Preptober Step 4: The Foundations of World-Building
World-building is an important element of writing a story.
I just finished an incredible developmental edit on a fantasy novel and it had terrific world-building–lore, myths, history, government, different species, and more. It was so well-layered that I genuinely lost myself in the story. I didn’t want it to end.
We need to create a world for readers to get lost in; whether you’re writing a high fantasy or a contemporary romance novel set in your hometown.
During October, I’ll be sharing ways to get ready for NaNoWriMo. If you missed some posts, catch up on the here and here and here.
In today’s blog, you’ll learn:
🌍 The what and why of world-building
🎃 World-building elements to consider
👻 Resources to help you build your world
What is World-building?
Merriam-Webster, a favorite site for many of my line editor friends, says: “the creation of a fictional world (especially within the science fiction and fantasy genres) that is believable and consistent within the context of the story.
As I said earlier, world-building is a part of every book and every genre. It feels more prominent in sci-fi and fantasy because we’re building those worlds from figments of our imagination to worlds as colorful as our own.
When getting started, the first thing to decide is whether your novel takes place in our world or a second world. That’s going to give you a good frame of reference to pull from.
If your novel is set in our world or our world adjacent, you have a good base for culture, history, government, language, etc. If your novel takes place in a second world, you’ve got some work to do.
Why Do You Need to World-Build?
This one is simple.
When we commit to fleshing out our fictional world, we make a promise to the reader that they’ll no doubt get lost in it. Not in the Missing 411 way, but in the “Oh, I forgot I have to eat, drink, and sleep” way.
If we don’t spend time on world-building, our worlds will lack authenticity.
But, beware of World-Builders Disease.
It’s a ruinous malady that has you mapping out the city’s sewage pipes or some other trivial bit of world-building that no reader will notice rather than placing characters in your world and having them go on an adventure.
For example, I don’t need to spend 2 hours researching my protagonist’s great-great-great aunt’s name and title in order for me to throw her portrait above a fireplace in one scene. She didn’t come into the story at all, yet I got it in my head that it was important.
Different Aspects of World-Building
Climate & Weather
What is the weather like? Does your world have seasons; do they follow ours or are they different because there are two suns?
Climate and weather massively shape our characters:
Skin tone
Hair and eye color
Clothing
Food
Home types
Rituals
Holidays
Religion
Transportation
Example: When I lived in Los Angeles, I didn’t own a winter coat. Now that I’m back in the Northeast, I own three.
Agriculture & Food
What grows where your characters live? Is there an important crop that grows in that area? Has this crop started wars or saved people during wars? Are there certain customs or manners around food? Do your characters eat three meals? Are they called breakfast, lunch, and dinner? If your characters live in a big city, do they rely on the farmlands to produce their food?
For example: Living in the Northeast, I grew up knowing that supper meant dinner. When I uttered that word in LA, my friends asked what decade I was from.
Or a sadder one: Every Friday, I used to treat myself to In N Out; Now, living in the Northeast, I can’t.
Flora & Fauna
What plants and trees grow in your world? What animals? Do people use wood from the local trees to build their houses or rely on some other material? Can the native animals be eaten, traded, used for clothes, or are some held highly respected or endangered?
For example: On hikes in Southern California, I had to avoid cacti and pointy yuccas; in the Northeast, I can walk through ferns and scrub oak without a scratch.
Economy, Industry, and Resources
What sort of jobs, careers, and trades do your characters do? What is considered valuable in your characters’ society? Is there a class structure? Are resources hard to come by?
For example: In Southern California, it was more common to come across an unemployed actor; in the Northeast, well, let’s just say, there aren’t many actors in Pennsylvania.
Government
Does your fictional world have a government? Are countries ruled by monarchy, dictators, or capitalism? This is where you can start thinking laws of the land (or cities or humanity).
For example: You won’t find a royal palace in the United States, but you can casually walk past the Royal Palace in the center of Amsterdam.
Education
Do your characters go to school? Are there higher education, trade schools, or apprenticeships? How do people learn in your fictional world? Are the social classes separated by education level? Are schools separated by gender? Do some study magic while others don’t even know it exists?
Religion
Do your characters worship gods or did they used to long ago? Do they only have one god or multiple? Can the gods walk the world or are they just myths? Are there religious holidays? Different, contradicting religions? You can take the religious piece of your world and go absolutely nuts building out the lore and myths of your characters.
History
Are there any significant events, wars, or rulers that shaped your characters’ fictional world? Is the history so old that it’s become stories told to children before bed? Has the world been around long enough to have a history that no one is sure if it’s fact or myth?
There is so much more that goes into world-building like art, architecture, magic, and so on. However, I wanted to cover the framework you’ll need to begin with and build out as you see fit to the needs of your novel.
World-Building Resources
Worldbuilding for Masochists - podcast
Nano’s Explore Your Setting - Google doc
Happy building, writers!
- Kourtney