Mastering Political Intrigue in Speculative Fiction

Nat RussoWorld Creation Leave a Comment

Welcome, oh brilliant and adventurous speculative fiction writers, to the wondrous realm of political intrigue! Now, let’s be honest, politics can be as confusing as deciphering a cryptic code while riding a unicycle. But fear not, my friends! In this article we shall embark on a whimsical journey through the intricate world of politics.  Together, we’ll unravel the mysteries of power dynamics, backstabbing, and manipulative games that make political intrigue oh-so-enthralling. So, grab your pens, don your imaginary crowns, and let’s dive into the captivating world of political tomfoolery!

Map of the Three Kingdoms

Nat RussoArt, Maps, Necromancer, World Creation Leave a Comment

I was reminded this morning by a post on Twitter that I’ve yet to make a map of the Three Kingdoms widely available. The reason is I will be having an artist professionally render my hand-drawn scribblings in the near future, perhaps before (or around the time of) the publication of book 3, Necromancer Ascending. But why wait? So, here’s a rendering that I made a long time ago in Campaign Cartographer 3 (absolutely INCREDIBLE software!). My apologies to Campaign Cartographer 3. I’m like a toddler using Photoshop to draw stick figures. Oh, and you should be able to click on the image to enlargificate it. That’s not a word…but it should be. 😀 Books set in the Erindor universe: Necromancer …

World Building: Magic Systems

Nat RussoBasics, How-To, Magic, World Creation, Writing 41 Comments

As a Fantasy author, the subject of World Building is near and dear to my heart. If you’re going to build a convincing fantasy world, you may be thinking about developing a magic system. In Necromancer Awakening (now available on Amazon), I went through a painstaking process to build a unique magic system involving “Life” and “Death”. While I was constructing a magic system based on necromancy, it occurred to me (in hindsight) that there are three things a writer should know before attempting this at home:

World Building Primer

Nat RussoBasics, How-To, World Creation 28 Comments

World Building is something that all writers of speculative fiction need to do at some point in the story development process. I’d go so far as to say World Building is one of the primary things that drew many of us to this craft in the first place.  In today’s post we’ll cover the following: The Map Borders Religions Cultures Cities  

The Basics: So You Want To Write A Novel

Nat RussoBasics, Characterization, How-To, Plot and Structure, Reference Books, World Creation, Writing 10 Comments

Where Do I Begin? If you’ve landed here, you’ve got a good head start. I’m going to make a couple of assumptions about you, if that’s ok: You’re an avid reader. You want to write a book-length work of fiction (i.e. you want to write a novel). You’ve never done this before, or you’ve had a lot of starts/stops in your past. You’re willing to dedicate the next several months…perhaps years…of your life to telling a single story. You have no idea where to begin.   You may think I’m a mind reader now. But the simple truth is that I’ve just described most of us. And by “us” I’m referring to pretty much anyone who has ever taken the first …