World Building Template

If you have been following on my posts, you may know that World Building is a very essential part of story writing for me. And I believe my theory spans throughout all genre of writing and not merely in Fantasy. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s talk about it in terms of fantasy writing as it requires the most intricate world building ever.

So in world building, I’d like to divide it into two main parts: geography (The landscape of the place) and civilization (the people living there and their culture).

From my observation in the real world, the two are very much interlinked. Not only that, their relation is so strong that it affects the personality and traits of many of its inhabitants.

I have with me a template which can help you have a better idea of what your world is like and along the way, I’m sure you will find a way to correlate your world with your story. So here it is!

Geography

Draw a picture of the place.
What is the realm like before civilization existed? Was it a dessert? A forest? An ocean?
Based on the above question, what is the most likely resource that the people living there can utilize?
Is there anything special/supernatural about this place? What is it?
Does this realm have any neighbouring lands? If so, repeat these questions for those lands as well.

Civilization

What are the people living in this area? In fantasy, we usually have many races living in one continent. For each one, answer the next few questions.
How long have they been on this land?
How did they end up in this land?
Any significant history that they’ve went through that have influenced their culture?
Based on their geography and history, what jobs are they famous for?
Any logical culture that can come from this?
Based on their culture, what is their governing system? A monarchy, democracy, tyranny, etc?
What are the people there like? Are they liberal, conservative, religious, war-oriented, etc.?
Anything special about these people?

Simple, isn’t it?

Example

This is my world building from my own fantasy book. This is about the City of Dalhar.

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Geography:

What is the realm like before civilization existed? Was it a dessert? A forest? An ocean? ‘

It is a dense jungle filled with tropical trees and exotic beasts. It sits between the sea and a hilly area.


Based on the above question, what is the most likely resource that the people living there can utilize?

Dalhar is rich in Terazine ores, which is a mineral that can be used to store magical energy called Galaviere.


Is there anything special/supernatural about this place? What is it?

It is one of the few places in the world where Terazine ores could be mined. It’s jungle also provides a good shelter and hiding from invaders.


Does this realm have any neighbouring lands? If so, repeat these questions for those lands as well.

There is the human city of Eleazar at its south.




Civilization

What are the people living in this area?

Starbornes: blue skinned humanoids, capable of moon magic, that were descendants of an ancient race from another planet.


How long have they been on this land?

About three thousand years.


How did they end up in this land?

Rescued from a dying world by the moon goddess and placed there.


Any significant history that they’ve went through that have influenced their culture?

The rescue from that dying world signified a new beginning for their species. Starting from scratch, they began to develop artifacts which they could use to utilize magic. This allowed them to faster advancements compared to other races.


Based on their geography and history, what jobs are they famous for?

Hunters and priestesses.


Culture?

Every 12 years, they celebrate the blue moon. It is a day of harvesting a source of moon magic called the Galaviere and storing them inside the Terazine ores.


Based on their culture, what is their governing system? A monarchy, democracy, tyranny, etc?

A dual monarchy, led by the Ashosh (king) and the Tarsya (queen) who are equal in power.


What are the people there like? Are they liberal, conservative, religious, war-oriented, etc.?

They are conservative and very traditional. Influenced by the dual monarchy, both males and females have equal opportunity to have positions of power as well.


Anything special about these people?

They utilize the Galaviere stored within the Terazine ores to create tools and weapons which helped them achieve great advancement.

I know that the example is lengthy, but trust me, my original draft is far longer than this. That’s because I want my characters to have a consistent background and logical traits that correspond to their culture. Not that I am encouraging people to stay in their stereotype, but I am merely acknowledging the influence, whether big or small, that geography has on culture and culture has on character.

With that said, I hope this template is helpful for your writing. And as always, have a nice day!

p/s, i have a few mini-books available for free about the cultures that are portrayed in my fantasy book, The Ocean Hearth. Click here to get them!