On Wonder
Wonder shouldn't disappear after chapter three. The world should keep opening — not collapse into a set of rules once the magic has been explained.
A world is well made when knowing more of it makes it feel larger, not smaller.
Writing Philosophy
What I'm trying to do
A handful of convictions that guide the writing. They begin here as short notes; in time, some will grow into full essays in the journal.
On Competence
Characters should become good at things. Training matters. Knowledge matters. Preparation matters.
There is a particular satisfaction in watching someone earn their skill — and it is a satisfaction fantasy too often skips in its hurry to the chosen one.
On Magic
Not the rules — those can wait, and often should. The principle underneath them is simpler:
Magic should expand possibilities rather than replace consequences. It is a new set of questions, not an exemption from the old ones.
On Civilization
Libraries. Universities. Companies. Governments. Engineering. Trade. These are not the boring parts of a world to be hurried past.
They are among the most remarkable things people have ever built — and a fantasy that finds them fascinating has a great deal more to explore.
On Scale
The world is built larger than any single story because a world that exists only where the camera points isn't really a world at all.
Most of Sphereworld will never appear in a book. That is the point. The unseen depth is what makes the seen parts feel true.
On Books
A love of books leaves its fingerprints on everything. So Sphereworld is full of them: in-universe histories, archives, scholars, and the long arguments that scholars have across centuries.
The people who write things down, and the people who later read them, are some of the most consequential figures in any civilization. They will be here too.