by Janet Forbes

What is a fantasy race - and how is it different from a fantasy species?

A lot of worldbuilders get confused between these terms. Because even in our world, people are really complicated. And a lot of the language traditionally used to describe fantasy people is old, and steeped in problematic historical baggage. So, I’m going to attempt to give you the best advice I can for tackling this tricky subject!

And by the way, a massive thank you to the THREE different specialists (anthropologist, social psychologist and archaeologist) who made sure I got all the details and definitions here correct. You know who you are - and you’re MY kinda fantasy people! <3

What are people?

Let’s start with the basics. When we’re talking about people in the context of science fiction and fantasy worldbuilding, we’re talking about Sapient Species (also sometimes called sophonts). That’s your elves, dwarves, klingons, gnomes and other creatures with human-like intelligence, more or less.

Our world currently only has one sapient species - modern humans - but other early hominids certainly seem to have been sapient too. But fantasy and space opera settings with many sapient species living alongside each other are very common. And like in the real world, worldbuilders - and in-world characters - may divide and understand people in a whole host of different ways:

• Species
• Ethnicities
• Cultures
• National or citizen-based identities
• Ideologies or religions
• Settled vs. nomadic

You’ll have noticed that some items on that list are biological truths - like species (we’ll talk more about that in a moment). Some are about personal beliefs, like religions. And some are socially constructed, like national identities, for example, which in our world only really cemented themselves in the 19th century.

What is a Species?

Put simply, a species is a group of organisms (that is to say, people, animals, plants, bacteria, space whales etc.) that are similar to one another, BUT there’s an important caveat: only organisms of the same species can reproduce to create offspring… that are also able to reproduce. We’ll call this the “Viable Offspring” test, and it’ll come back later.

So what does that mean in real terms? Well, two horses can have foals. And when those foals grow up, they’ll also be able to have more foals. Horses everywhere!

Compare that to a horse and a donkey. They’re certainly similar-looking. And they can even have offspring. But their offspring, called either a mule or a jenny, will be sterile: they won’t be able to have children of their own. That means they DON’T produce viable offspring and AREN’T the same species. No horses everywhere.

This “Viable Offspring” test (i.e. offspring that can reproduce) does seem to have some exceptions in nature (you can share your favorite ones in the comments!) But in general, it’s how biologists define species.

So what is a fantasy race (and is it a real thing)?

But Elves, Dwarves, Dragonborn, etc… They’re “fantasy races”, right? Do a quick search on google and that’s what it’ll tell you.

At least, that’s what they’re called in The Lord of the Rings, and they continue to be called that in worlds that took their cue from Tolkein. While definitely not the first fantasy novels, Tolkein’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings had a hugely formative influence on fantasy. The world’s most-played tabletop RPG, Dungeons and Dragons, copies Tolkein’s elves and dwarves etc. pretty much verbatim. And in D&D, until literally two months ago, they were still called fantasy races. (They’ve finally renamed them to species in the latest edition).

What is a “Race” in People?

So that’s what a fantasy race is. All well and good. But how do we define a “race”?

Let’s start with what we know from science. All modern humans are the same species - Homo sapiens - as defined by the Viable offspring test. Every day, humans from different countries around the world fall in love and prove this, by having children! But even though we’re the same species, we clearly have different heritages, because people have moved all over the world for millennia and their biology became specialized to survive the conditions they found themselves in.

And then…. they moved about some more. There’s viking heritage in Crete, middle-eastern heritage in Spain and Sicily, and people of British heritage absolutely freaking everywhere. For historical reasons we won’t go into here. They’re all still humans, the same species, but they look a bit different.

The Difference Between "Race" and "Species"

But… unlike species, which is a biological term, “race” is a social construct - that’s to say, it’s defined by how people see, define, and group themselves, and more usually, others. And because heritage and identity is complex (even today, there is much metaphorical beard-pulling between anthropologists trying to sort this all out), racial descriptors were historically used as a simple tool, to carve a multicolored world into clear categories that don’t have any biological meaning. This is evidenced by the fact that the specifics of “race” identities and classifications have varied wildly in different eras and places.

The savvy amongst you will already know that these imaginary racial lines drawn between people have traditionally been more about dividing and controlling people than understanding them. And that’s why for so many (including myself), the use of the term “Fantasy Races” feels not just imprecise, but downright icky. It’s a term that’s loaded with historical oppression. And fortunately, it’s already on the out in much of the fantasy writing world. Plenty of Role Playing Games are moving away from “fantasy race” as a naming system for their peoples, and we’ll talk more about good fantasy alternatives (that don’t sound sciency) later.

So was Tolkein writing “races” or species?

So let’s go back to Tolkein. After all, he was the one that coined the “fantasy race” terminology.

We know that Tolkien actually thought about his peoples in terms of biological species, even if he didn’t call them that, as you can see from this excerpt of one of his letters:

“I suppose that actually the chief difficulties I have involved myself in are scientific and biological — which worry me just as much as the theological and metaphysical. Elves and Men are evidently in biological terms one race, or they could not breed and produce fertile offspring – even as a rare event: there are 2 cases only in my legends of such unions" (taken from Letter 153)”

It’s slightly hairy to speculate about what authors meant, especially when they’re not around to explain. But although Tolkein’s characters use the term “race” to describe these different peoples in-world, and Tolkein used the word race in his letters, it’s clear he’s referring to the “Viable Offspring” test, which can only mean species. The “scientific and biological” worries were clearly something he dwelled on: and even though he’s getting the actual biological term wrong - “dammit man, I’m a Philologist, not a Dr.” - he’s certainly thinking of his peoples as biological species.

OK, so why is this important? Can’t I just write whatever I want?

I mean, I’m not your mother, I don’t live in your computer and I’m not the worldbuilding police. But Fantasy and Scifi fiction has always been a grand metaphor for our world. Lord of the Rings is about war, and its harrowing impact on the world. Frank Herbert’s Dune, about the awful things people do to each other for resources, is intentionally about oil. I mean, Arrakis even sounds like Iraq, right? And Star Trek is absolutely packed full of metaphors for current affairs through the ages.

That’s what speculative fiction does. Sure it’s fun, and a mile-a-minute adventure is a great time. But fantasy and sci-fi has always held a mirror up to the world to help us understand and explore difficult topics. And at its heart, there’s often an opinion or message built into each aspect of a world and its stories. That’s why it’s so meaningful and important as a genre.

And that means it’s critical to consider what you’re saying with your world, even if it’s only to your friends around the RPG table. And especially if you’re publishing, and your work will reach even more people, it’s good to be mindful of what you’re putting out into the world.

What term can I use instead of “Fantasy Races”?

Species is a sciency word. There’s no getting around that.

For science fiction writers, that’s no problem at all. In fact, they might dress it up further as xenobiology, meta-species, or sophonts. The game Masters of Umdaar uses “bioforms”. Other ideas for science fiction or science-fantasy could be Genesis, Genespring, etc.

But for fantasy worldbuilders, especially those writing medieval-inspired fantasy, there’s a disconnect between the word “species” and your olde worlde-feeling worldbuilding.

Some awesome RPGs have already been pioneering away from the prevalence of “fantasy race” as a term. Here are some recent examples of equivalent words:

• Lineage (Pathfinder 2e)
• Kindred (Tunnels & Trolls)
• Stock (Torchbearer)
• Ancestry (Shadow of the Demon Lord)

Other good fantasy-sounding names for your peoples are:

• Kin
• Folk
• Heritages
• Kinds
• Origins
• Backgrounds
• Peoples

The “Viable Offspring” test in Fantasy - is it useful?

If you’re being less scientific about your peoples, do you even need the viable offspring species test? As always, it depends on what you’re worldbuilding! But there’s always an RPG player or beta reader who asks about half-elves, so regardless of your choice, you might need to be ready with an answer.

If it’s relevant for your kind of setting, you should choose which of your peoples (or folk, kin, etc) can have children, and if those children pass the “viable offspring” test. That’s especially important if your peoples live alongside each other in daily life. Even if scientists or wizards haven’t gotten involved, there’ll be anecdotal knowledge about couples who were or weren’t able to have children.

Of course, you might choose that all your different peoples can have children (that’s what I did in my recent world) which creates beautiful mixed peoples with interesting heritages. Or that none of them can. That’s totally fine too, just make sure you think of the ramifications this will have on your societies.

World Building Origins

If you are selective about who can have children with whom, this can speak volumes to the origins of your peoples. In many fantasy worlds, some peoples are more similar in origin than others. For instance, traditional D&D logic has gnomes and elves as closer in origin than, for example, dwarves. That might mean you can have an elf-gnome but not an elf-dwarf.

For some reason, humans seem to be able to procreate with anyone in D&D, especially if they’re bards. Maybe it’s just the Captain Kirk phenomena at play, but I’ve always assumed that’s because they’re made of the factory floor scraps of all the other species… that’s just my personal head-canon.

How do you handle this in your own fantasy worlds? Who makes babies with whom, and how do you refer to your different peoples? Or have you seen other AWESOME examples of people tackling this in the wild?

Let me know in the comments, and I hope you enjoyed this read!

About Janet

Janet Forbes (she/her) is not just a multi-lingual, multi-cultural mongrel, but a published fantasy author, professional worldbuilding consultant, and game developer. In 2017 she co-founded World Anvil (https://www.worldanvil.com), the award-winning worldbuilding, writing and tabletop RPG platform which boasts a community of over 2 million users. 

Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney.

By Lisa Miller

While doing some fun reading this Summer, I was struck by the impact small setting elements can have on the character development of the story’s protagonist.

The Hidden Power of Small Setting Details

I’ve come to realize that the setting is so much more than the physical location and the time period in which a story is set. There are also social and historical context components to setting.

The seating chart of the head table at a future wedding reception. A social media post. A letter announcing a birth found in a box of old stuff in the garage. A familiar postcard pinned to someone else’s wall. The jumble of spices in a kitchen cabinet. The well-worn dining table with all the leaves left in so the entire family would fit at a moment’s notice. The tall grass and weedy garden of a neglected backyard.

At first glance, none of these items or situations feel important or powerful. More likely something to skim right by and think nothing of. Yet, the small details can impact the protagonist in relation to herself and her family and future.

Beyond Time and Place: Expanding the Concept of Setting

These were new ripples in story building for me.

The stone was cast for me while I read Shauna Robinson's book, The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster. Warning: story spoilers in this article. I’ll explain how overarching, seemingly generic story concepts transform into these small pebbles of character discoveries.

This story is all about Mae Townsend learning how to be true to herself while still finding belonging and acceptance within her family.

How Setting Shapes Character Development

The protagonist, Mae, is a biracial woman in her twenties. Growing up, her mother’s White family made comments about her hair and occasionally used ugly language about Black people. Never letting her feel totally accepted in that family. Now about to be married into a rich White family, Mae’s fearful that the same will happen with her fiancé’s family.

Mae’s Black father died when she was a child. She’s had only a couple of interactions with any of his family because of a rift between the families of her parents. She treasures her childhood memories where he shared stories about his family and especially his mother and the meals she cooked. 

Another legacy he left Mae was that it was best to ignore those slights or racist comments that happened over the years from some of her mother’s White family members. No confrontation or questioning, just ignore.

In other words, don’t be true to yourself or value yourself enough to question others that hurt us or ask them to stop.

In the Story Structure Safari class I teach at Margie Lawson’s online school Lawson Writers Academy, we start the class needing to know what genre a story is or at least could be. Genre helps us understand other foundation elements that are important for the story and the protagonist. 

Using Domestic Story Elements to Enhance Emotion

If we look at what Genre this Townsend Family story is, it feels like a Domestic genre, a family story.

The Subject (what it’s about) of a Domestic story is the Health of the Individual vs. the Bond of the Family.

Other examples of story Subjects:

• Action Genre is Life vs Death.
• Love Genre is Love vs Hate.
• Crime Genre is Justice vs. Injustice

The subject of Individual vs Family feels very much like what Mae is struggling with. She has trouble claiming her own feelings and desires for fear that her new in-law family will reject her.

Her father taught her that ignoring and keeping the peace was the best way to get along. The message ingrained in Mae was that The Bond of the Family is more important than the Health of the Individual.

That feels out of balance to me.

For Mae, trying to build or maintain strong family bonds has caused her to make unhealthy choices that have made her feel bad about herself. She hasn’t stood up for herself when others made unkind or hurtful comments. She hesitates to give her opinion for fear it may be at odds with her new in-law’s ways of thinking or doing things.

An example of this Individual vs Family dynamic is at the beginning of the story, Mae and her fiancé, Connor, are making wedding plans with his parents. The wedding will take place at his family’s winery where they hold many weddings. Nothing but the best for their son and his fiancé. All their suggestions were so much more than Mae was used to. But she wants to be accepted into Connor’s family and so mostly goes along with what they want.

This also uncovers her Fatal Flaw: Being False to Herself.

Fatal Flaws and Internal Conflict

Each protagonist has an Internal Thread in the story that is made up of the Fatal Flaw and Internal Conflict. During the story, Mae will have to face that Fatal Flaw and make changes with how she reacts to and with others.

Overcoming her Fatal Flaw and becoming True to Herself or maybe to Value Herself is the result of that internal shift Mae must make during the story to become a healthy member of healthy family, righting her previous Individual vs Family dynamic in the process. Now how does any of this link up to my big splash up of linking small setting pieces to a story?

Let’s look at how four setting elements impact her goal of being true to herself and finding belonging and acceptance.

One of the small setting elements that impacts Mae right away is that pesky reception seating chart. Mae feels nervous because none of the invitations she sent to her father's family have received a response. The groom’s side has a couple of hundred or more coming. She overhears two of the groom’s aunts mentioning how few people were coming from her family.

So, we see this imbalance of expectations right off. In response, Mae lies to Connor’s parents and adds her dad’s sister’s and her cousin’s names to that head table seating chart. She doesn’t want anyone to know how estranged she is from her dad’s family. She just wants to fit in. Unhealthy lying sparked by the pressure of needing to fill all those seats. 

Her fiancé, Connor, understands and is totally supportive and wonderful to her. Her desire is to return that support at this important time of their wedding and in the future. She knows that at least with Connor she belongs no matter what. 

A Social Media Post

But planning for the wedding gets interrupted when Mae discovers that her paternal grandmother has died, and her funeral is listed in a social media post. Mae’s kept up with her father’s family only online through social media. She’s shocked and saddened by this loss and compelled to go to the funeral of this woman she missed connecting with after her father passed.

Social media posts feel like part of the setting too. A part of today’s society. This one, changes Mae’s goals in the short term. She wants to meet her father’s family and connect with at least some of them. Be a “Real” Townsend. 

Death and missing and remembering loved ones are situations most readers can relate to. So, I’m rooting for Mae in her journey to find connections with this family she’s mostly known through her father’s colorful stories. I want her to fill up that seating chart because the story and Mae’s situation has impacted me. I’m invested in what happens next.

Mae’s father would return alone to his hometown every Fourth of July for the family BBQ. That event became, in Mae’s mind, a mythic gathering. Something she hoped to attend one day.  

Details from the Past

The story shifts to her father’s hometown. Her father’s family is surprised to see Mae at the funeral, but her Aunt Barbara gives her a hug and calls her sweetheart. She had done the same at her dad’s funeral. Mae is grateful she has at least one ally. At the family meal after the funeral, Mae finds out there are no plans for that special Fourth of July BBQ in just a couple of weeks. No opportunity to taste her father’s favorite mac and cheese dish that only his mother could make. 

The family she just reconnected with feels like it is fracturing, with some moving away and plan to sell her grandmother’s house. Mae wants this connection to stick. She volunteers to move into her grandmother’s house to get it ready to sell and host one last Fourth of July BBQ. She’ll try her hand to recreate the mythical, coveted mac and cheese. This may be her last opportunity to get to know and be a part of this branch of her family.

A Massive Family Table

When Mae enters her grandmother’s house, she notices the well-worn, giant dining table with all the leaves left in. She can envision her father and all the family sitting down to a table covered with a variety of yummy, homemade dishes. So different from the house she grew up in and where she often ate alone when her mother, a nurse, worked the night shift at the hospital.

The massive table spoke to the importance of family meals, and everyone had their own spot. No splitting up on multiple tables or having to squeeze chairs in. Whetting Mae’s appetite for a welcome place at this family heirloom. Seeing this table increased her resolve to bring the Townsend family back together one more time.

Grandmother's Kitchen

The kitchen is well stocked with pots, pans, mixing bowls, and cooking utensils. The cabinet by the stove contains a jumble of spices. She could feel the energy, love, and connection that had filled the center of the grandparent’s home. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see her grandmother shooing her father away as he grabbed a quick taste of the welcoming, bubbling dishes.

Again, this setting a stark difference from the kitchen she grew up in. With its well-used microwave oven and frozen dinners.

As an adult, Mae loved cooking and trying new recipes. She feels like maybe that love of cooking was inherited from her grandmother Townsend. The new setting tells her she’s where she should be.

A Birth Announcement

While clearing out things in the garage, Mae found a letter from her father to his parents, in a box of old stuff. It announced her birth and there was a picture of her cute little newborn face. The letter referred to a hope that the families could get past some of the bad feelings from before. She had no idea what that meant, but at least her grandmother had saved the letter and the picture. When she showed the letter to her aunt Barbara, she found out the terrible rumors her maternal grandmother had spread about her grandmother Townsend when they were young girls.

This was the source of the families’ rift. Something neither of her parents had shared with her. Mae could at least better understand the hard feelings. 

But Mae could still feel a hesitation in the Townsends around her. She knew there was something else involved.

A Post Card

She’d made friends with her cousin Sierra and had gone shopping, becoming friends, cousins. They stopped at Sierra’s apartment. Mae noticed a familiar postcard pinned to a wall. One just like her father had sent her years ago and was still on her wall at her mother’s house. She unpinned it and turned it over. Right away, she recognized her dad’s handwriting. Signed just like the one she had: Love, Dad.

This was a lightning bolt revelation. Her parents had lied to her about being an only child, when she had an older half-sister. No wonder the Townsends acted weird around her. They didn’t know that she was clueless about the connection. Mae had some harsh words for her mom about keeping this secret all these years too.

Sierra had some soul searching to do too when she realized her dad lied about who she was to all his wife’s family. But Sierra’s dad had been dead for years, so there was no one to stay mad and hurt at.

Once Sierra and Mae came to grips with the reality of their relationship, they decided to make up for lost sister time. A stronger family relationship developed too. From them she learns how to better stand up for what she values and not be disrespected.

Dramatic Character Shift

With a sister and aunts and cousins rooting her on, Mae was able to find her voice to claim the respect she deserved from all those around her and express her own desires and feelings. Be True to Herself.

A social media post, that massive family table, a birth announcement letter, her grandmother’s kitchen, and a post card, five very small elements in the setting of this story. But they all sent ripples across how Mae’s view of herself and how she fit into both sides of her family. Each small setting pebble helped Mae discover more of her own true self.

Creating Emotional Impact with Setting in Your Own Writing

I’ll leave you with one activity. Walk through your house or apartment. Make a list of at least fifteen elements within that setting that could provide a nudge or a big wow for a protagonist in your story.

I’ll reveal a few from my list:

1. A picture, on my refrigerator, of my son and my nephew in front of a two seat Cesena plane. My pilot son had just taken him up for his first small plane ride.
2. One of my father’s paintings hung above the fireplace. This one of a blue jay and a flying squirrel.
3. In a box in the closet: The telegram from my father telling me he had just gotten remarried after divorcing my mother a few months earlier. I was starting my sophomore year of college. 
4. Hung on the wall in the garage: The canoe paddles my husband and I used while on our honeymoon in the Boundary waters in Canada.
5. Every time I turn on Brit Box to watch an English mystery. These types of shows were my mother’s favorite and we watched them together when she lived with my family.

Don’t sound all that wow, but with the right set up they could each have an impact on the characters in your story.

What small setting detail in your own writing has had the biggest emotional impact on your characters or readers?

About Lisa

A veteran teacher, as well as certified counselor, Lisa's passion for teaching met her love of writing contemporary, young adult fiction. A native Texan, her stories take place in Texas with strong, smart female protagonists in an ethnically diverse cast of characters. Lisa writes what she knows, what she lives, and what she cares about.

After not finding the writing classes she needed, Lisa spent several years on a deep study of story structure. She then merged her passions into a powerful and well-loved online course she teaches at Lawson Writer's Academy: Story Structure Safari. She is continuing to expand her teaching journey and has joined the staff at No Stress Writing Academy where she is developing new classes, including a new class based on these insights into setting. You be able to find that class in 2025 at Deleyna Marr’s No Stress Writing Academy.

Sle loves writing, reading–especially mysteries, movies–can’t ever get enough Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Audrey Hepburn.

Learn more about Lisa at her website: LisaWMiller.com.

Top image from Pixabay.

by Ossandra White

The life of a writer, or any creative, can be reclusive. It is often romanticized; that depiction of a lone wolf, master of craft, holed up in a room with a hoard of snacks, a notebook, and a pen. Many envision a stressed-out maniac hunched over a computer, fingers flying across the keyboard like those of a madman. These depictions, though sometimes sad, are often true.

But many writers crave community. There is solace in being alone, but there is also value in interaction with others. Some people want to be seen, share their work, bounce ideas, brainstorm, or just have another person to talk to who understands the art. Thankfully, in this modern day and age, there are so many ways to connect with people from all over the world.

Authors have found community through Facebook Groups, Instagram accounts, Discord servers, online forums, and countless other nooks hidden deep within the World Wide Web. One often overlooked avenue, however, is the streaming platform known as Twitch.

What is Twitch?

Twitch.tv, a social website founded in 2011, is home to millions of gamers. Yes, you read that right. The site is primarily populated by people who play video games, sharing their screen to online viewers all around the world as they run through titles live.

The idea of millions of people watching one rando play a video game may seem odd to some, but the platform is very popular within that niche community.

Okay. But, what does this have to do with writers?

Twitch may be best known for video games, but streamers have the option to broadcast under a plethora of categories. Many are worth checking out, but the one I am most excited about, Writing & Reading, was just officially unveiled this month!

For years, writers have been on Twitch streaming under the closest makeshift category they could find, all while asking Twitch to install a special category of our own. It took a while, but we finally got it! Now, I only expect the writing community on Twitch to continue growing in popularity. If you weren’t already part of the community, I think it’s a better time than ever to hop on the bandwagon!

Discovering Writing & Reading Streams

Writing & Reading is a broad umbrella that covers everything from faceless authors hosting writing sprints to people showing you their novel’s words as they are typed up on the page. While the concept may seem a bit foreign, it quickly becomes more normalized by many people who dip their toes into it.

As a Twitch user myself, I have experience on both sides of the coin. I host streams and participate in other people’s broadcast events. Like the stories we pen, every single writing stream is different. The best way to figure out which one you will like is to click around and pay some authors a visit!

Below are a few folks I recommend you check out.

CoffeeQuills

CoffeeQuills provides a chill and cozy place to chat and work-along. They host writing sprints, mini-challenges, and fun games to help get productivity flowing. Though Coffee doesn’t normally show their face on stream, you can hear their voice between work sessions. Their friendly demeanor and infectious laugh are just a couple of things that keep people coming back for more.

In addition to this, there is often a lovely electro-swing soundtrack playing low in the background accompanied by Coffee’s clicky keyboard keys that clack as they type away working on whatever project they’re devoted to at the moment. In support of other creators, Coffee likes to showcase books written by authors in their community on the screen for everyone to see.

TheTigerWrites

TheTigerWrites facilitates a laid-back atmosphere that typically involves writing sprints punctuated by a passive game to help everyone take a break from their work. It can be quiet as TheTigerWrites walks on his treadmill while typing and showing you his story in progress, but when people enter the chat, he greets them with a friendly smile and holds meaningful conversations.

Sometimes, TheTigerWrites hosts sessions where he reads through his own chapters or other pieces written by members of the community aloud for all to hear. When people have questions or ask for feedback, TheTigerWrites is happy to provide suggestions, advice, encouragement, and prompts to help chase away any brain goblins or writer’s block his fellow authors may be suffering through.

Game_of_Tomes

Game of Tomes is a special event for writers hosted primarily on Twitch. Though the various challenges take place at different times throughout the year, the Game_of_Tomes streams often run on a regular basis even when there is no writing event active. The broadcast consists of a basic sprint lobby that includes a clock to keep track of Pomodoro sprints (25-minute work time followed by 5-minute break time).

Often, a peaceful crackling fireplace can be heard as calming graphics adorn the screen. The chat is usually filled with other authors who are discussing the progress they are making on various projects, and information about the Game of Tomes writing challenges can be found all about the channel.

WordiGirl

Of course, I had to put myself on the list! I am considered a variety streamer (which means I broadcast under a plethora of categories) but, for the sake of this article, I will simply cover what my Writing & Reading streams look like through the images and texts below.

When I stream in the Writing & Reading category, I often spin a wheel that determines how long we will sprint for. Then, I put the countdown timer on the screen so that everyone can see how many working minutes are left. In this case, my “Sprint-O-Meter” (as I like to call it) made me sprint for another thirty minutes even though it was past midnight and I had to work in the morning.

Sometimes, I display the document I’m writing in on the screen for the viewers to see. In this picture, the chat asked if they could peek at the WorldAnvil article I was working on during a sprint, and I showed them! They also wanted me to wear a silly hat.

After writing for a bit, it’s good to take a break. The image above features a word-finding game I occasionally play during resting time between sprints. Most everyone in the chat likes to join in on the fun before returning to their own projects.

Collaboration is something I really love and appreciate, so I like to have other writers on as guests in my stream. We usually talk about our writing process, give tips, run sprints, play writing games or exercises, and answer questions posed by members of the audience. Fellow author Tiberian64 is seen above joining me for a discussion about re-writing the first draft in a different POV, a problem we both faced.

More to Explore

Whether you are looking to join a good writing community, seeking a cool author buddy, or trying to start up a stream of your own, I have curated a list of Twitch authors I follow that you could check out, too. You can find that directory here.

The awesome thing about it is, with so many people streaming all over the world, you’re bound to find at least one author on any time you decide to check in. If your go-to person isn’t currently up, or no one I suggested is streaming, clicking the Writing & Reading tag on Twitch will instantly show you who is broadcasting now, and populate a list of videos and clips from those who typically stream under that category.

Conclusion

The internet can be a blessing and a curse. Yes, positive spaces are present, but one often has to sift through exhausting patches of negativity, irrelevance, or just plain confusion to find what they are looking for. My hope is that this article gives you a good starting point of how to begin your search and introduces you to a few lovely Writing & Reading streamers you can check out immediately. God bless and much success on your author journey!

If this is your first time learning about Twitch Writing & Reading Streams, what do you think about the concept? Or, if you’re already part of the Twitch Writing community, what are some of your favorite streams to hang out in and why? Please let me know in the comments below!

About Ossandra

Ossandra White is a Jill of all Trades with too many ideas and not enough time. Lover of all things creative, you can often catch her making or admiring art of every kind. She also enjoys writing in every genre. When she’s not juggling seventy-one projects and working multiple jobs, she helps others as a freelancer for hire and as a teacher at the No Stress Writing Academy.

She can be found online almost everywhere under the username WordiGirl. Her current main project “Secret Agent Someone” immerses its followers in the mysteriously wonderful world of W.I.L.L.O.W.I.S.P., home to spies, lies, disguise, surprise, and a man with malachite eyes. Find books, short stories, audiodramas, games, and more at https://willowisphq.com or visit https://www.wordigirl.com to check out everything Ossandra is up to.

Photos in this post are all (c) Ossandra White.