The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed

Learn the fantasy writing process from bestselling author Mary E. Pearson, including character creation, worldbuilding, and how she crafts her YA novels.

What can writers learn from one of the most successful voices in YA fantasy?

In this episode, I’m joined by Mary E. Pearson, New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Remnant Universe, to explore her approach to storytelling and the fantasy writing process.

We dive into both craft and career, including:

• Mary E. Pearson’s fantasy writing process from idea to finished book
• How she builds immersive worlds within the Remnant Universe
• Techniques for creating compelling, memorable characters
• Insights into writing YA fantasy that resonates with readers
• Lessons from her latest book Morrighan
• Practical writing advice for authors at every stage

This is an in-depth, honest conversation packed with insights from a top-tier fantasy author.

If you’re a fan of Mary E. Pearson or want to improve your own fantasy writing, this episode offers a masterclass in storytelling, worldbuilding, and craft.

OUR GUEST

Mary E. Pearson - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250868350/morrighan | https://www.marypearson.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/maryepearson/

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LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more, head over to our ⁠Patreon⁠ page - ⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed⁠

In the latest episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed podcast, I welcome author Nandi Taylor who's achieved remarkable things on Wattpad.

As someone who's never used the platform before, I invited Nandi along to tell us how she managed to accrue nearly 2 million reads of her novel, Given.

Nandi explains her methods, how Wattpad works, and the opportunities that are out there for other writers.

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at [email protected]

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LEARN MORE ABOUT FANTASY WRITING

To join our writing community and access our Panels feature, as well as join a weekly writing group, access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

OUR GUESTS

Nandi Taylor - https://twitter.com/nandi_taylor

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this instalment, Janina and Lucy from The Fey Fellowes podcast return for a chat about the age-old tales of Beowulf and King Arthur.

We look at the story behind these two tales and how they've endured for so long. We also explore the influence that they've had on the founders of the fantasy genre, such as Tolkien and CS Lewis. And we consider what writers can learn from these classic epics.

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at [email protected]

To access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you're interested in fantasy writing classes, head here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

Learn more about the fantasy writing podcast here - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-fantasy-writers-toolshed-podcast

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OUR GUESTS

Janina Arndt and Lucy Atkinson - The Fey Fellows Podcast - https://www.instagram.com/feyfellowspodcast/ / https://anchor.fm/fey-fellows-podcast

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'm joined by science fiction and fantasy literary agent Laura Bennett of the Liverpool Literary Agency. Laura talks us through what it's like to be an agent, telling us about reviewing queries, signing writers, contracts, pitching to publishers and editors, and current market trends (you'll never guess what's making a comeback).

If you have any questions or requests, please write to us at [email protected]

To access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you're interested in some of my fantasy writing classes, head here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

Learn more about the fantasy writing podcast here - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-fantasy-writers-toolshed-podcast

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

Join our community here - https://bit.ly/join-our-writing-group

OUR GUESTS

Laura Bennett - https://twitter.com/Losbennett

The Liverpool Literary Agency - https://www.liverpool-literary.agency/

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ready to take your worldbuilding to the next level? In this episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, Richie Billing shares four essential worldbuilding tips for building a fantasy world that feels alive — techniques drawn from years of trial and error and from some of the best fantasy authors and worldbuilders in the genre, many of whom have appeared on this podcast.

Worldbuilding can be exhilarating and overwhelming in equal measure. Maps, histories, religions, languages, politics — but which details actually matter? Richie distils the chaos into four clear, actionable principles that help you focus on what truly brings a fictional world to life. This episode answers the questions writers wrestle with most: which worldbuilding details are worth your time, how to balance imagination with realism, and how to tie your setting directly to plot and character.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The most overlooked rule of effective worldbuilding — and how it transforms your storytelling
• How to balance imagination and realism so readers never feel lost
• Why purposeful detail beats encyclopaedic exposition every time
• How to connect your setting directly to plot and character motivation
• How to use sensory description and emotion to make a world feel lived-in
• Why consistency is the secret weapon of great fantasy settings

Whether you're building a sprawling epic world or a single village, this episode gives you the tools and the mindset to make your fictional world feel authentic and compelling.

🗺️ Download a free worldbuilding template: https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding

✍️ Fantasy writing books, classes & tools: https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

Want to write villains readers actually believe in? In this episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed, host Richie Billing is joined by Dr Enn Burke for a fascinating deep dive into the sociology of villains — how real social forces shape the deviant and villainous characters in your fiction.

The most convincing antagonists aren't simply born evil. They're shaped by their world. Richie and Dr Burke explore how upbringing, peer groups, and oppressive systems and policies — like the war on drugs — influence who a person becomes, and how you can use those same forces to create believable, three-dimensional villains on the page. Along the way they draw on Michel Foucault's Discipline & Punish and the documentary The House I Live In to unpack how power, punishment and society manufacture "deviance."

This episode explores questions like:

• What really makes someone a villain — their nature, or their environment?
• How do upbringing and peer groups shape deviant behaviour?
• How do oppressive systems and policies (like the drug war) create villains?
• What can Foucault's Discipline & Punish teach writers about power and punishment?
• How do you turn these ideas into believable antagonists in your story?

Whether you're writing an epic fantasy dark lord, a morally grey antagonist, or a quiet everyday villain, this conversation gives you a sociological toolkit for making them land.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the most believable villains are products of their world
• How upbringing, peer groups and social pressure shape deviance
• How systems of power and policy create "villains"
• What sociology and Foucault can teach fiction writers about evil
• How to apply these ideas to your own antagonists

About Dr Enn Burke: Dr Enn Burke is the host of the Ripped From The Headlines podcast, which examines crime, society and the forces that shape human behaviour.

✍️ Fantasy writing classes: https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

💬 Join our writing community on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you like to write fantasy or perhaps historical fiction, then you may have encountered the idea of the medieval knight.

They were walking tanks back in their day and held a significant amount of societal influence.

But being so powerful, they were also prone to corruptive behaviours, particularly seen in the Hundred Year War between England and France.

In this latest episode of The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed podcast, our oracle of history, Aidan Mattis of The Lore Lodge podcast, joins me for a chat about knights of the middle ages.

We look at how they developed, their roles and lives, the code of chivalry that was designed to help keep them in check, and how writers can apply all of this to their stories.

Get in touch: [email protected]

To access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you're interested in some of my quick, easy-to-understand fantasy writing classes, head here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

FANTASY WRITING RESOURCES

• Medieval Armor and Fantasy - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing/a-fantasy-writers-guide-to-armor
• Medieval Weapons and Fantasy - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing/a-fantasy-writers-guide-to-weaponry
• Worldbuilding and Religion - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding/worldbuilding-religion

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

Join our community here - https://mailchi.mp/be6082d43b39/the-writers-toolshed

OUR GUESTS

Aidan Mattis - The Lore Lodge Podcast - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/thelorelodge

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we march forth with our series on creating three-dimensional characters.

Political psychologist and YouTuber Abby returns to discuss the psychology of villains and heroes.

We dive into the types of psychological traits that villains and heroes have, how they develop those traits and how we can use this psychological insight to create and get into the minds of our protagonists and antagonists.

This is just the first episode of a duology on villains and heroes; in an episode to come soon, sociologist Dr Enn Burke returns to look at the sociological considerations behind our villainous and heroic characters.

Be sure to subscribe or follow us on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and the like so you don't miss an episode!

Get in touch: [email protected]

To access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you're interested in some of my quick, easy-to-understand fantasy writing classes, head here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

FANTASY WRITING RESOURCES

• How To Write Bad Guys And Villains - https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/thebadguys
• The Ultimate List Of Worldbuilding Resources - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding/worldbuilding-resources
• A Guide To Character Development - https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/character-development

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

Join our community here - https://mailchi.mp/be6082d43b39/the-writers-toolshed

OUR GUESTS

Abby from Political Psych With Abby - https://www.youtube.com/c/PoliticalPsychwithAbby / Latest ep - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8_O1reY3qc

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you take a promising story idea and develop it into a novel? Adrian Tchaikovsky, the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author of Children of Time and Shadows of the Apt, joins Richie Billing to explore his writing process, from the first spark to building worlds and creating characters.

We discuss where Adrian finds his ideas, how he develops them into complete stories, and how worldbuilding, character creation, plotting and theme influence one another. For writers imagining alien minds or unfamiliar creatures, we also explore the challenge of making non-human characters believable and memorable.

Beyond the writing itself, Adrian shares his experience of traditional publishing, including what it’s like to work with editors and literary agents.

You’ll discover:

• How Adrian generates story ideas and develops them into novels.

• How he approaches worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction.

• Ways to create memorable characters, including non-human ones.

• How plot and theme work together to strengthen a story.

• The roles editors and literary agents play in an author’s career.

Whether you’re struggling to develop an idea or working through the complexities of a fantasy world, this conversation offers an insight into how a prolific author approaches the craft.

ABOUT ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY

Adrian Tchaikovsky is a British science fiction and fantasy author whose books include Children of Time, the ten-book Shadows of the Apt series and The Final Architecture trilogy. Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016, and his work has also received British Science Fiction and British Fantasy awards. His fiction frequently explores evolution, artificial intelligence and non-human perspectives. He studied zoology and psychology, worked as a legal executive and became a full-time writer in 2018.

ADRIAN’S BOOKS

Explore Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books

FANTASY WRITING RESOURCES

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Learn more about The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed or get in touch

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In this episode, we reveal publishing insights and tips on making successful submissions for short stories and novels.

We also take a look at the methods people have used to secure funding for their book projects on Kickstarter.

I welcome Willow Becker and Christi Nogel from Weird Little Worlds Press who have had tremendous success with Kickstarter—their last campaign hit its fundraising target in just 36 hours!

We discuss fantasy author Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter campaign too, and we go over some do's and don'ts when it comes to submitting stories to publishers.

Get in touch: [email protected]

To access exclusive interviews, discussions, fantasy writing classes, books and more head over to our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed

If you're interested in some of my quick, easy-to-understand fantasy writing classes, head here - https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

FANTASY WRITING RESOURCES

• Worldbuilding Template and Guide - https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding
• Free Book Description Generator For Amazon And Goodreads - https://richiebilling.com/amazon-goodreads-book-description-generator
• How To Find Podcasts For Writers - https://richiebilling.com/welcome/the-fantasy-writers-toolshed-podcast/how-to-find-podcasts-for-writers

JOIN OUR WRITING COMMUNITY

Join our community here - https://mailchi.mp/be6082d43b39/the-writers-toolshed

OUR GUESTS

Willow Becker and Christi Nogel - Weird Little Worlds Press - https://weirdlittleworlds.com/

Sounds and editing by Odysy - https://www.youtube.com/c/Odysyx

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.