I considered doing a step-by-step guide for world building—I even have a blog post started—but I think a mast poster/template would be a much easier way to break it down. I’ll go back and readdress some major things to consider when world building, as well as map making, but for now here are the basics I take into consideration when building a fantasy world.
With this template, I’ve compiled a list of subjects that really should be touched when crafting a new planet. World building is just as vital as character development. It’ll be the foundation for your story, so you want to make sure the structure is strong and sound. Any holes in your world and the entire story could collapse.
I’ve broken this into four parts to make it easier for you. I usually take these pieces and create separate files for each category, but you can also do one single master post. It’s up to you how you organize it.
**Note: Some bits you may not need. You can cut those out.**
The first step I usually do is draw a map and name everything. I’m not going to go in detail on designing the worlds (I’ll touch on that later), but for a quick tip of designing a world, check out this site.
**Hot Tip: Consider where your story is taking place. If it’s just on a continent or in a singular country, you may be able to skim down some.**
World Name: When constructing a new world, you want to come up with a name for the planet. Now everything you learned from Shakespeare, you can completely disregard. You can’t slap any ol’ name on your planet. Take time to consider your story, the continents, as well as how you want the world to be seen. You don’t want to go too cliché and you want it to be catchy, something people can easily remember. Consider: Middle-Earth, Narnia, and Earthsea.
Continent and Country Names: Just like your world, you’ll need continents and countries, and those will need names. The same rules apply, as with developing your world name (or naming anything in general). Also, when designing your land masses, don’t be afraid to get original. Le Guin designed all of Earthsea based around islands and archipelagos. There were no large land masses in her world. You don’t have to do strictly seven continents, so when designing try to think outside the borders. Consider: Westeros, Cenaria, Panem, and Alagäesia.
More Naming: That’s right, it isn’t over. Does your brain hurt from coming up with all those names? Well now it’s time to name everything else; you’ve got your towns, cities, capitals, rivers, oceans, seas, and various land masses. We like to name shit. Consider: The Shire, Ankh-Morpork, and Mélusine.
Okay, so here is where we start doing some serious work. Time to roll up the sleeves and put our thinking caps on. It’s important at this point to know where your story is taking place. Once again, you don’t want to give yourself more work than necessary. So consider where your story is, if it’s a single country or continent, or if it’ll be crossing oceans and lands. As my mama always said, “Sheepie, work smart, not hard.”
Races: Every world is populated (okay, not every world, but for the sake your story, this one is). Who populates yours? Consider the various races. Will there be humans? Elves? Animorphic humanoids? Aliens (which, they wouldn’t be aliens if it’s their planet). The sky is the limit for you. You’re the creator and you get to populate this planet with anything you want. Don’t be afraid to go crazy!
Ethnicities: Like Earth, your planet won’t have one singular ethnicity. Most races will have various ethnicities, so consider their appearances and cultures. Please, for the love of Tolkien, don’t fall into the stereotypical pitfall of creating the singular, white European character. There is nothing (and I mean nothing) with having white characters, but also realize that the world isn’t just one culture. Even if your country is way up north where everyone is snow white, there may be immigrants who had traveled north. We don’t all stay to our own countries. Diversity is always the best answer.
Languages: Do your races have their own language? Is there a shared common language? Tolkien developed his own language for the elves. You don’t have to go to that extreme (though, it is really fun to develop a language, and if you’re interested you can read up on it more here), but get an idea of what languages are spoken. You can figure out how to work them in when you plot and start writing your story.
Magic: Does your world have any? Can certain races use it and others can’t? Is it acceptable? Is there a certain magical structure or hierarchy? Do spells have names? Magic can play an intricate part in a story and be very important to different cultures. It’s vital in both the Earthsea series, with Ged a wizard, and in Harry Potter, where it’s the foundation of the series.
Fashion: This doesn’t seem vital, but it is. Fashion is a big part of our lives. Clothes do matter, even if we love our pop culture t-shirts and worn out jeans. Consider what style of fashion exists in your world, or even amongst your races. Are some considered more cultured and fully cover their bodies, while others wear loin cloths and go topless? Is there restrictions on what both men and women can wear? Are bowties cool?
Government: What is your country’s (or countries’) government? Are they a monarchy? A dictatorship? A democracy? Do they have a socialistic democracy or are they communistic? Is the monarchy an absolute monarchy or is it a democratic monarchy? Is the monarchy European based or is it Imperial? Are your people tribal? Don’t know? Take your time to research various government forms and find the right pick for you. This is also when you’ll take your time to consider the various government branches. Is there a council? A senate? Governors or prime ministers?
Military: Your country/tribe/whatever is going to have some kind of military base, unless they’re free loving hippies. Consider the various branches of military, what ones would be appropriate for your time period, and which ones wouldn’t. If airplanes haven’t been invented yet, there won’t be an air force. If they’re a small tribe, they probably won’t have a massive navy. If it’s a monarchy and its set in a medieval period, maybe the military is built up of knights and guards.
Judicial System: Hopefully your country has a judicial system in place, otherwise it’ll be total anarchy. How does the judicial system work? Is there one who acts as Judge/Jury/Executioner? Or are people given a fair trial? Are there different branches for police? In the UK you have Scotland Yard, MI5, MI6, and so forth. In the US we have police, the CIA, and the FBI.
Technology: What kind of technology exists in your world? Do they have computers or even working electricity? Are they running on steam and coal? If they haven’t developed electricity, then I doubt they’ll have laptops. So be mindful of what your character has.
Transportation: What kind of transportation is available or common? Do they have cars or use horse and buggy? Have airplanes been built or is it all trains and boats? Do they possible ride on your own specially created animal or fly on the backs of eagles? Maybe different races have different things they use to travel.
Currency: Money, money, money~!! Everyone needs it, including your character. Develop a currency for your world. Different countries may have different currencies, or like the euro, there may be a universal form. The Foundation Series used Credits, one form in Harry Potter was the Knut, and in the Sprawl Trilogy, the New Yen was used.
Religions: Usually, there will be a religion. That doesn’t necessarily mean a single god. There may be multiple gods. Your character, or the world’s inhabitants, may worship the planet its self. But there should be some basis of faith, and typically there will be more than one. Various races and cultures will have their own creeds and doctrines for which they follow. You don’t have to consider every single one, but think of a few, especially for the characters that will take part in your story. It’ll help flesh out your world.
History: There should be a brief history of your world. It doesn’t have to be very long; a page, or even a paragraph or two, to gloss over important events that transpired and may come up in your story. Where your story begins won’t be the first great event to happen in your world (unless it’s year 1), so give a brief background in the same way you give your character a biography.
Bestiary: This isn’t always necessary, but I find it helpful if I’m creating my own animals. If you aren’t, then cut this out. But if you do, create a massive bestiary list of all the animals and creatures that fill your world. Add a brief description, including physical appearances, habitats, and other impertinent information you may need.
Plants: If you have new and original plants, just like animals, this is where you can make note of it. Any special plant, whether it be flower or tree, note it here, so you can look back to it later. Note information like habitat, season, and appearance.
Terms/Lexicon: Here can be a master list of all the terms and names that are important. I usually add key events, words, and places, and use this as a quick find section.
Referenced stories: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien, Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Tales of Earthsea by Ursula le Guin, Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin, Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, and The Doctrines of Labrinthe by Sarah Monette, Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling, The Sprawl Trilogy by William Gibson, and The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov.
I recommend reading these stories for any examples of amazing world building. Each one has a unique and wonderful developed world that you can truly immerse yourself in.
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