Blog – Page 7 – Jonathan Oldenburg

What makes a writer?

Post published:March 20, 2019
Post category:My Journey / On Writing

I can sum this article up in six words: “A writer is someone who writes.”I’m not talking about the various measurements of success or popularity, but simply the idea of…

Behind the Characters: Hirnid

Post published:March 13, 2019
Post category:On Isfalinis

When creating a story, one of the challenges is to portray how large and how small a world is. Think back on your past week and ask yourself how many…

Mapping the World Part II: Redrawing Isfalinis

Post published:March 6, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

With this article, we come to the end of my eight-part series on how the world of Isfalinis, home to “Tears from Iron” came to be. We began by looking…

Mapping the World Part I: Lost Age to Modern Era

Post published:February 27, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

The first time I sketched a fantastical world was in 7th Grade Social Studies. We were given a large sheet of paper, perhaps 24” x 20” and told to draw…

The Magic of Isfalinis Part II: Affinities

Post published:February 21, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

Last week, I began the discussion of magic in the world of Isfalinis by going over its basic concepts. Magic is based on spoken words. It is a science and…

The Magic of Isfalinis

Post published:February 13, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

As I mentioned in the last article, the development of my Etyni and their involvement in creation merged hand-in-hand with the development of the magical system of Isfalinis. In my…

Shapers of the World: The Etyni

Post published:February 4, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

This is the fourth article in a series on how the world of Isfalinis came into shape. The first article covered the earliest development some twenty years ago. Then, in…

What People Believe in Isfalinis

Post published:January 28, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve explored the story behind “Tears from Iron” and how the world of Isfalinis came to be. First, I recollected the early days of world-building…

Evolution of the Four Races

Post published:January 21, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

In last week’s article, I talked about the rawest origins of Isfalinis as it rose from a handful of brainstorms to the vestiges of life. After we had abandoned our…

Isfalinis: Beginnings

Post published:January 14, 2019
Post category:Lore / My Journey / On Isfalinis

If you’ve ever wondered how a fantasy author came up with their story setting, here is some background on my own world-building experience. In this series of articles, I’ll discuss…