A tavern for worldbuilders and storytellers
The Obsidian Tavern is where fiction gets built. Courses that walk you from a blank page to finished stories, and a library of craft articles on worldbuilding, magic systems, and everything between.
No. 01 · the flagship
Six courses on one shelf. World, story, book, magic, polish, plus the reference course that keeps it all organized. One straight line from your first strange sentence to fiction people pay for.
No. 02 · the course shelf
Guided, in-depth journeys into the craft. Each one is a full framework, not a pile of tips.
19 lessons
Turn a solo protagonist into a cast that makes the story move. Wounds, wants, contradictions, and the people w...
Explore the course →
34 lessons
Take a world and a finished short all the way to a complete first draft of a novel — built against the two thi...
Explore the course →
26 lessons
The editing course that treats editing like a skill instead of a mood. Learn the specific passes that hunt spe...
Explore the course →
No. 03 · the archives
Hundreds of free craft articles, shelved by subject. Wander as long as you like.
No. 04 · fresh ink
Fantasy & Sci-Fi Writing
Derek Murphy's 24 chapter outline breaks your novel into four acts with specific goals for every chapter. Finally conque...
Read the article →
Worldbuilding
Discover 13 practical worldbuilding tips for beginners that actually work. Learn to create immersive worlds without gett...
Read the article →
Worldbuilding
A reader believes a world when it acts like it existed before the story started. Iceberg worldbuilding is how you build...
Read the article →
Worldbuilding
Hard worldbuilding is the systematic, documented approach to fantasy worlds where 'how does that actually work?' has an...
Read the article →
Worldbuilding
Soft worldbuilding is a deliberate choice to withhold detail so the reader's imagination does the work, not a shortcut f...
Read the article →
Worldbuilding
Traditional worldbuilding scatters your fictional world across a dozen Word documents that slowly contradict each other....
Read the article →
last call
Start with the courses or wander the articles. Either way, leave with something on the page.