How to build a world
The world in which your story takes place is an essential component of your work. So, how do you go about building a story world?
The inspiration for my fantasy novel Sakhira came from a photograph of an Afghan girl which appeared on the cover of National Geographic. For this novel, I used a blank notebook, and pasted in that picture, along with others that informed my ideas about the world I was building. I added tabs for different elements of the story: characters; places; society; images (okay, so I do know I'm a touch OCD!) I kept adding to the book as I wrote and researched. It was an invaluable tool in shaping my ideas for the book.
Readers and editors are quick to spot inconsistencies, so it pays to take the time to think through the different elements. If your world doesn't have paper, then you can't have paper money. It seems obvious when said like that, but it's easy to use idioms like 'they had money to burn' without considering whether or not paper money was available in your story. bear in mind that the different elements have to fit together in a logical way: If your world is a desert, then your plant life has to be based on whether or not it can survive in a desert - unless of course it is scientifically / magically modified!)
So, what are the things to consider to build your world?
Below is a list that can be used as a starting point:
- When (time)
- Where (place)
- Who (characters)
- Governance - who, if anyone, is in authority
- Plants - what grows there? Are they a source of food?
- Animals - what lives there?
- Social structure
- Homes - where do people live
- Food - what do they eat
- Clothing - what do people wear?
- Money
- Work / roles in society
- Technology - how advanced is your world?
- Travel - how do people move around?
- Language(s) - what language do people speak?
- Policing - who ensures the rules are followed, and how?
- Energy sources - what powers your world?
- Entertainment - what do they do for fun?
- Values
A downloadable worksheet is below to help you:
If you're writing historical fiction, then you'll need to research the different elements listed, but if fantasy is your metier, then you can create any world you want.
Happy writing!