My favorite part about writing fiction is creating a new world. I find it extremely easy to fall down the rabbit hole and spend all my time creating new people, creatures, ecosystems, magic systems—you have the power to create literally anything you can dream up, so of course it’s going to be fascinating! This is also what can make it immensly overwhelming for many writers, so I wanted to break down my process and show you all how I typically go about creating the bones of a piece.

For the purposes of my example today, I am going to focus on the fantasy genre. This limits you to some degree, but there are so many sub-genres it would take ages to go through them all, and each have very different expectations. Urban fantasy, for example, will likely have some resemblance to our modern world, but with a little pizzazz thrown into the mix (most commonly magic, vampires, or werewolves). High fantasy, meanwhile, tends towards medieval settings (or at least pre-industrial era) and Tolkien-esque creatures. Working within your sub-genre can give you a good initial sense of the boundaries of your world, while also giving you an idea of how you can make it your own.

Let’s say we are writing a high fantasy, sword and sorcery type story. What do you need to make this world feel real?

I like to start with some general overarching topics, and then ask specific questions for each category. This information exists to inform your story — you do not have to include all of the world-building you do in your work! Even though most of this will never end up in your published work, knowing it as the author will change the way you write and it will be reflected in how “real” your world feels to the reader.

Geography

• Where do your characters live?
• What does the landscape look like?
• When your characters look up at the sky, what do they see?
• How many countries are you writing about, and how do they relate to each other?
• How many seasons are there, and how long are they?

Culture

• If you are creating a magical species — what makes these people different from real-world Humans? How would those differences impact their day-to-day lives?
• Are the people in your world all native to the world/continent? If they aren’t, where did they come from?
• What size population are we looking at?
• What system of government is used? Do people generally trust their leaders?
• What are the common jobs? Do some jobs require training, and where would this education take place? How old are children when they start school?
• Is there a military? When was the most recent conflict, and what was the impact on society?
• Are there special holidays?
• What forms of art exist?

Food

• Is the food generally spicy, cooked, smoked, or salted? Are they vegetarian, or do they hunt and fish?
• How often does your main character eat? Is that different from the general population?
• Is food and water typically clean enough to eat and drink?

Language

• Do all of your characters speak the same language?
  • If so, is it their native language?
• What does the language sound like? (For example: is it harsh, or melodic? Are there clicks?)

Relationships

• Are people generally monogomous in this world?
• What are the customs around raising a child?
• Are the genders treated differently?
• What are signs of respect, or disrespect?

Religion

• Is there organized religion?
• How do religious beliefs affect the day-to-day lives of your characters, if at all?

Magic and/or Technology

• How technologically advanced are the people? Is this different between countries?
• Is there magic, and how is it summoned? What does magic allow people to do?
  • How big are the effects?
• Is your magic system word-based? Does it need a conduit, or is it innate?
• Can you improve your magic, or are you at a set level from the beginning?
• Can magic run out, and what happens if it does?
• What is the cost of using magic?
• What do people feel about magic and those who use it?

I’m curious to know your thoughts! Did I miss anything in the list above? What was the question that made you pause and go, “oh, that is good one”?