And she looks upon her father, Lord Westmoore, with disdain and contempt for attempting to flatter and get on the good side of a more
influential and more powerful lord.

Our heroine hates the whole noble scene. She'd rather be off on a DARING ADVENTURE with a sword and a horse and all that. Just as she's about to lose all faith in
humanity, the prince sidles up to her and confesses that he finds these events boring, too. And that's how we know he's a good guy - he's not like all those other shallow
and insipid nobles who have nothing better to do than sample hors d'oeuvres and play boring lawn games.

What's more, we're supposed to agree with her and all of her opinions and choices up to this point.

Problem is, scenarios like these are typically built up on a lot of stereotypes and misunderstandings of just what being nobility or upper class entails.

Table of Contents
• There's often a lot of responsibility that goes with the status and title.
• The high life is their comfort zone.
• People in upper class positions have ways to justify inequality.
• Let's talk about clothes and thrones for a minute.
• They're people, and people have differing personalities, opinions, interests, and views.

There's often a lot of responsibility that goes with the status and title.

One problem that plagues a lot of fiction where characters of status and title are concerned is that their actual responsibilities get overlooked. The way they're presented,
they come off as jockeying for power and status simply because it's what these types of people do, as if it's some sort of voluntary ego-stroking exercise. While this can
certainly happen, to make it appear as though that's all it's about is to paint a highly inaccurate picture.

Maybe Lord Westmoore isn't just being some kind of sad little suckup just to climb the social ladder. Maybe he needs to gain favor with Lord Galvan so that Lord Galvan
will lend help when the pirates come to raid the coastal towns of his fiefdom, or maybe he needs money to fund the restoration ofa library. Or maybe he's gambled
himself into debt and is trying to find a way to pay off those debts and avoid putting himself and his whole family into destitution.

In certain stories involving high-status protagonists, focus is put on how special or important the protagonist is because of xir social status and/or title, while focus upon or
even any regard to the protagonist's actual responsibility and capability to uphold that responsibility in relation to the rest of society/the country/whatever is practically
nonexistent. There might be much fuss made over how other people of title and status might try to use the protagonist to further their own agendas (which is definitely a
very realistic issue that any neophyte to politics could face), but even while this is going on, the character's actual responsibilities will be minimized in favor of pursuing
and fulfilling personal goals.

Sometimes the works will focus on the character's powers and utterly ignore the actual mundane responsibilities that go with the title/status the character has. In Pretty
Soldier Sailor Moon, we never see Neo-Queen Serenity doing anything that actually relates to the responsibilities of being a monarch. We see that she can be incredibly
powerful and is capable of personally defending the Earth against its enernies with her power, but that's not the same. Compare Princess Celestia, who is both depicted as
extremely powerful and as having to contend with the more mundane and tedious aspects of rulership.

In other stories, characters may be shown blowing off responsibilities to do as they please whenever they feel like it, with little or no repercussions resulting. It's as if these
responsibilities are just hobbies for stuffy old fuddy-duddies, and not something that have to be tended to keep the company/fiefdom/kingdom/whatever operating.
Whazzis, a meeting to determine how much funding to spend on the school lunch program? BORRRRTNG! I'm gonna sneak out and dance with my peasant
girlfriend instead! Oh, you say there's a meeting to detennine how much money we're going to spend on paying the guards? Pfffft, who cares about making sure the
people who protect the company/kingdom can feed their families? I wanna have an ADVENTURE!

None of these scenarios are good if you want people to really buy that your character deserves xir status or title. Could your protagonist, for example, settle a property or
territory dispute? What would your protagonist do if the party that was clearly in the wrong threatened to launch an attack that would kill thousands of innocent people if
things didn't work in xir favor? How will your protagonist deal with the inevitable situation where there is no "right" answer and no matter what xe chooses, someone
who doesn't deserve it is going to get shafted? ls xe going to make the tough decisions when others are looking to xir for guidance or direction, or is xe going to duck out
and shirk them all the time?

And speaking ofleadership, here's really inconvenient aspect to it: you might have your own ideas about how things ought to be run, but you only get to further them if
you can get enough people to agree with what you want to do - otherwise, you're very likely to find yourself deposed. How will your character deal with this?

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The high life is their comfort zone.

Whatever we grow up with is what tends to make us feel most comfortable and most at home, even ifwe do have some complaints about it. Most people who write about
royalty come from middle or lower-class backgrounds, so that's what makes them feel safe and at home. Thus, it seems reasonable (if only on a subconscious level) that
that's what their upper crust protagonists might yearn for.

It can make sense for an upper class character to yearn for a lower class lifestyle if xe has a perception that lower class people have more freedom in life and/or lead
generally more fulfilling lives. But, as the expression goes, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Restrictive as the upper class lifestyle may be, it
still comes with a lot of conveniences and niceties that are very easy to miss when they're gone - and this doesn't just mean being able to afford a new pair ofManolos
(or whatever equivalent exists in the universe) or have your servants pamper you with a massage whenever the whim strikes. Depending on, it can mean the difference
between having food that actually tastes good and having food that's merely edible - or even having enough food. A princess who loves reading would have far easier
access to new books than a lower-class woman who has to work three jobs just to live and barely has time enough for a few hours to herself at home, let alone to go to
the local library (which is probably pretty small and piddling compared to a royal library).

While someone who grew up in a dilapidated home with a messy, weedy yard might find such conditions comforting and homey, someone accustomed to living in
relatively clean and neat living conditions would likely find such conditions off-putting, and even disgusting. A tiny apartment might seem cramped and stifling after
being used to a roomy palace.

After living like this for awhile, those borrrrring socials might not seem so bad after all. Even if conditions away from the high life aren't that bad, other places won't
quite feel like home used to feel - and then there are those pesky feelings of nostalgia and homesickness that would inevitably pop up.

People in upper class positions have ways to justify inequality.

The Just World Fallacy is a powerful thing. A long-held view in Europe was that those of high blood were inherently made of better stuff than the lower classes - they
were more noble, more intelligent, and granted with the natural ability to rule and govern - that's why they were nobility and royalty in the first place, after all. It was in
their blood - and divinely ordained, even!

And of course, because the peasants lacked the nice things the nobility had - eg, access to education, the means to learn what language and mannerisms were considered
genteel, access to hygiene and medical treatment that would help curb things like disfiguring infections, of course they seemed like degenerate creatures in comparison.

In the US, the wealthy I% frequently justify having more wealth than the 99% with the belief that they worked hard for it, while the poor are just lazy and shiftless.
(Never mind that any number of them were born into privilege and were given their relatively cushy positions with paid vacations by virtue of knowing the right people
moreso than their actual skill and talent, while any number of poor people work long hours on multiple jobs just to put food on the table.)

Of course, not every upper class person needs to see the world this way, particularly if they have empathetic/sympathetic personalities and have had personal experience
with others. (Though, if they don't have much experience dealing with people oflower classes, their sympathy may come off as a bit condescending.)

Let's talk about clothes and thrones for a minute.

I've run into some people who seem to think that the outfits you see royalty and nobility wearing in their portraits is indicative of what they wore on a day-to-day basis. In
fact, what you see in those pictures are people all dolled up in their finest. Their day-to-day clothes would have been much simpler. Check it for yourself - compare this
portrait of Queen Victoria with this one.

These pictures of the Romanov family will give you some idea of what they wore on a daily basis (and did for fun!).

Also, crowns and tiaras are not a part of normal daywear, and are generally reserved for special and ceremonial occasions. In the real world, Princess Peach would only
wear her trademark gown, gloves, and tiara combo to formal events.

And before you write your character griping and grumbling about corsets, please read these:
Yesterday's Thimble: Exploring The Myths of Corsets
Everything You Know About Corsets Is False
Steam Ingenious: Corset Myths

Now, onto thrones and throne rooms - a lot of people I've run into have the impression that monarchs spend pretty much the whole day sitting on the throne, which just
ain't so. Throne rooms may be used for formal ceremonies (eg, coronations, bestowing honors or awards), or for meeting important visitors, or holding council in - and the
monarch will have many responsibilities and interests that sitting on a throne isn't exactly condusive to carrying out. Throne rooms are not for casually milling around in,
let alone for standing/sitting around and looking pretty in.

They're people, and people have differing personalities, opinions, interests, and views.

Name any type of interest you can think of, and someone of rank/status has probably had it. Every virtue, vice, and quirk that you can think of in any other person,
someone of the upper class can have. Don't be afraid to give them to your upper class characters. Any number of real royals, nobles, and other upper crust people have had
hobbies, opinions, or behaved in ways that would have made the stereotypical "prim and proper" folks roll over.

You did see that picture of Princess Anastasia smoking while her father, y'know, Czar Nicholas, watched, didn't you?

You might also be interested in:

On Writing & Roleplaying Characters Who Are Good Leader Material
Things To Know When Creating & Developing Fictional Governments
Tips & Ideas To Create More Believable Sword 'n Sorcery Worlds
Things Your Fantasy Or Science Fiction Story Needs
How To Write Powerful & Extraordinary Characters Without Being Obnoxious Or Boring
Tips To Create & Write Better Non-Protagonist Characters (NPCs)
Basic Tips To Write Better Chosen Ones
Tips & Ideas To Write More Believable Masquerades

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6/2/24, 10:28 PM A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Medieval Period - Springhole.net

A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Medieval Period

Does the Medieval era factor into one of your projects somehow? Have you been considering perhaps making
something inspired by the Middle Ages? Here are a few things you should know, if you don't know them
already.

Note that this page is not intended to be a one-stop source for everything anyone might possibly need to
know about the Middle Ages, but rather a starting point to help people begin forming a more accurate image,
to help them understand where they might need to do more research, and to point them to resources they
can use for further research.

Just because you're writing fantasy, doesn't mean you don't need to research the historical Middle
Ages. There's a lot more to the Medieval era than swords, nobility, and pretty dresses, so if you truly aim to
write a Medieval-inspired fantasy, then you need to know this stuff. While you are ultimately free to decide
what you wish to keep and what you wish to discard, you still need to know what the Medieval period was
really and truly like before you can honestly claim to be writing a fantasy inspired by it.

When it took place. The exact dates which the Medieval period started and ended depend on who you ask
and which country you're talking about, but quite a few agree that it began in the early fifth century when
the western Roman Empire began to collapse, and that it started ending sometime around the fifteenth
century.

That the Roman Empire wasn't completely gone. Although the western Roman Empire fell, the Eastern half
survived the entire Middle Ages in the form of the Byzantine Empire.

That people didn't completely shun knowledge and learning during this period. On the contrary, people
(particularly the church) made an effort to preserve knowledge, and universities rose during the Middle Ages.
And no, people didn't believe the Earth was flat. They believed it was the center of the universe (and in their
defense, they really didn't have any way to prove otherwise), but they didn't believe it was flat.

That progress and advancement happened during this period. Some people tend to imagine that the
Medieval era as a long period where nothing really changed or progressed, but nothing could be further from
the truth. While progress may have been relatively slow compared to other eras, progress was made
nonetheless - and thanks to it, the late Medieval period was an entirely different world from the early
Medieval period.

Many things that people consider to be staples of the Medieval era are younger than they think. A good
example of this is full body plate armor, which only came into the picture in the fifteenth century.
Neuschwanstein Castle, which some have assumed to be a Medieval castle, was built in the nineteenth
century. So make sure that whatever you're thinking about using didn't come from the wrong era!

That different countries had different cultures, values, and sensibilities. Just because something was done
in Medieval England doesn't mean it happened in Medieval Italy, and vice-versa. A trend that may have started
in one country might have taken years to really take hold in another. Different countries' governments
sometimes did things quite differently from each other. So make sure that you account for this when doing
your research and writing.

The amount of torture and violence that went on during the time isn't as extreme as many think. As
for many alleged tortures and torture devices, there's no record of the Iron Maiden having ever been used to
torture anyone - if anything, evidence points to it being a 18th century fabrication. There's also no evidence

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that the so-called "Pear of Anguish" was ever used as a torture device. The Rack, while it did exist, does not
seem to have been in widespread use. And contrary to the belief that executions were common, they were
relatively rare, usually reserved for severe crimes such as arson, murder, and treason.

That most people were not royalty and nobility. Many people seem to have a sort of impression of the
Medieval period as being mainly populated by royalty, nobility, and their immediate servants. But back then,
just as now, most people were of the ordinary working class, with peasants comprising around the vast
majority of the population. Here's a thought exercise to put things into perspective: go visit a few news sites
and notice just how much of the news is about leaders, politicians, business magnates, celebrities, and
"famous for being famous" types. Now ask yourself: how many people actually fit into these categories? You
don't need to know exact numbers to know that the answer is "very very few" and that most people are pretty
ordinary and unremarkable. The same goes for people in the Medieval period - most people were not nobility
or their servants, but were just ordinary working class people.

That most people would never meet royalty or nobility. Let's run a similar thought exercise - how many
people today personally meet their country's leaders? How many meet even their governors? How many people
have personally met a celebrity? Even including public events, the answer is "pretty few."

How the feudal system worked. If you're writing any kind of story where any of the trappings of feudal
governments are involved - like, say, kings, queens, lords, ladies, peasants, and serfs - then you need to know
how the feudal system worked. On the surface, it's a typical multi-tiered government system, but there are
some specific particulars to know if that's the type of government you're trying to write. Also important to
understand is how peerage worked - you know, all those titles like baron, duke, etc. Even if your setting
doesn't use these titles exactly, it's still important to understand this system if you're using Medieval England
as your inspiration.

That corsets weren't around yet. The corset that most of us know was invented in Italy in the sixteenth
century, after the end of the Middle Ages.

... But hair coverings were. In certain times and places, it was considered quite indecent for a woman
(particularly a married one) to go out and about with her hair uncovered.

That Europe's massive witch hunts didn't happen then. The only thing that really resembled a large-scale
witch hunt was the Spanish Inquisition, but this happened very late in the Medieval period (1478), was
targeted toward heretics and unorthodox worshipers in general, and only took place in Spain and its
territories. While the Malleus Maleficarum was written in the late Medieval period (1486), it wouldn't be until
the sixteenth century that wide-scale witch hunts started to take off.

What would and wouldn't have been around. Many things we take for granted today just wouldn't have been
available to many people. For example, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, cranberries, maize, chocolate, and
turkey are all foods that came from the American continents, and so would not have been available in Europe
at the time. Anything that had to be transported over long distances - such as black pepper and silk from Asia
to Europe - was exorbitantly expensive, and was often only available as luxury items for the very wealthy. So
depending on how much realism you're going for, you might want to double-check and make sure that certain
things were available.

That it wasn't standard for people to die at around age thirty. It certainly did happen sometimes, and life
expectancy certainly wasn't as great as it is now. While it's true that the average lifespan was around thirty,
it's not because people were dying left and right in what should have been the prime of their lives. It's also
partly because the high infant mortality rate brought the average down quite a bit. Someone who survived
into early adulthood still had a pretty good chance of making it into old age. (Though of course, there were
no guarantees.)

That Medieval people practiced hygiene and manners. The notion that Medieval people rarely, if ever
cleaned themselves up is a misconception. They did make an effort to keep themselves clean - sometimes
even in Roman-style bathhouses. Medieval people even practiced dental hygiene, to the best of their ability.
Likewise, they also had concepts of good table manners, even if they were somewhat different from ours
today.
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That yes, people did drink water. It's a common misconception that everybody drank alcoholic beverages all
the time, but people did in fact drink water.

That swords weren't as common as many think. That swords were the weapon of choice during the Middle
Ages is a misconception. Swords were fairly expensive as far as weapons went, and took a great deal of
training to learn how to use well. For many, spears and axes were much more likely weapons. Creating &
Writing Fantasy Armies - Things To Keep In Mind & Consider has more information.

Why the Middle Ages ended and why the Renaissance began. There really wasn't just one cause, but rather
it was a confluence of factors. Europe's overpopulation by the late Middle Ages left it ripe for a plague - and
one happened when the Black Death broke out in Europe in 1347 and killed a third of the population in five
years. With so many people now gone, the existing socio-economic order was severely disrupted and peasants
revolted. This lead to the downfall of feudalism and the rise of the wealthy merchant class. The invention of
Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in 1445 made it possible to mass produce books, making knowledge and
education available at unprecedented levels. Various wars and conflicts also reshaped political landscapes.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

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