Episode 110: In Your Leisure Time, ft. MATT WALLACE

Worldbuilding for Masochists

Hobbies and leisure activities aren't just neat ways to give your characters something to do in-between plot beats -- they can also communicate a lot to the reader about the world you're building! Developing hobbies and entertainment in a world also touches on what that culture thinks about work, income, community, and many other components of society. Guest Matt Wallace joins us to discuss the opportunities presented by giving your characters the chance to play, craft, and just muck about with things!

How much of a hobby is devoted to pure pleasure? What changes when it's a side hustle that you monetize, or when it becomes competitive in some fashion? What does it mean when your characters have the money to spend on a hobby -- and who's providing them the goods and services they need for it? We explore these considerations and more as we pull apart what it means to kick back and relax in a fictional world.

[Transcript TK]

Our Guest: Matt Wallace is a Hugo Award winner and the author of the Sin du Jour series, the Savage Rebellion Trilogy, and the middle grade novels BUMP, THE SUPERVILLAIN’S GUIDE TO BEING A FAT KID, and NOWHERE SPECIAL. He’s also penned over one hundred short stories in addition to writing for film, television, and video games. In his youth he traveled the world as a professional wrestler and an unarmed combat and self-defense instructor before retiring to write full-time. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Nikki.