Every hero needs a quest. Whether the stakes are saving the world, killing the monster, or rescuing a princess, the best stories throw our heroes into adversity, challenging them and making them become better versions of themselves before they’re worthy and powerful enough to take on their next adventure (whether that’s an exam or a fire-breathing dragon). Watching characters get stronger is one of the best parts, but just how do you measure their leveling up?

LitRPG and Progression Fantasy novels are taking the world of genre readers by storm. It’s not just fantasy and science fiction, it’s the thrill of leveling up, and following stats, character, and power growth. Enter John and Shami Stovall, who join us today to help dial in the genre tropes, write characters that punch above their weight class (literally), and talk about the intricacies of worldbuilding and plot development in these niche genres that have such a huge appeal to so many readers.

In Part One, We Discuss:

• LitRPG vs Progression Fantasy

• Subgenres and tropes in LitRPG

• Incorporating stats and numbers seamlessly into stories

• The allure of weak-to-strong power progression

• The nuance of defining LitRPG genres and subgenres

• Progression fantasy origins and John and Shami’s inspirations for their series

Resources and Guest Links:

• Shami’s Site: https://sastovallauthor.com/

• John’s Site: https://john-stovall-author.com/

John and Shami are a power couple in more ways than one, and we loved talking with them! We’re so grateful they carved some time out of their writing schedules to join us and talk powering up, monster fights, and breaking down the tricky tropes and subgenres in LitRPG.

Host Links:

• H.Y. Gregor: https://hygregor.com/

• David Shadoin: https://www.davidshadoin.com/

Credits: (all assets licensed through the sites listed)

• Intro: Music- Cinematic Epic Trailer by PaulYudin on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user- kazim hussian; from pixabay users-davidfoxx, DavidGallie, olenchic, stefaniejockschat, AiVreaSaStii, RuneSnow, duyen-nguyen, EnchantedStudios,

• Outro: Music- Good Night by FASSounds on Pixabay

• Animation and Image- From Vecteezy user-onlydesignz; from pixabay users-olenchic, Placidplace, Evgeniy_Z, Dantegrafico, Shayea_Kim