So you've got lore galore, complex sociopolitical tangles, and a history that reaches back through the ages. How do you show that on the page without infodumping? Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, who together make up M. A. Carrick, help us explore building a world with deep historical roots while communicating that history in a way that feels natural and exciting for a reader.
How do your characters think of their world's history? What different perspectives are there on historical events, and how have those perspectives shaped the present?
Transcript for Episode 66 (with thanks to our scribes!)
Our Guests:
Alyc Helms prefers tea over all other beverages. They sometimes refer to their work as “critical theory fanfic,” which is a fancy way to say that they are obsessed with liminality, gender identity, and foxes (and tea!). They are the author of the Adventures of Mr. Mystic novels from Angry Robot and, as M.A. Carrick, the co-author (with Marie Brennan) of The Mask of Mirrors, first in the Rook & Rose trilogy from Orbit Books.
Marie Brennan is a former anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly pillages her academic fields for inspiration. She recently misapplied her professors’ hard work to The Night Parade of 100 Demons and the short novel Driftwood. She is the author of the Hugo Award-nominated Victorian adventure series The Memoirs of Lady Trent along with several other series, over sixty short stories, and the New Worlds series of worldbuilding guides; as half of M.A. Carrick, she has written The Mask of Mirrors, first in the epic Rook and Rose trilogy.
Episode 30: Fantasy Race and Avoiding Fantasy Racism ft. K. TEMPEST BRADFORD, K.S. VILLOSO, and SARAH GUAN!
Episode 29: Cornerstones and Building Blocks
Episode 28: Framing the Concept
Episode 27: Potpourri 2: 2 Pot, 2 Pourri (Welcome to Season 2!)
Episode 26: Take Pride in your Worldbuilding featuring K.A. DOORE!
Episode 25: Rebel Scum and the Evil Empire Featuring ANDREA STEWART!
Episode 24: Dress for the Quest You Want Featuring MELISSA CARUSO!
Episode 23: We Are Gathered Together Featuring TOCHI ONYEBUCHI!
Episode 22: First We Eat (Featuring CASS MORRIS!)
Episode 21: Medicine and the Concept of the Body (Featuring FREYA MARSKE!)
Episode 20: When Two Wizards Love Each Other Very Much... (feat. Cat Sebastian!)
Episode 19: Triskadekaphilia
Episode 18: Monuments and Wonders
Episode 17: A Brief History of... (featuring S.A. Chakraborty)
Episode 16: A Game of Anything But Thrones
Episode 15: Potpourri
Episode 14: Have Yourself A Merry Little Something
Episode 13: And Now A Reading From The Sacred Text... (feat. Tasha Suri)
Episode 12: The Play’s The Thing (feat. Cass Morris!)
Episode 11: Threads of Life
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