World building! How many other hobbies or careers involve creating an entire world all your own? Not many.
There’s nothing quite like setting out to create your fictional world. Drawing maps, deciding which civilizations live where, throwing in crazy kinds of solar systems and vegetation if you’re really going all out… it can be a ton of fun.
However, one of the writer’s most exciting tasks is also one of their most intimidating.
On one hand: you get to build your own world. On the other hand… you have to build your own whole entire WORLD?! Where do you even start??
Well, you can start right here. Today I’m going to walk you through some basic pointers to get your world up and running.
World Building and World Building
Right off the bat, you should be aware that there are two kinds of world-building. There’s the large-scale fantasy world building which I will be talking about today, and there is also world-building that goes into other story genres.
Every writer is going to do some level of world-building, whether you’re painting a verbal picture of the lake your character goes to when they want some peace of mind, pulling a reader into an important event and making them feel like they’re actually attending, or creating a whole new planet for your space pirate to fly to.
The Top 6
When you have a massive task ahead of you it’s always best to start by breaking it down. So, let’s take a look at the top 6 features you’re going to be focusing on when building your world.
WHO
Ask yourself: who lives in your world?
Most likely there is a variety of species and races. Or, you could decide on a world where every creature is exactly alike — it is of course, your world.
Do the creatures of your planet have different cultures or are these homogeneous?
It will be easiest to start off with your main characters and work out from there. What is their species and race, and what does their culture look like?
For each species in your world, jot down the following:
Species name
Race names
Physical description
Language
Cultural notes
Special abilities
WHAT
Ask yourself: what social structures exist in your society?
Again, start with your main characters and work out from there. For each species within your world, you’re going to need to determine how they manage their society.
What beliefs do they have? Are they religious, or more philosophical? Is there a divide between the two? What do their political structures look like? How strict are their laws?
You’ll want to consider trade and economy as well. Do they have a money system? A barter system?
You may not need to go too in-depth with every single species in your world, but you’ll want a basic note or two about each in case it comes up in your writing.
For each species in your world, decide at least one point about each of the following:
Religion
Philosophies
Politics and laws
Economy
WHERE
Ask yourself: where does your species exist?
Finally, we get to the physical world of your world-building. What is the geography like? The biomes? Is your world bountiful with resources or is it a dying planet with species’ in desperate search of new sustenance?
For some writers, they will take years fleshing out the ‘where’ of their world, including the cosmos surrounding it. For others, a map with the basic locations of the story will suffice. It is up to you how in-depth you would like to go.
At the very least, you should outline one or two notes about each of the following:
Solar system (does your world exist near ours or is it completely fabricated?)
Geography (this one can be split per species — forest elves live in the woods, nymphs live near the sea, etc.)
Biomes (split by species region)
Resources (split by species region)
WHEN
Ask yourself: when do the events of your story occur?
The story you are telling may be the main focus of your book, but what happened to lead up to it? What has your main character’s species and world been through that is causing the story to occur? Even if the events of the world do not impact your story much, they will have had at least some level of ripple effect that reflects on your characters’ day-to-day.
Was this civilization a warring one and the story takes place in a broken society? Or, has their society reached its peak of enterprise?
For each region in your world, establish the following:
Founding events
Defining events
Recent events
(if relevant) Future events
WHY
Ask yourself: why do the species in your world behave as they do?
The why of your story will tie in with many of the previous points you’ve outlined, but it gets more to the point in a way that can directly apply to your story and characters. Why are things happening as they are today? What evolution did this society go through? Do they share common goals now or are your characters going against the grain of their people? What conflicts exist in this world, and is your main character involved in those conflicts or attempting to avoid involvement?
A few pertinent notes to take per species would be:
Social evolution
Societal goals
Societal conflicts
HOW
Ask yourself: how do the species in your world solve problems?
In the category of ‘who’, you will have outlined your main characters’ abilities. These could be magical or technological or maybe they are super strong, or super smart. Now, you can get deeper into the magical or technological systems of your world. Start with your main characters and work outwards. Is everyone magical here?
Do different species and races have different abilities? Is there a human or human-related race, and at what point are they at with their technology?
Figure out the following (for each species and race if applicable):
Magic abilities
Technological advancements
Scientific knowledge
Militaristic power
The World Is Yours: Command It
An author with a strong command of the world they are writing within will have at their fingertips an endless landscape of possibility. Look to authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien or George R.R. Martin — it’s no wonder their works are so successful. They perfectly encapsulate what fantasy readers are looking for in a novel: escapism. The worlds don’t need to be pretty, they need to be fully formed; realistic in their mysticism.
World-building can seem like a lot of work, and it is. But do it bit by bit, and try to keep it fun. Don’t sit down in one day expecting to create your whole world. It’ll take time. But that time spent will be well worth it in the end!
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