Different cultures have different ways of treating weapons and martial arts. Bound up in historical, legal and cultural cornerstones, a society’s relationship with weapons speaks to deeper underlying norms. To reach a higher level of worldbuilding in the art of writing, think about how your culture views weapons and warfare. Here are some real-world examples […]
Saga of the Swordbreaker continues!
The IndieGoGo campaign for Saga of the Swordbreaker has been extended! The campaign will now run for a further 28 days, finishing at the end of the month. Although we failed to hit the original campaign goal of $2200 by 31st December, we still made a good show of ourselves. The campaign now stands at […]
The Way of Wuxia
The romance of the jianghu crosses borders and cultures. It is freedom from cultural strictures, skill with martial arts, an iron code of honor. In China, its greatest appeal comes from its sharp contrast with Confucian norms, with its emphasis on rigid social hierarchies and complex etiquettes. The West sees parallels with the knights-errant of […]
Metaphysics and Worldbuilding
Previously, I discussed how I plan to write the gap between East and West in my latest series, Saga of the Swordbreaker. One of the topics I touched upon was the difference in metaphysical paradigms between China and the West. Let’s go into greater detail in metaphysics and worldbuilding. This post isn’t about religion and […]
Writing the Gap Between East and West
Xianxia is a Chinese genre. Cultivation is Western. How do you bridge the gap between East and West?
Writing A Different Approach to Martial Arts
Most English-speaking readers would be familiar with Western portrayals of martial arts. In movies, television, games and prose, fight scenes are the cornerstone of Western fiction. One commonality I’ve noticed in most Western fight scenes I’ve seen is that they are portrayed as exchanges of force. Every fight scene is presented as a contest of […]
The Sword(breaker) in the Age of the Gun
Weapons are the tools of warriors. Much like a carpenter has his hammer, or a plumber has his wrench, the warrior has his weapons. His mission is war. He needs every advantage he can get. Outside of video games, shlocky movies and bad fiction, you never go into battle without a weapon if you can […]
The Saga of Babylon Red, or, A Tale of Megacorp Horror
I am the author and copyright holder of the webserial collection Babylon Red. I signed off every chapter of Babylon Red with my Chinese name. I am the owner of kitsuncheah.com. No matter how many times I repeat this, Amazon doesn’t believe me. Following a successful IndieGoGo campaign to fund Babylon Red, I submitted the […]
The Great Basedcon Sale!
The most based science fiction and fantasy convention is on! To celebrate, author-scientist extraordinaire Hans G. Schwartz is organizing a massive blowout sale! Over a hundred titles are available for free or just $0.99! Participating authors represent a huge mix of established names and emerging talents. These include Leigh Brackett, C.J. Carella, Larry Correia, Jon […]
The Last Thousand Words
Dozens of days of research. Hundreds of hours of writing. Constant sweating and fact-checking, checking in proofreaders and editors, editing and re-editing the manuscript, polishing it to perfection. Every fact must be checked, every slang word period-accurate, every last detail lifted from reality. And what is the fruit of your labours? One thousand words. No […]