The AmWritingFantasy Podcast: Episode 123 – Top 10 WORST Fantasy Worlds
Play • 57 min

An awesome fantasy world can make a story — just as a terrible or terrifying one can make you run for a different book. Join Autumn and Jesper as they go head to head to come up with the worst fantasy world... or figure out how to create a story out of some pretty horrifying recommendations.

If you want to check out the Story Idea book Autumn and Jesper mention in the podcast, head over to https://books2read.com/StoryIdeas  (and check out the brand new audiobook that was just released!).

OR pick up the Plot Development book and get a free ebook copy of Story Ideas at https://books2read.com/Plot-Development.

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday. 

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Read the full transcript below. (Please note that it's automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn't perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Narrator (2s):
You're listening to The Am Writing Fantasy Podcast in today's Publishing landscape, you can reach fans all over the world. Query letters are a thing of the past. You don't even need. And literary agent, there is nothing standing in the way of making a living from writing. Join two best selling authors who have self published more than 20 books between them now on to the show with your hosts, Autumn Birt and Jesper Schmidt.

Jesper (30s):
Hello, I'm Jesper.

Autumn (31s):
And I am Autumn.

Jesper (33s):
This is episode 123 of The Am Writing Fantasy Podcast. And today we are going to run it one of our not so serious episodes. We are going to dive into our alternate alternating lists. That's what, what I'm trying to say at the WORST and or scary fantasy world that we can think of. So they should probably be able to be a good one.

Autumn (1m 2s):
And it should be, I have some fun doing some research thinking or finding some books. I am not sure if I wanted to read, but just to get inspiration, but it was actually a really fun one to come up with the list. So will have to see if I do a stool. Appreciate. Dominic's a comment that I always win it. And so I just thought, well, that's, that's the stuff we don't talk to her.

Jesper (1m 25s):
And I think actually I think we already know who's going to win this one. So apparently we don't need to talk to, well, no, he does know what he was talking about it.

Autumn (1m 35s):
I figured out that comment would make you go and do like extra work on this one.

Jesper (1m 40s):
So actually it wasn't the back of my mind when I make my list, I was like, I have to come up with something good today. So I figured, so it will have to see, I definitely have a surprise for you at number one where I pulled it from. So it will have to, Oh no, it's already such as like, Oh no. Oh no. It, it must be a bad thing. One. Yeah. I'm sure you don't worry. You don't want you to stress now. And we have to get that.

Autumn (2m 5s):
It's like at the end, it's in 40 minutes. So don't worry about it. You don't want to stress to the next 40 minutes. I can probably count. Let it go. You do you have more of a calm? I thought I was a competitor until I met you and you have a much more of a competition edge.

Jesper (2m 22s):
Okay. To say, I like to compete, to be honest with him and well, I can at least pretend to be a sore loser. Normally. I'm not that I like to. I like to play the game here. You have to be a good example, too. The kids who are the referee and the adults you referee, sometimes it sounds like the last weekend I handed out three yellow cards for people who were doing the scent, you know, complaining about things. So well, but that's a nice thing that, you know, there are, I don't have to be the sole lose. If they disagree with me, I can just give them the yellow car. End of story. That you know, you do not have that power over me. I'm sorry. No worries.

Jesper (3m 2s):
Yeah. Yeah. I think I've said to my wife at some point that I would love it. If it was possible, you know, in business meetings to bring my yellow and red cards and you just like, yeah,

Autumn (3m 12s):
Well you are out by, by that. Wouldn't be so much easier than it would be pretty good, like a mediator or something. That'd be fantastic. You know, here's your card and you got to do your out time out yet. Go sit up for five minutes. So that would change the dynamics of things so much. It would. But I think that a lot of people wouldn't like you either, but That's a different story. You probably have to work for an independent agency where they can't fire you.

Jesper (3m 39s):
Yeah. Well, that's it, Is that the moral on again with all the cards in his pocket? Or what the hell are you Sure? It was like, Oh no, it's another meeting today. Yeah.

Autumn (3m 49s):
Oh, well, but it is besides that, besides the refereeing, how are things over on your side as well as the Atlantic?

Jesper (3m 55s):
Well, it's a pretty good. My son's were actually going to go to the hairdresser today for the first time in months down the road in the lockdown. Yeah. It was a sign that I was very jealous, but then it just got worse because then the head rest is a canceled. Oh no, it was so frustrating. My, my oldest son who was really annoyed by it at the, Yeah. I don't know, like everybody else, I guess a we, or like a hair monsters is walking around here the whole time

Autumn (4m 23s):
Or like my long hair. I took a couple years to grow this. Backout different for, you know, and that's the same as well. Go for the Viking. Look, you know, in braids and some long it'll be fine. Yeah. And that's your heritage, it's your heritage. You, you need to go for it. Yeah.

Jesper (4m 43s):
But that is true. But actually over the weekend as well, just to say, tell you that, that I watch one of the movies that you were recommending,

Autumn (4m 51s):
Which one

Jesper (4m 52s):
I've watched The yang yang master on the floor.

Autumn (4m 55s):
Excellent. What did you think you didn't even say?

Jesper (4m 58s):
No, I didn't know if that was on purpose Or holding out. I always want to hold Out and stuff up.

Autumn (5m 5s):
Then we recorded a podcast or a I'm sensing a trend.

Jesper (5m 9s):
Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. No, no. I think, I think it was good. I like the is not going to do in this partnership, but I liked, as you said as well that you don't quite see Don and coming. Oh, I like that.

Autumn (5m 24s):
Yeah. I, I, the setup was like, Oh, there's no way out of the day. Oh really? That makes so much sense. It's perfect. So that one is much better than the, the other one that is also the ying-yang masters, having the one that one's not quite as good. And like I said, especially for the one you just watched ferret demons. Oh my God, what a fair or a demon. So I might technically have one if you've seen my dog, but yeah. They're so cute. And they were all, so yeah.

Jesper (5m 53s):
So, so we have any listeners out there. If you want to a way that it is a FANTASY movie, it is, it is Chinese, but that doesn't mean I don't mind being a Chinese, but maybe some people do it, but it's called the young, young master. And it's a show on Netflix. So a, if you want to check that out and ah, yeah, I should have just have to do it. It's a bit different in many ways, you know, it's, it has almost like a human side to it as well. Like it's a, it's a bit, it's not silly at all, but, but it is a bit like some of the creatures is a bit, like, I almost feel like they put in down as a comical relief, you know,

Autumn (6m 33s):
And the turtles,

Jesper (6m 36s):
They are also pretty cool. I mean, it is very FANTASY heavy, at least. So yeah.

Autumn (6m 40s):
FANTASY have a very good CGI, very good acting and a story that has a twist at the end that you don't see coming and you don't see how that's going to have to work out. I thought it was a fantastic FA fantastic storytelling and fun event. It would, if it was a book, I totally would have to read it. So it was excellent.

Jesper (6m 60s):
Yeah. Yeah. And I think it was based on or off a book. No, no, no, no, no. I read actually the first movie, the one I just watched the yang master, that's actually based off a video game. And then the other one that you just mentioned, the turn it to yang yang master, they turn it to you or something. I think it was called that's based off the book. Okay. And that one is, I have not watched the second one, the eternity one yet. But as far as I read that one is a bit more dark. Whereas this one young master is a bit more lighthearted.

Autumn (7m 31s):
That sounds very correct. Yeah.

Jesper (7m 35s):
Okay. But how about you? You, you had a bit of a bumpy ride, this bus.

Autumn (7m 40s):
Okay. That seems to be a, as long as it doesn't go back to whatever month I said that I felt like I was cursed. I know, I think that was February, but as long as it doesn't go that way, we should be all right. But its been, that's been a little bit of a hiccup. My vaccine was canceled at the last minute. So now I don't get vaccinated until may because they changed the Johns, the Johnson and Johnson has some side effects, which I have to admit. I would probably be right in the target of potentials for side effects. So Lina, maybe it was a good thing, but it has been one of those weeks where you feel like the rug has pulled out of you, I'm a Hunter you with every step. So at this point I'm just expecting someone to push me off a cliff and we stay away from cliffs or they're just send me a parachute and Well, or Mary Poppins or has an umbrella or something I need to, I need a safety net this week, but we will get through it.

Autumn (8m 36s):
And I will not. Maybe it's because of what happens to be my birthday or a week. So maybe its just, you know, fate instead of rubbing in it, I will ignore that. I've been hoping for a good week. I'm planning for a good birthday. Oddly enough. It's been, the weather here has been gorgeous in the sixties. Sunny, just lovely. Except for oddly enough that day on my birthday, it was supposed to snow seven inches. Right. And so I was going to go out to a, a lovely restaurant were actually having a certificate.

Autumn (9m 16s):
I think it was going to be perfect. And now I'm just thinking, well shoot, I'm just going to get cheesecake and cheesecake. Good. Maybe it was too much hot chocolate in Rome and cheese kick-ass or movie or something. I feel like this movie and just get it over with, but that's how my week moving on.

Jesper (9m 40s):
Okay. So if you just want to move on,

Autumn (9m 44s):
Let's go up

Narrator (9m 45s):
A week on the internet with The Am Writing Fantasy Podcast.

Jesper (9m 50s):
I okay. It took out a long, long time for audible to accept the files. I am pleased to announce that the audio book version of our guide book on how to develop story ideas is now finally available for like four or five months old. So I think more than that, I think it's great. They have a year of six month.

Autumn (10m 14s):
Oh that is insane. I am so excited though. You did it again. You didn't tell me this or no, I didn't come to you in education were running up this disk. They'll send you back for training. Yeah.

Jesper (10m 29s):
Well I thought it's excellent communication. I'm telling you right now.

Autumn (10m 35s):
Well, that is exciting. So what are we going to do to sell a bright, having our book finally approved as an audio book

Jesper (10m 44s):
That I don't know that it's a celebration. That's the part, I don't know how to do. I need more training on how I'll just say like, but maybe because I have an audio sample prepared, but maybe you could just to remind people what this book is about. And then afterwards I can just play a short sample right here and now

Autumn (11m 4s):
Six months in a week of heck it's a story ideas now. So I do remember that it is full of tips and ideas on developing your story ideas and how to generate different ways of coming up with ideas in getting the, that flowing, its almost like creating a muscle memory of how do you come up with ideas and develop that. And it's a whole different skillset. So it's all about that. And I think I did. Okay. And I'm going to stop speaking.

Jesper (11m 35s):
How are you afraid you are going to jinx it?

Autumn (11m 39s):
Yeah, definitely. Let me touch on the computer. It will go black.

Jesper (11m 43s):
Okay. So I have a, a short sample lined up here just so that the For Lissa listeners. So you can see, you can hear what is, sounds like it's a bit more than a minute in length. So a lien back and just a listened to it here. And of course listener, if, if you're not too interested in this book, just, you know, we use your podcast app too, a skip ahead in a minute or something, but here we go.

Derek Botten (12m 10s):
We don't need to understand how our brains produce Ideas. We need to acknowledge that they do. It's not magic generating story ideas. Isn't a single event, but a creative process that involves collecting input from our environment and experiences to transform those loose fragments into a coherent hole. Well, we said that most original ideas has already been conceived. We also mentioned how inspiration is at the heart of combining OLED elements into something new or the greatest novel it is yet to be written. And when that happens will still be able to say the greatest novel is you have to be written. Every idea in the world is waiting to be done again with a new spin or an unexpected reveal.

Derek Botten (12m 56s):
All it takes is to understand how to open our minds and allow inspiration to hit home. The more we experience, the more material we have available to interrelate and create new combinations from the better. For instance, when J K Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter, she was stuck on a train from Manchester to London, King's cross. Or how about Suzanne Collins? She got the idea for the hunger games when channel surfing between reality TV and actual war coverage from Iraq. The point is that story ideas are all around us. We need to train our brains to look for them and then note them down. As soon as they come into existence, in a sense, it becomes a simple matter of collecting enough input from your environment and putting those ideas through the brainstorming process.

Derek Botten (13m 46s):
This will lead you to the perfect premise for your story. So

Jesper (13m 51s):
How do you like the Narrator here? Why don't you want him?

Autumn (13m 53s):
And he's got a very soothing as a friendly voice. I can listen to that one all day. Yeah, I really liked.

Jesper (14m 2s):
So we place the link in the show notes from a where you can find this audio book and if you prefer an ebook version or a paperback that's found via that same link as well. And a little secret for our listeners here is that the Epic ebook version of this book is actually available for free because if you buy the plotting guide and will also put a link to that one in the show notes as well. But if you, by the plotting guide insight, you will actually find a link which will give you this story idea book for free. Of course the ebook version of it, the audio book version you can get for free.

Autumn (14m 39s):
You know, fortunately I was actually thinking as well, all of them that, and of course I'm communicating this to you now. Okay. That was great. A very Well known. Is it okay?

Jesper (14m 54s):
Yeah. Cause I'm going to have communication skills here. What if we a set that I'm the first five people who leave a review of this podcast will get a free audio book.

Autumn (15m 10s):
I think that's brilliant. I love giving rewards to listeners. So let's do it. It will have to, we'll have to be on the spot and checking times, but yeah, first five who leave a review.

Jesper (15m 24s):
Yeah. So we will do it like this. If you like the podcast, leave a rating and review right now and we are going to go first, come first served. Meaning it is when we receive your information about the review left. So you will leave your ratings, leave your review, then go to Am Writing Fantasy dot com and use the contact form on their and send us a link or a screenshot of the review. If you just left. And the first five emails we get and that's the timestamp in our inbox, the first five we get, we will get back to those five people with a free download code for this audio book.

Jesper (16m 5s):
So don't delay, if you wait too long, it will be too late. So yeah, go ahead and, and leave a review and a will give you a free audio book sound the same time.

Autumn (16m 16s):
Yeah, I think that's a really cool and then that's a way of celebrating. We go into audio book. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jesper (16m 21s):
That's true. Yeah. Inadvertently and this is celebrate is something I wouldn't even notice myself. That's my bad on who we are going to work on. That I have a feeling that we are accidentally going to expire some people today when we go through all of this Autumn. Yeah,

Autumn (16m 45s):
Probably I would think so. I definitely chose M one or two worlds where I think I would probably not make it more of a pro. Definitely not to the teenage years, but if it was dropped in it as an adult, I would probably have a few hours still live. So yeah,

Jesper (16m 60s):
It seems to be my way, maybe not to inspire people in the way that they are going to copy the actual things that we say, but maybe some of the stuff we say it may be. Some people feel like I can actually use a small part of that on an element of that and change it around to something else. And a, I think, you know, you know, if that happens too, some of the listeners please steal away, just take whatever we say and use it. I don't care. You can steal all you want from this podcast episode. And then of course at the end will have to conclude a winner. Even though we might actually do that in two seconds, that's probably a predetermined, but,

Autumn (17m 36s):
And knowing how my week is going. Sure. I Have no doubt. I'm expecting the PODCAST, to die and in a second,

Jesper (17m 44s):
No, no, please. Don't jinx it a, I know your blood will have, it has quite an effect on electronics, right? It does. It, it does. That's what it is. That one step back. Yeah. Don't touch the computer Please. Before we get started, I came across a very funny comment, a on the internet, but I just thought it would, she has to be okay. It doesn't really fit into the list of five, but it was just such a funny comment that the way I thought was good at it. So we were, there was the question on the inside and posted about, which was the Wii WORST Fantasy Worlds to live in four, a normal person.

Jesper (18m 26s):
And so it doesn't quite fit with our lists. Yeah. But somebody to answer to this question was, well, I think it would be becoming a volunteer firefighter in King's landing.

Autumn (18m 41s):
Well, that's, that has a pretty good comment, But pretty bad jobs to have it. It's a pretty bad job or that kind of hard for me. So I dunno, I think we'd be left. So if they want us to share it up, all right, well I'm sure you'll get a few chuckles or who are listening to it. So that, it's a very good one, but I have to admit, I said there is, I, we both made a point not to steal from work's because we don't want to say that we think this world is horrible and it's like your favorite story. So we tried to come up with our own and I think that's the way to do it, but getting some inspiration, like reading some comments and stuff online, and there were some really funny comments and there were some things at work.

Autumn (19m 23s):
And I did, I really did find the one that was like WORST Worlds. And there was a whole setup about a cursor town that I like. This is really would be interesting story. And it's sounds creepy. And what do you need to start bookmarking some of these, but it was actually not bad at all. Yeah, no, it was more of like, it's the WORST world. Like you would not want to be out in the world actually. And it was like, Oh, that must have been a very riveting story. So, you know, WORST worlds can be very inspiring. That's true.

Jesper (19m 56s):
Yeah. I don't think that's not quite the way I've gone with my list, to be honest, if either it's not like inspiring And at all,

Autumn (20m 4s):
I think I went with the potential for death horrifying and yeah. That's about where I went.

Jesper (20m 13s):
Yeah. I tried to put a slightly different angle on most of mine to be honest, but because I have to try too. Yeah. Well now that is to say that, you know, the problem is sometimes when you try to be too unique, then it falls apart. So I ah, no, I, I am losing confidence in my list. All of it.

Autumn (20m 35s):
Excellent. No, that's not good. I am ready to begin. Now I on me, I need a, when this week come on, it's my birthday. And we see that this my pantry, cause this is like Jesper. I powers your using on me. Like I'm Fe it's not fair. It's just not fair. I can't deny my breath. Right.

Jesper (21m 0s):
Okay. Okay. Well, I almost feel like I want you to stop because I want to hear if I'm, if you start out really strong than I am getting really nervous, but if we could settle my nervous a bit, If, if the first one you've come up with is like, yeah, no, it's okay. Then I would feel better already.

Autumn (21m 14s):
Well, this is my first one. We'll make you feel better because it was kind of, I actually changed it from something incredibly boring because I went with stories that would create Worlds that we create a horrible story. I guess it was really the theme of a mine. Yes, yes. And so that's what I wanted. But the first one is kind of, I just had to put it in there and I have a reason. And I'll let you see if you can guess because its something that I think you would suspect knowing me and also knowing something that's true to your heart as well.

Jesper (21m 43s):
So are you setting me up for failure? So if I can guess it, that it makes me look like for you, you should have known this.

Autumn (21m 49s):
Oh, we'll see. We'll see what we've already even talked about it today. So you're ready from my number one. Well, my number five is not the worst world. We are going to build out a number five. Yes. My number five. So this is a world where the water has been turned to undrinkable muck full of chemicals that will slowly poison you. Any animals that live in it or are mutated in the inevitable that live in the water. The soil has been contaminated so much that you are lucky to grow crops. And even if you could, the SOF, your reign will most likely destroy them. If it rains at all, it might be a drought year or it might be the aesthetic hurricane full of tornadoes.

Autumn (22m 29s):
It just comes in waves out. Everything. Most animals have been killed off due to the pollutants. The landscape has a wasteland have destroyed cities. Birt husks. The building's massive contamination from the number of dead bodies, trash and leaked chemicals where any humans are writing about like Savage cannibals in the cities. So your best bet to live at all is in the countryside. If you are lucky to find any areas with existing forest and have a decent soils and of course food is scarce as possibly contaminated. And but if you band together at all with other humans to check out An existence here, they may look at you as a potential food source.

Jesper (23m 11s):
Hmm.

Autumn (23m 12s):
So I do know there are a dystopian stories that kind of had this world, but can you guess why this to me is one of the worst scariest worlds I can possibly imagine even though it's number five on my list.

Jesper (23m 32s):
Hmm.

Autumn (23m 32s):
Before we start and before we started talking in a recording today, we were talking almost about this topic when you are walking on the coast.

Jesper (23m 45s):
Yeah. The people are Polluting stuff and whatnot.

Autumn (23m 48s):
And it's based on what my absolute terrifying vision of what can happen to this world in what we're doing to it. And it had to put this one in there, right? No, this is the conservation side of me going. Yeah,

Jesper (24m 3s):
No, no. So yeah. This is like a fast-forwarding 500 years or something. And then see what you get up with you on that. /

Autumn (24m 10s):
I was afraid of fast forwarding, like 38 years.

Jesper (24m 14s):
Three years. Oh my God. I hope not.

Autumn (24m 16s):
This is a 30, But yeah, there are days I am terrified to see what we are going to wake up to tomorrow. So

Jesper (24m 21s):
No, no that's true. So it was just a, just yesterday it was a sunshine here find with her and then like 10 minutes later it got all cloudy and it started snowing and I was looking at it, Linda White. What happened here is just like the way the climate is so fucked up. This incredible is yeah, it is really bad.

Autumn (24m 42s):
Alright. So hopefully that will be eased you into the competition.

Jesper (24m 47s):
Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. I don't know if I feel better, but I don't feel worse either. So yeah, it was okay. That's a win. Yeah. So this year you were a number five. Okay. So my number five is I'm sort of in the same vein as You. I meaning that I was trying to think of something that would be the worst nightmare for, from a writer's perspective. Okay. So imagine that you have created this wonderful fantasy world and you have created your characters, you have written the first chapter and now at some point during your world building, you thought that readers wanted something different, you know, something that they have never seen before.

Jesper (25m 36s):
So your decided that this world, it would rain once every day. Okay. So, so far so good. Yeah. That's fine. It doesn't sound too. Yeah.

Autumn (25m 46s):
But I know. And it sounds like the Costa Rica actually, it was like everyday two o'clock so we can turn on a faucet and it rained. Right.

Jesper (25m 54s):
That's why I got it from No, but the thing is that every time it rains, everyone changes personality. Oh. So every day, the past is your characters will now become somebody else. Oh. And they will want something else. They don't remember what they were doing or why they're just on a new mission with new ones and motivations all of a sudden. So imagine what a mess. This novel will be. Every single chapter, the character is somebody new and there is no coherent overlap it, everything that they're doing, no consistent. It's a story arc, just character arc.

Jesper (26m 35s):
It's just a random chapters of a person's life that goes nowhere. And you can go four, 150,000 words like that.

Autumn (26m 45s):
I don't know if I could read it 150,000 words you could imagine being in the editor. I'm just going. No, no, no, no.

Jesper (26m 53s):
But it is unique. Well building, no, I promise you. Nobody has seen it before. I

Autumn (26m 57s):
Agree with you. And there might be a reason for that.

Jesper (27m 1s):
Or you think, you know, maybe the, everybody else is just not as much of a genius too. Right?

Autumn (27m 5s):
This is true as a writer. That one is absolutely horrifying. I just how you are, right. It would be just a bunch of short stories that begin and end every 24 hours or so it was just me. Yes. You could say. I mean, OK. So you could come up with the characters that is doing it's so darn just like wondering if its maybe it was more aware and maybe is it because you get wet and trying to hide from the rain and, and maintain who they are or do you have past lives? Like memories of flickers of things that you might have been doing before? See, you could Plot this year.

Jesper (27m 40s):
Yeah. I can do it now. You are destroying it. It was a bad idea. Now you're making are starting to make it better and making it work. And that's not the point. It's the bad list. This one is not the point. This is not to make it work.

Autumn (27m 51s):
And not to say I could write a story in this world. All right. Fine. No, it's horrible. There you go.

Jesper (27m 58s):
I am not convinced that I was very sincere. Okay. You ready for it? By number of For, okay.

Autumn (28m 4s):
What do you want to move on? Alright, so this one, this one I actually named, I call it Thou shall not right.

Jesper (28m 10s):
Okay. That sounds serious. Yes. That's a very serious.

Autumn (28m 12s):
This is great. Yeah. Serious world. I would not last year. Ah, it's a world that is dominated by a very strict religion. Or if you're a futuristic tech, a very strict AI where the priest or AI can read thoughts. So if you are disobey or if you even think about disobeying, you just killed your immediately kill. They just give up and go boom. So devotion is absolute or compliance is absolute. And that's why I'm saying, if I were in this world, it would be like five. It says you're out of here. So I am just not good at obeying things. I swear. I, it was a nice teenager. It's just been since then.

Autumn (28m 54s):
So yeah. That's, that's why I call it that I shall not because of this world.

Jesper (28m 59s):
Yeah. I wouldn't last long and I can tell you, And if they can, if they can read your thoughts, then nobody can avoid thinking something against the rules. Once in a while it was just impossible. I mean, everybody would die in this world. You know, there would be nobody left just the AI or the priests is. Yeah,

Autumn (29m 19s):
I agree. And that's what That I, so in the eye by making it so strict that even your thoughts, we can get, you killed that. It just writing a story. What are you going to do with all these robots? Like people just, you know, thinking happy thoughts or listening to like constant music to keep themselves like the site or, you know, you want to write about the rebel. You want to, if I right about the person, who's going to find a way out of this trick. But yeah.

Jesper (29m 43s):
But, but then if you had a non I'm going to, I'm trying to destroy you as too. So if you have the character who was actually the only one who is mine, they can not read. And he is trying to battle the powers that be in trying to figure out how we can free the rest of the people from this sort of mind control. Yeah. I can write that story. Not a problem,

Autumn (30m 5s):
A problem. As long as you can throw in the one person like you can't read, you'd be all set. But if it's a a hundred percent, they can read all your thoughts and your growth from the time you were a child, you were like, yeah.

Jesper (30m 15s):
Do you know what if it this way? What if it's one of the AI's who is going to be in it? Oh, I like that one. There you go. Ding, ding. Ding.

Autumn (30m 25s):
Yeah. Very nice. Yeah. Okay, good. So if you were making my bad ideas is a good ones. I am going to make you a bad ideas and the good ones as well. If that's the way you want it to be that way. Yeah. Okay. So my number for yes. And this one might be quite interesting for the writer. I think maybe the reader we'll actually hate you for '

Jesper (30m 53s):
It. Excellent. So The foreword to some one star reviews coming your way,

Autumn (30m 58s):
It would ever write a book just to get one star or you would like to start up the pen name. Like I want to write trash. Yeah.

Jesper (31m 3s):
You're going to change the worst stuff I can think of that.

Autumn (31m 6s):
But you might like, it would be the ones that take off anyway. Go ahead. Your number for her.

Jesper (31m 13s):
Yeah. Yeah. So, so this is a setting where it's, let's say it's mostly like the, well, the detail, so that makes it better. But it's actually the fact that there is no details. Okay. So everything is just made up at random as you go. Oh, and so it's not, it's not so, so that you make it up as you go as in like discovery Writing and then you will make it fit into what you already got. This is more like you have to use a random generator on the internet and whatever it tells you, that's what you have to use as the settings setting the elements.

Autumn (31m 59s):
So if it like spits out umbrella and Gumdrop rainstorm, that's great.

Jesper (32m 4s):
And then this is what it is then that's what it is.

Autumn (32m 8s):
This is going to be really fun as a writer, but you know, the readers or going to be like, Oh, this makes no sense at all.

Jesper (32m 14s):
Okay. Why did he throw in an umbrella at the dragon there? That makes no sense. So yeah. Yeah. I think readers will be pretty damn frustrated with this kind of world. No, but I can imagine teaching yeah.

Autumn (32m 30s):
Writer conference, I'm a writer course like an in-person one and it's like it's right. Or improv or it would be so much fun to teach, to be like, cause it is something like storytelling around a campfire. I have, you know, when you do some of those exercises where you have to continue on a story that you passed in the chain and it was going to be so much fun. So this is sort of like kind of along those lines. And you know, as a, as our teacher, I would like to, I want to go do this as a reader. I would hate your guts. Yes.

Jesper (32m 59s):
It would be like, Oh, this is the worst crap I've ever.

Autumn (33m 4s):
But it, yeah. For a tool I'm just like developing your author voice and coming up with Ideas. It would be a blast.

Jesper (33m 14s):
Yeah. True. All right. Well lets see, I like that one. Okay. All right. Well I don't like it, but okay. That's good that you do.

Autumn (33m 22s):
I, I see it a tool. It, it would be an interesting tool, but yeah. And I would never want to publish something that can get out of it unless you like developed it For

Jesper (33m 33s):
Well the fast, imagine how fast you can write it. Just copy and pasting out of random generators like in here with that. And then he did and then the next random generating And copy that paste in, it will take you like half a day and then you have another. Yeah,

Autumn (33m 45s):
Well it would be for the bizarre I'm sure some of it's going to go do this now and just see what comes up, dragon in whatever the search term comes up with it. Or you go out there. You are good. All right. So you are ready for my number three.

Jesper (34m 1s):
Yes.

Autumn (34m 1s):
All right. I named this one too. And it sort of reminds me of your number five. So I call this one now you're here now. You're not okay. And so this is a world where random wormholes appear without warning, you can be walking down a path and be transported to the top of the mountain or the middle of the ocean or in a erupting volcano. And so like Stories I life, it would be so chaotic and unpredictable that it would be impossible to actually write a comprehensive story because you would just be like walking and poof, you know, you wouldn't be able to be with any one. You love you wouldn't your life would be inconsistent. So where yours was your memories or a race, hear you are physically, you know who you are and you're physically transported.

Autumn (34m 46s):
Do you know to a cliff?

Jesper (34m 51s):
Yeah. Nice. But could you have like some sort of limited countermeasure or something?

Autumn (34m 57s):
I'm not sure if something, if you run up a bit.

Jesper (34m 60s):
Yeah. So, so if you have something like if you have this substance or whatever it is, and it's very limited in supply, but if you have it, you can basically just walk straight through the wormhole, roll out and taking you anywhere. You, you know, we just want to walk through it and keep going wherever you are, where we are going already. But if you don't have it, it sucks you up and drops you somewhere else.

Autumn (35m 21s):
I could see that. Or I can imagine if, you know, if, if you manage to have kids and you know, there are people are evolving on this world, eventually evolutionarily, someone's going to be able to control where the worm hole goes or at least start being able to manipulate it slightly. Would that be fun? So Yes, I, I was again, yeah. You know, you can find your way around it, but at, at, at its purest form before the child has evolved enough to learn that if they are thinking about something, they can direct where the wormhole goes and completely change as a society, it would be just a mess to Right. I, the love interest, poof.

Jesper (35m 59s):
Well, she is now in the middle of the ocean and proof. He is in the volcano.

Autumn (36m 4s):
We have stories over and it was the choose your own adventure gone wrong.

Jesper (36m 9s):
But it would actually also be pretty crazy from like, like say if, lets say you have the One like court made that knows how to control this and its like, poof, well the arm is, or is that your front gate now?

Autumn (36m 24s):
But yeah, there you go. That's like pretty great.

Jesper (36m 28s):
And yeah, and also,

Autumn (36m 29s):
I mean, that's the other thing. So I mentioned that it was all happens when you're walking. So what if you don't walk, you know, that's what you use to send them the servant's or something. There's definitely ways of playing with this so that it would be much less, much more controlled. And that's what you need to be able to develop a story is having control of things. But the minute things go completely random. Yeah. Good luck for writing the book. That's just me is true. Yes. Okay.

Jesper (36m 56s):
You are not my fault for my number three. I sort of decided that to make my list a winning list, I needed to also play on some scary ones are excellent. So number three and number two is scary ones rather than a terrible ones. Bad ones. Okay. And I felt like with two of those on my list is going to be really strong. Okay. And what better way to do that than picking some real world locations to serve as inspiration for Stories, settings. Okay. So when things are based off of reality, then it becomes a bit more scary and it's true.

Jesper (37m 41s):
Let's go back here in the Nordics actually in Norway to be precise, you will find a place known as ECA is house fortress. That's already sounds terrifying. Yeah, it is. As it sounds, it's a medieval castle and is actually also used as the mysterious setting for the fiction novel, the snowman, which is written by Joe Nesper. If you know him, it's a pretty well known Norwegian author. But the thing is that many locals act to report that this place is haunted.

Jesper (38m 21s):
Excellent. So the most famous residents today are the ghosts of a woman and the demon dog that wonder is the castle grounds. Oh demon dogs. Yeah. So imagine a story where you are trapped inside this castle. I think that could be pretty damn horrific

Autumn (38m 43s):
Though, if a real story. Cause we both have watched those M the haunting of Hill house, the haunting of, or something blind manner. I can't remember the one that is correct. We have of both watched those and Yes, I, horror story is hunting Stories are definitely spine tingling, especially when it's based on real events. So this can be quite, let's see, it's not a terrifying one to write it. And I think that'd be a fun story to write. So Writing. Yeah. Yeah. But it's a terrifying setting. It is a terrifying and that I did, I just didn't notice. We were so many people would say yes, it sounds like a great story to write, but we're talking like worse for at least this is a real thing. That's, that's terrifying.

Autumn (39m 23s):
You don't want to live and you don't want to live in, In even game of Thrones. I mean, it has to be people to live, to survive. If you are a good person, you are dead in like two days. So there's are no places if you want to really live. But yeah,

Jesper (39m 39s):
Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, that was my

Autumn (39m 41s):
Number three. How do I like that? That sounds like it's going to be on must visit to the list when I come over to see, you know. Yeah.

Jesper (39m 48s):
Well it is in Norway and not in Denmark, but anyway, so yeah.

Autumn (39m 51s):
Is it still closer to you than it is to me? So yeah,

Jesper (39m 54s):
I guess it is. Yes. Technically you could say that. Yeah.

Autumn (39m 58s):
Okay. So it's the end of the world. It's good or excellent. I like that. I love it. I used to read horror, haunted, Real hauntings stories when I was a teenager. So that's really cool. All right. So you ready for my number to,

Jesper (40m 14s):
yes.

Autumn (40m 14s):
All right. This one I named poison. So this is a world where the soil is formed from uranium. So it's not such a high level that you would die instantly if you found yourself there, but high enough that it quickly starts affecting your DNA. So lumps will form across your skin has massive cancers form under your lymph nodes.

Jesper (40m 38s):
Your lungs will feel with cancer cells so that you have a hard time breathing. The marrow of your bones is altered, weakening the structure so that you can just break your leg or your toes as are walking. Your hair will start to fall out. Your skin turns to boils and kinda like just lost all of your body. Oh my God, you is excruciatingly painful until you finally die with relief. So this is poison. Have fun writing a story set there.

Autumn (41m 12s):
Well, I get it. I, I can see that there is a common trend here. And every one you come up with, this will have something like that. Nobody will survive this. It's impossible to live in those settings.

Jesper (41m 25s):
Do you know if your characters are dying because of the world? Its, you know, it's not going to be a really interesting story. Oh maybe when you made this list, you had a bad week and you poured it into the city.

Autumn (41m 37s):
I do it. Write this yesterday. No I I right noble. Right. And the reason I can write Nobel prize as I make lists like this one, I have a bad week. Every one dies, but I won't make it into a story. So this is what don't worry.

Jesper (41m 54s):
Got it. Okay. If you say So. Yeah.

Autumn (41m 57s):
Oh that's great. You are on for too. So,

Jesper (42m 0s):
But two is a yeah, I want again a scary one as I said. Okay. And I was thinking, what could make it more scary than number three is it sort of has to write. And I wanted to try to see if I could see all the way to read with this one. Oh,

Autumn (42m 18s):
Okay. And your number two. So this is confidence because you still have one to go.

Jesper (42m 23s):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I do buy number one is obvious. Who

Autumn (42m 26s):
Was the witness over? The last is fine.

Jesper (42m 30s):
Excellent. So the guy in the catacombs of Paris, those were used by actually one of my favorite vampire authors and rice. Yeah. And she used it for a coven of vampires in the novel, an interview with a vampire or interview with the vampire may be, or even vampire. I can't remember, but either or people know what I mean? Yes. And that is already pretty cool. But what if I told you that the catacombs beneath the city of Paris, there are actual skeletal remains of over 6 million people down there.

Autumn (43m 9s):
Well, let's see. Yeah. I didn't know it was 6 million, but I knew I've seen the walls of the skulls and the bones and I, yeah, I do. Like, Momento more, I, I, so I love these little death images and skulls. I should've been a goth, but I never was a goth if you do need to goth. But yes, the momentum OR I in the bones down there are S Oh, fascinating. I wanted to see them and it was in Paris and it never did make it down to the category.

Jesper (43m 34s):
Oh, nice. Yeah. You can actually see the, the part of the stacked on top of each other is down there in, in the, the catacombs there. But now I don't want to Fantasy setting where its just about skeletons everywhere to sort of a bit boring here. Well, I suppose it might be a bit scary for some, but I don't think it is scary enough. So what if the deceased walked a month among us, but you don't know who they are. So they act like us. They look like us, but they are not us.

Jesper (44m 15s):
So the scary part is that you know that they exist only. You don't know who it is, so it could be one of your friends. It could be your spouse. You don't know that it would be so imagining going through like that.

Autumn (44m 34s):
Not knowing if your, one of the other that would be good.

Jesper (44m 38s):
What are they up to? No good right there. Their trying to get rid of mankind. And so what a bit and you know that they exist, but you don't know who it is.

Autumn (44m 45s):
That would be very interesting. That'd be a fun tension filled novel too. Right? I have to admit, right.

Jesper (44m 50s):
Oh for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it would be scary like hell

Autumn (44m 54s):
If it was real-world in like imagining that the Corona virus, the people who are infected were changed somehow. Yeah. If this was a real world and you just did it, it was the impact of getting sick with something was much more devastating and it wasn't just deaths, but change you into something like a zombie, you know, that's like not into zombie stories, but something like that. Yeah. Then what would be, if this was a real thing that would be terrifying. Yeah.

Jesper (45m 19s):
Yeah. But even in the Samba Stories, it's usually it's the human. So who are the scary ones into zombies? Story is not the Somme B's because the humans, humans are so scary because they can come up with all this ingenious ways of trapping in killing people and what not. So the sound bites well that they can be scary if there's a lot of them and you do. And you're trapped of course, but humans are much more dangerous. And imagine that if these people were like, look like you and act like you, but they are not you. And they want actually to, to kill you. So just going to grocery shopping you, you always have to be concerned if somebody's calling you over, it's like, Oh, are they going to kill me or something?

Jesper (46m 0s):
Or somebody at the side of it arose you, you come across a car has like, you know, the typical trope of a puncture tire. And they're like, can you help me? No. Hell no, I won't have to help you. Bye-bye

Autumn (46m 13s):
So much for a lot of good Samaritans.

Jesper (46m 16s):
They don't make system this setting. I think,

Autumn (46m 18s):
Oh, I like that. That is, that would be a very, I wouldn't know what to live there. I like, I wouldn't be able to trust you. This would be horrible. No. Yeah. I can't do that. Alright, so you ready for my number one? This one is a bit of a surprise. Actually.

Jesper (46m 35s):
I hope it's not too good, but yes, I'm ready.

Autumn (46m 39s):
This one also has a name. So its called the black Marsh in the bowl of Ashe, which both exists on the coast have storms. And I know that you are so intimately because of this one. I know we said we wouldn't pull from anyone else's novel, but I did pull from my novel. So this is from my Epic fantasy series, a rise of the fifth order. And I think they go back to it in games of fire. But so this is mine. So the, you know, stealing this one, but if you want to come and visit, talk to me, well we'll work it out. So it's, it was, it's a difficult place I'd never, ever would've went to visit here. And it was actually difficult to write about because it's so hard not to have your characters die.

Autumn (47m 21s):
So this is one character is mostly survive. So first this is the coast of storms, which is similar to the eternal storm. If you've heard of that in Venezuela, whereas the catacomb go river beats Lake Maracaibo. So there's an average of 260 storm, 260 storm days a year. So it's like a lightning there all the time. And that inspired the coast of storms in my novels. And it's always pitch black broken only by lightning and a lot of rain. So if your outside of the two main cities, you are in a landscape, you can barely see its most likely you are going to be soaking wet. You w…

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