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- Plan but Don’t Over-Plan. Outliners prefer to map out everything before they start writing. Pantsers, those who write by the seat of their pants, write as a process of discovery.
- Describe Your World. Paint for your reader a world that transports them, allowing them to see, smell, hear, and touch their surroundings. Core aspects to consider
- Inhabit Your World. Are the inhabitants people but somehow different from you and me? Are they aliens, monsters, or some other new species? When writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien gave Frodo a past, certain personality traits, and unique morals.
- Establish the History of Your World. Many stories are defined by their pasts: The Lord of The Rings focuses on an ancient war. The Hunger Games is built on decades of oppression.
Purpose of this post is mostly to share experiences with other people who are creating (or want to start) massive worlds - both in size, in lenght of its history, in detail, etc. You don't need to read the whole thing - just share your thoughts on the worldbuilding process!
- Themes & Genres. If you’ve already watched our YouTube video on Worldbuilding Tips for starting a new world, you will already be familiar with considering what underlying themes your world might have.
- Time Period. Human history is divided into a number of different periods, which help historians to classify and better study the past. A key area to consider when starting a new world is what time period it might be set in.
- Technology (& Magic!) Perhaps you’ve already got an inkling of an idea for your world! That’s fantastic! Using this as a starting point (even if it’s a small one) you could consider the levels of technology- magic included- that will be available in your world.
- Alignment. How will you convey the general mood of your world? Is it a joyous and wonderful setting full of epic adventures in which heroes save the day?
- Define Your World’S Name and Setting
- Create A Map of The Territory
- Populate The World with People
- Elaborate Your Civilization’s History
- Create Systems of Technology and Magic
- Distribute Resources with A Working Economy
- Determine Your World’S Power Structure
Broadly speaking, the setting of your story will either be our own world, or an entirely fictional world— what’s known as “second world” fantasy. Before you start work on your backstory, it’s essential to know which of these categories your story will fall under.
Once you’ve named your world, it’s time to fill it. That means having at least a broad sense of its geography and ecology, so that you know what the landscape looks like, and what beasts your characters are likely to encounter. You can consult our worldbuilding guide for a full list of prompts, but some questions to consider include: 1. What sort o...
Now that your physical landscape exists, let’s drop some people into it. To create a textured and believable setting, you’ll want to populate your planet with a variety of races and cultures — which can be either created, or based on real-world cultures. You may wish to pull species from the rich traditions of high fantasy (elves, dwarves, trolls, ...
Civilizations are defined by their history. That might be a very broad statement — but it contains a kernel of truth. Writers should have a solid grasp on the history of their world, regardless of genre, and should be familiar with the key events that matter to the story they’re telling or the culture they’re exploring. So, how can you go about thi...
Perhaps the defining feature of any SFF book is its systems, whether they be magical or technological. It’s important to consider the details of how these things work carefully; just waving your hand and saying “and there’s magic” won’t cut it. You’ll have to define the magical or supernatural elements of your world. With both science fiction and f...
It may not sound too exciting, but considering something as fundamental as the economics of your world can be extremely helpful in making it a believable one. This isn't essential, but having an understanding of the economy can help you imagine how your characters will move through the world. Take, for example, Anne McCaffrey’s iconic fantasy serie...
As well as creating the history and economy of your world, you may also want to consider other institutions and power structures, such as religions, governments, or political ideologies. Again, this might be drawn from reality: Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series features a society dominated by the Magisterium, a religious body modeled in pa...
Jun 1, 2016 · Do you start chronologically with the formation of the world, or maybe start with a small town and characters and build the world around them, or maybe a single creature and what sort of world would be able to sustain it?
You start your world building at the smallest detail and move up to the biggest i.e from a village up to the whole planet. This approach to world building works if you have a small fragment of a world. Continue to work on the fragment you have then expand it out as you need to.
In short, Sanderson’s method is by far the easiest way to start worldbuilding. To make that process even easier, I’ve created a template that you can download for free by clicking the link below. Click Here To Learn More About Worldbuilding (With Template) What Does A Fantasy World Need?
