Episode Details

Adrian Tchaikovsky — the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Hugo Award-winning author of Children of Time and Shadows of the Apt — joins host Richie Billing for a deep dive into worldbuilding, character creation and the writing process. One of the most acclaimed and prolific voices in modern science fiction and fantasy shares how he turns a spark of an idea into a fully realised novel.

In this conversation, Adrian breaks down how he generates story ideas and develops them into complete stories, then goes deep on the craft fundamentals every fantasy and sci-fi writer wrestles with — worldbuilding, character creation, plotting and theme. He also goes beyond the page to talk about the publishing industry itself, including what it's really like to work with editors and literary agents.

This episode answers questions like:

• How do you come up with story ideas — and develop them into a full novel?
• How does an award-winning author approach worldbuilding?
• How do you create believable, memorable characters (including non-human ones)?
• How do plot and theme work together to hold a story up?
• What's it actually like working with editors and agents in traditional publishing?

Whether you write epic fantasy, science fiction, or anything in between, this is a masterclass in storytelling craft from a genuine master of the genre.

In this episode you'll learn:

• A working method for generating and developing story ideas
• How to build immersive, believable worlds
• Approaches to creating characters readers care about
• How plotting and theme support each other
• How traditional publishing, editors and agents fit into a writing career

About Adrian Tchaikovsky: Adrian Tchaikovsky is a British science fiction and fantasy author known for his vast worldbuilding and bold ideas around evolution, artificial intelligence and non-human life. He won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016 for Children of Time and the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2023 for the Children of Time series. His other work includes the ten-book epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt and The Final Architecture trilogy. A former legal executive trained in zoology, he became a full-time writer in 2018 and now publishes at a famously prolific pace.

🕸️ Adrian Tchaikovsky's books: https://adriantchaikovsky.com/books.html

🗺️ Free worldbuilding template: https://richiebilling.com/worldbuilding

✍️ Fantasy writing classes: https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing-classes

💬 Join our writing community on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyWritersToolshed