Worldbuilding Resource Round-Up
Today I have the resource round-up for you guys that I’d intended to post last month and ended up replacing with a post on infodumping. Hopefully these resources are helpful. :)
General Worldbuilding
10 Points to Think About When Worldbuilding by Hannah Heath at Hannah Heath
The Art of Worldbuilding by Rhianne at Little Novelist
How to Use Multiple Tiers to Worldbuild Effectively by Hope Ann at Kingdom Pen
Worldbuilding Bible Template by Ellen at Ellen Brock
5 Details that Will Bring Your Fantasy World to Life by Melissa at Project Canvas
Questions to Ask When Worldbuilding by Annmarie at Project Canvas
5 Common Worldbuilding Mistakes and How to Correct Them by Naomi at Kingdom Pen
The Outlining Process: A Bullet Worldbuilding Checklist for Your Novel by Evie at Evie Driver
5 Ways to Worldbuild by Vicki at NaNoWriMo
Creating and Characterizing Fantasy Races by Kaylie (guest poster) at Write for the King
Worldweaving (this is a whole website that has information on several aspects of worldbuilding)
20 Questions for Worldbuilding by Alyssa at Alyssa Hollingsworth
Creating Science Fiction Worlds – 10 Important Questions (It says sci-fi, but the questions can apply to any kind of worldbuilding. I also dion’t know for certain who wrote it, so I’m going to leave that blank.)
Creating Science Fiction Worlds Part II – 10 More Questions (See above.)
Questions to Ask When You’re Worldbuilding by Jennifer at Jennifer Ellision
Worldbuilding: Animals (And Monsters) by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin
Worldbuilding: Government by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin
9 Tips to Start World-Building by Thorn at Creative Writing Guild
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions by Patricia at Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
Worldbuilding 101 by Ruthanne at The Write Practice
The 5 Keys to Seamless Worldbuilding by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin
7 Worldbuilding Tropes Science Fiction and Fantasy Need to Stop Using by James at Gizmodo
3 Steps for Creating Realistic Fantasy Races and Creatures by Kaitlin at Ink and Quills
An Introduction to Worldbuilding by Kristen at Well-Storied
Developing Fantasy Cultures by Hannah at Dan Koboldt (This whole site is a great worldbuilding resource, so you should have a look around.)
Questions to Ask When Creating a Fantasy Religion by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer
Culture
Creating Culture in Fiction: 15 Things to Consider by Clara at The Invisible Author
Questions to Ask When Creating Fictional Ethnicities by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer
Worldbuilding: Festivals & Holidays by Yours Truly
Tips for Building a Fictional Society (a #StorySocial recap) by Kristen at Well-Storied
World Building: Having a Cultural Focus by Gabrielle at Write for the King
World Building: Using a Base Culture by Gabrielle at Write for the King
The 5-Minute Shortcut to Creating Cultures by J.S. Morin at J.S. Morin
Creating a Fantasy Culture by Athelas at Red Lettering
Magic
Creating a Fantasy Magic System by Jason at Write Good Books
Questions to Ask When Creating Magical Worlds by Melissa at Quill Pen Writer
Storyworld Building: Types of Magic by Jill at Go Teen Writers
Know How Your Magic Works by Jessica at Mythcreants
Worldbuilding: Magic at The Writersaurus
How to Create a Believable Magic System by Atsiko at Atsiko’s Chimney
Designing Realistic Magic Academies by Hannah at Dan Koboldt
How to Create a Rational Magic System by Chris at Mythcreants
Maps
Practical Steps to a Rewarding Fantasy Map by Tineke at One Year Adventure Novel
Worldbuilding Tips: Mapmaking by Gabrielle at Write For the King
Worldbuilding By Map by Jonathan at Fantastic Maps
Worldbuilding Considerations: Maps at Reference for Writers
Map-Making 201: Naming Things by Jill at Go Teen Writers
To Create a World: Part 1: The Map by Hannah at Ink Blots and Coffee Stains
My “Deep Worldbuild Project”
(I’ve learned a lot since last year and have tentative plans to do another series like this based on my more recent worldbuilding endeavors, but there’s still some good info in here.)
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 1: Map Outlines
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 2: Landscape and How it Affects Culture
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 3: Wildlife
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 4: Technology and Magic
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 5: Religion
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 6: History
Deep Worldbuild Project Part 7: Culture
Additional Resources
In addition to blog posts, there are some other things I’d like to mention.
Storyworld First* by Jill Williamson of Go Teen Writers
This is a super helpful book; my copy has sticky notes on multiple pages in almost every chapter. A couple of the posts I linked to above from Go Teen Writers are drawn from this book, so if you like those you should consider getting the book. (*The above link is an Amazon affiliate link, which means I get a percentage of the price at no extra cost to you.)
Aeon Timeline
This is helpful if you want a timeline of your world’s history, and later you can expand it to include your main story timeline. It’s a really useful tool.
Scrivener
This is helpful for organizing your world’s information and solves the problem of having to jump between a dozen files by keeping all of your story documents in one handy “binder.” You can jump between them via an interface on the left, and there’s even an option to view two files side-by-side. (Handy if you’re editing or, in this case, if you’re in the middle of a scene and have to look up what that animal is called that they just ran across; have the scene in one panel and keep your place while opening your fauna info in the second.)
You can find even more worldbuilding posts on my Writing Tips: Worldbuilding board on Pinterest (there were a lot on there that I thought were too specific to include in this collection, but they’re on there if you want to see them) and map-drawing references on my Maps board, and stay tuned for a couple of worldbuilding posts next month.
Subscribe to my newsletter to download my country development template
* indicates required
Email Address *
First Name *
