See you next time

That's all for this lesson.

We've covered what's normal for your world (Lesson 1), and the current events that are taking place (Lesson 2), so by now the reader has a pretty good understanding of how your universe works. Using a news broadcast is a convenient plot device for quickly getting stuck into the action, while still explaining to your readers exactly what is going on.

What are some of the current events going on our world, right now? Can you take those events, and translate them into a science-fantasy universe?

How do we receive news in our world? TV, radio, newspapers or news websites, social media... Think about how these could be transformed into futuristic technologies.

When you read a science-fantasy story, take note of how the author sets up the status quo of their world or universe, and how you learn about the current state of affairs. Does the author weave in bits and pieces of information throughout the story, or do they give you all the information in a lump? Often, there will be a mix of both—what plot devices do they use in each case?

Phoenix is a novel by S .F. Said, with amazing illustrations by Dave McKean.

Lucky thinks he’s an ordinary Human boy… until he starts dreaming that the stars are singing to him, and he wakes up to find an uncontrollable power rising inside him. Lucky is forced to leave his home planet—Phoenix— on the run and in search of his father, who he hopes can give him answers.

The galaxy’s at war, there are deadly enemies among both Aliens and Humans, Lucky befriends an Alien starship crew and an Alien warrior girl who’s got neon needles in her hair… Oh, and he needs to find a way to save the galaxy. No big deal!

Where did the inspiration images come from?

The first image is by Luke Oram, an artist and illustrator who creates works for fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres. He's also done lots of cover art for music albums!

The second image is from Pixoloid Studios, created for the role-playing game, Starfinder (Paizo Publishing). We used a different image from Starfinder, also by Pixoloid Studios, in the previous lesson.

The last image is by Vlad Bolotov, an artist/illustrator/designer based in New York who also does streams on Twitch.

See you in the next lesson!

Science fantasy worldbuilding in Phoenix 2: Current events