A Guide To World Building
World building. For science fiction and fantasy writers, it’s the backbone of stories. Creating a believable, imaginary world is just as important as establishing solid characters and plots. The more well-grounded and fleshed out your world is, the easier it will be for readers to become absorbed in your story.
Getting Started
According to WritersEdit.com, a good starting point to creating an imaginary world is to focus on an element that you care about. They mention how J.R.R Tolkien’s interest in linguistics helped him create the Elves of Middle-Earth. Picking a topic you already enjoy can help you ease into world building and help it feel less daunting. Are you a history buff? A musician? An artist? A techie? Whatever you enjoy the most, focus on that element of your world first and branch out from there.
Looks
What does your world look like? It is a barren wasteland a la Mars? It is medieval Europe? Is it more modern with busy traffic and sprawling skylines? Among other things, knowing what a place looks like can give you a sense of what the people are like and how they live. Personally, I’m a very visual type of person (which is odd considering how much I enjoy writing, but c’est la vie). Once I get an image in my head of what my world looks like, I search for images that resemble it as closely as possible. I’ll save those to a folder and pull them up whenever I need help with descriptions. It can also help you keep your descriptions consistent throughout your story.
Ask yourself:
What does the landscape look like? (lush forest, desert, mountains, space, combo of all four?)
What kind of wildlife (plant and animals) live there? Are there any?
How many rural areas are there? Are there any cities?
If you were to put your world in a real historical era, which one would it closely resemble? Is it a mixture of multiple eras? (May not apply to sci-fi)
How big or small is it?
History
Your world didn’t appear out of thin air. Whether it is an ancient, fantastical world or a newly established colony on some distant planet, every imaginary world needs to be grounded with an origin story to make it believable. If you are at a loss, take a page out of George R.R. Martin’s world building book and borrow elements from real world history. There is more than enough material out there to get you started. Besides making your world more authentic, it can provide you with multiple reasons why different people live a certain way or believe in something different from others.
Ask yourself:
How was your world created?
Who were the first people to live there and what where they like?
What happened in the past that has shaped the present? (ex. Why do certain groups live where they do? Why do certain groups like/hate each other? Etc.)
Culture
Give your world some personality. Unless your story is focused on a colony of clones, not everyone is going to act the same. Different areas should have their own unique culture to make them recognizable and stand out to readers.
Ask yourself:
How to they dress?
Do they speak a different language?
Do they have their own music/art?
Do they mingle with other social groups often? Why or why not?
Where and how do they live? Why do they live there?
What is their main tribe, village, city and what is it called? Why is it important?
What are their values?
Do they follow their own form of government?
Are there social classes? How strict or flexible are they?
Are they composed of a certain race?
Do they have traditions or holidays?
Do they trade with others? Do they have a main export?
Government
Everyone’s favorite. Love it or hate it, every world needs one. Unless you want your world to be absolute anarchy, it needs to be grounded in a set of rules.
Ask yourself:
How are people ruled? Monarchy? Democracy? Republic? Dictatorship?
Are there multiple forms of government in different areas? (ex. A monarchy in one area with a democracy in another)
What does it provide the people with? Does it provide anything?
What are the laws?
How established are the laws? What types of punishments are used?
Are the laws set in stone? How strict is the government?
Is the government highly present in society? Or it is more vague and mysterious?
What is the peoples’ relationship with the government?
Religion
Religion often gets looped in with culture, but if you want to include religion in your story, it needs its own set of questions worth asking.
Ask yourself:
What do different cultures worship? Gods? Ancestors? Nature? The cosmos? Technology?
Is it monotheistic? Polytheistic?
What do certain religions believe?
How strict is the religion?
What are the practices involved?
Is there a religious hierarchy?
Are there different factions of the religion? (ex. Think Baptist, Protestant, Catholic, etc.)
What elements of the religion do people agree and disagree with?
Do certain people follow a religion at all? Why or why not?
How large of a role does religion play in a society? Does it play any role at all?
Technology
Developing technology can help you establish how modern you want your society to be. Did your society just invent the wheel or are they already using smart phones? Regardless of how rural or high tech, every world should have different forms of technology that they use to keep society moving.
Ask yourself:
How advanced is the society in terms of technology?
What is their infrastructure like? Do they have running water? Plumbing? Trash disposal? Paved roads? Etc.
How do they get from point A to point B?
How do they communicate over long distances?
Are animals still required for using certain technologies? (ex. Horses, carrier pigeons)
Magic
This can get looped in with technology, but for those who want a strictly fantasy setting, magic needs its own set of rules. While magic may seem otherworldly at first, proper development can make it feel believable to your readers. A key thing to remember is to not make it too powerful. Too powerful=unrealistic, even if we are talking about magic.
Ask yourself:
What can magic do? What can’t it do?
Who can wield magic?
Can it be learned or are you born with it?
What is society’s relationship with magic? Do they love it or is it illegal?
How are people who wield magic viewed?
How dangerous is it?
Is it used with technology?
Currency
Unless your world is made up of people who are strictly self-sufficient, everyone needs to buy something once in a while. After everything you put them through, your characters deserve to treat themselves and splurge every once in a while.
Ask yourself:
What type of money do people use? Coins? Paper? Non-physical currency?
Is there a trade system? Can people trade objects to purchase items?
Are there different forms of currency in different areas?
Are there banks? How do people store their money?
Food
Food tends to get overlooked. But everyone needs to stop and eat once in a while. Food can help give different societies character and help establish the characteristics of how your world functions.
Ask yourself:
What do people eat?
Do they have traditional foods for holidays?
What is considered expensive vs non-expensive food?
How do they get food in public? Are there restaurants? Taverns?
How do people acquire food? Are there markets? Do they have to hunt/grow food?
Are there any unique food items?
Map
If I open a book and it has a map inside the front cover, I’m already hooked. Besides looking cool, it shows readers that you took the time and effort to develop a world. Once you have a solid idea of what your world is and how it looks, take a sheet of paper and map it out. And before you start complaining about your lack of artistic skill, you don’t have to be the next Michelangelo to draw a couple of blobs and lines on a page. If your characters are taking frequent road trips throughout your story, it can help you with your sense of direction and help you make sure they aren’t just walking in circles the whole time.
Honestly, I could probably write an entire book on world building, but hopefully this guide is enough to get you started. Below are a few links with more questions and helpful tips when creating an imaginary world. Also, check out the Pinterest World Building board for more tips and guides.
Happy writing!
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