This question applies to both real-life biology and worldbuilding.
u/JoMCaR31x3 — 23 days ago
u/JoMCaR31x3
Vermuldja Official Name: Rana Simia
Filagonea Official Name: Ramnia Bestemo
Introduction
The gramonk is a zooesque beast that resembles a frog for their shape and color. However, their size and proportions are adapted for more monkey-like behavior, like climbing or swinging from tree to tree.
Inspiration
The name "gramonk" is a combination of "gr", derived from "green", "ra", derived from "rana" (Spanish for "frog"), and "monk", derived from "monkey". Their main source of inspiration are the author's love for mixing different real-life animals with monkeys. It's also partially inspired by the clabbert from the Wizarding World, although the gramonk lacks some key physical features from the clabbert, and their in-world purposes are significantly different.
Physique
They're adapted for jumping, hopping, and leaping like a frog, but also for climbing and swinging from tree to tree. This is where I start to struggle with details. Do they need more muscle in their extremities? Less belly? Longer or shorter limbs (or parts of them)? I tried my best at a good approximate for all those.
Diet
The gramonk is carnivorous, feeding on small mammals, birds, lizards, bugs, etc.
Habitat
Best suited for jungles or jungle-like areas. Could be used for pest control, even in urban areas.
Speculative evolution
I'm rooting for adaptation to forests and overabundance of prey (especially up in the trees) as potential explanations for their enlargement and acquisition of behaviors, but I'm still working on that (help is welcome).
Media (so far)
The gramonk is featured (although not mentioned by name) in the short story "The Big Office", available in written form and audiobook form in English and Spanish.
Written form: https://thisparticularartvault.blogspot.com/2026/04/short-story-big-office.html
Audiobook form: https://youtu.be/mgYoITXc-Dg
Written form (Spanish): https://thisparticularartvault.blogspot.com/2026/04/cuento-mas-alla-de-la-oficina.html
Audiobook form (Spanish): https://youtu.be/mPN2oPGYHiQ
Thoughts on the gramonk? How could you help me with the physique and the speculative evolution? Is there anything else you'd like to ask/suggest?
u/JoMCaR31x3 — 24 days ago
▲ 0 r/fantasywriters
Consider this less of a prediction and more of a personal manifesto. I have perceived a trend among fantasy writers, in which all of an author's stories are set in the same speculative world. While I respect that as a creative resource and as a way in which an author establishes their personal signature, I think this is far from the only way to do these things. With all due respect to Mr. Tolkien, who spent decades refining, expanding, and perfecting the only world in which all of his storied occurred, I'm different. I started worldbuilding when I was 9 years old, and no: the worlds that I built back then were not the worlds that I'd build 5 years later, let alone now. However, many of them still share similar elements, similar structures, similar tropes, and even similar names. Some of them are repeated over and over again. Why? Why not! Why not reuse them if they work a second, a third, or a bazillionth time? Hey, cool magic system! Why not let it have a role in this world and a different role in that world? Wait, why does your king from this story have the same name as the janitor from that story? Because it's a cool name and I love it! Wait, all of your islands have the same name? Always have! All of these details, snippets, and even entire systems are my toolbox now. They're what make my writing and creativity unique and my own. I love being a Single-Toolbox author, and maybe, just maybe, you'll love it too.
How about you? Are you a Single-Toolbox Author? Do you wanna be one? Or do you still prefer being a Single-World Author? Maybe you're not very concerned about the signature thing? Or maybe you have another very unique way of establishing it?
u/JoMCaR31x3 — 25 days ago