Sword & Kettle Press

Necessary? No. Wise, pertinent, and exciting? Yes.

It boils down to the fact that it’s not believable that they wouldn’t have contraception available in a world where anything is possible. You build this world, you say what exists and what doesn’t, and you have the power to show sexually active characters being responsible. Why wouldn’t you?

There’s a very real lack of attention paid to sexual education all around, but particularly when it comes to women’s health, and you can be damned sure that the women in your world will be just as concerned about it as women living today. By leaving it out of your fantasy settings amidst the plethora of other worldbuilding you’ve paid such dear attention to, it perpetuates this idea that it’s not important, it’s not anybody’s business, which is, of course, nonsense and the topic should be talked about more often, not just in the sexual arena but in women’s health in general from menstrual cycles to mental illnesses more prevalent in women.

“Fantasy story” is usually code for pre-industrial stories often set in cultures that are technologically in the 1500s or before. Historical records outline types of contraceptives from as far back as the 7th century–and it would be foolish to assume they simply sprang into being at that time rather than existing before that and coming into historical records once it was more widely used/known. So where are your midwives, scientists, and medical professionals?

Humans are well-known for finding solutions for things they don’t want to deal with. Maybe the solution actually works, maybe it doesn’t; it’s just as common for humans to find the appearance of a solution for a problem they perceive to exist. Where are your con artists and your innovators?

The truth is, if not every individual in your fantasy story’s world wants to have a chance of getting pregnant with every fling they have, they will have ways to prevent it. Does that make it necessary to show on the page? Depends on your characters’ intentions with their encounters. Are they trying to get pregnant? Are they willing to take the chance? If the answer is no, then you should probably think of ways their culture would have handled the situation.

So how do you deal with it on the page? Worldbuild it in a way that makes sense with your cultures and how they tend to deal with problems, and then talk about it.

Herbal things such as teas have been pretty popular for fantasy settings for all characters, male, female, and nonbinary alike. Game of Thrones uses moon tea; Tamora Pierce uses both droughtwart and charms enchanted to prevent pregnancy. Linen and animal skins were fashioned into sheaths as early condoms as early as ancient Rome. Some other books have used specially-made and enchanted piercings as contraception. This is your world, so put your brain to work.

It doesn’t have to be a big scene about it, but mentions are great. “They made sure to secure a tincture of moonbane later,” or “She left everything upon the floor but the charm that kept her from the concern of children,” or “He downed the goblet mixed with birthwart.” It just requires a sentence, that’s all. Take a look at Tamora Pierce and Robin Hobb’s works for some examples, but the simple fact is that not taking it into account is doing a disservice to your characters and discounting a real problem where your characters are likely to be smarter than you’re giving them credit for.

Good luck! -Pear

So you’ve heard of Inktober?

Here’s a concept that I literally just came up with because I am a garbage fire that is incapable of finishing ANYTHING: every day of February should be used to finish your works-in-progress. It doesn’t matter how old they are (like, it could literally be a piece that is 20 years old in a sketchbook you dug out from your garage), as long as you FINISH it! It could be a fanfiction you abandoned back in 2013! Doesn’t matter! Finish it! An illustration that just needs color to be done? EXCELLENT! FINISH IT! A cosplay that just needs some finishing touches? FINISH ITTT!

I know that I easily have at least 28 pieces that are half finished or almost completed, and my guess is that I’m not the only one.

For every day in February I’m going to try and get ONE thing done each day.

- But instead of just finishing art and writing projects, I’m adding all my other tasks in my to do list as well.

- If you are like me I put off soo much stuff. Haven’t repotted that plant yet? Been meaning to clean out your junk drawer? Need to back up your photos but haven’t gotten around it?

- Plan out your February by getting a list of 28 things to finish. Or a smaller list of larger projects.

These are just some things that I’m going to try to get done this February.