Worldbuilding for Masochists Podcast
1) Episode 175: Folklore Monsters and Their Origins, ft. AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO
From creatures to avoid in the woods to superstitions about numbers, folklore not only gives us inspiration for stories, but also stories for the characters in your world to tell. So where do folktale...Show More
2) Episode 174: Stress-Testing Your Worldbuilding, ft. ANDREA STEWART
We often start the worldbuilding process with a lot of exciting ideas, shiny notions, and fun experiments -- so then, how do you make it make sense? Even in an invented world with its own history, geo...Show More
3) Episode 173: Talking about Writing: A Crossover Episode with SFF ADDICTS (Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn, & Greta Kelly)
There comes a time in the life of every author when they have to do that truly terrifying thing: Talk about their book. In this special crossover episode with SFF Addicts, we talk about talking about ...Show More
4) Episode 172: Inquiries and Interrogatives
It's our first episode of 2026, and that means it's time for another listener Q&A episode! From nitty-gritty craft details like writing good dialogue and measuring your pacing to broader concepts like...Show More
5) Episode 171: Eight Days a Week
As we turn the pages of our own calendars, let's think about how the cultures we build in fantasy and science fiction mark the passage of time! What shapes the patterns of life for your characters? Do...Show More
6) Episode 170: Save It for the Patreon
We know we’re worldbuilding masochists – But when is too much really, really too much? Some of us try to do all our worldbuilding at the start of a project -- and some of us do it as we go. However yo...Show More
7) Episode 169: For the Cartography-Curious
Few things are more glorious than opening up a fantasy book and seeing a gorgeously detailed map right up front. So what goes into making that masterpiece for you to feast your eyes and imagination up...Show More
8) Episode 168: It's Bigger on the Inside... of Book Two, ft. APARNA VERMA
So: Whether it was always intended and contracted, you told the “standalone with series potential” fib, or the public has simply demanded more, you now have to write a second book in the same world. H...Show More
9) Episode 167: Spice Up Your Worldbuilding. ft. NIA DAVENPORT
So, you've decided it's time to turn up the heat on your worldbuilding. Maybe you're writing a full-on romantasy, or maybe it's a smaller component of your overall plot, but if your characters are get...Show More
10) Episode 166: The Histo-Remix, ft. ALIX E. HARROW
We use history a lot in our worldbuilding, whether as a direct re-interpretation or as inspiration for a secondary world that we’re creating. So… why do we do that? And what choices do we need to exam...Show More