Castles are a stereotypical feature of the fantasy genre, but for good reason: they’re a ubiquitous feature of nearly every non-nomadic society well into the gunpowder era, until artillery finally got powerful enough that “build a better wall” stopped being a useful method of defense. But castles, like walls, sometimes get simplified and misunderstood. So […]

There’s a pop-culture tendency to point at structures like Hadrian’s Wall or the Great Wall of China and laugh because “they didn’t keep invaders out.” But that betrays a very limited understanding of what a wall is for.

A fictional world is potentially infinite in its detail, just like the real world. How do you decide when to say, that’s enough — I’m done worldbuilding? This question is, among other things, a matter of taste, which means there’s no actual “right answer” apart from the one that suits your preferences. I think it’s […]