My Favorite Worldbuilding Tools
Last week, I talked about worldbuilding lessons that I’ve learned as a history major (here’s the link to that blog post if you want to see it!). Today I’m switching gears and talking about the best tools that I’ve used in my worldbuilding. I’ve been unofficially creating worlds as long as I’ve been reading fantasy (which is about the same time I started writing, so at least over a decade), but I didn’t start actually trying to build those worlds until I was in my teen years and honing my hobby-turned-passion. So, today I’m going to go over some of my favorite resources for the beginner worldbuilder. Books Storyworld First by Jill Williamson - This is the book that started it all for me. My mom put this book on my Kindle in 2017, and I immediately fell in love with not just Jill Williamson’s books, but also her method of worldbuilding and the different facets of developing a storyworld. This book covers creating a map, civilizations, creatures, magic (arguably one of my favorite parts of the book), history (this is my favorite chapter by far), and so much more. And, you epic fantasy writers like me who want to write battles and skirmishes, there’s a bonus chapter all about writing fantasy fights!
A Field Guide to Elves, Dwarves, and Other Magical Folk by Aaron Sautter - Along with the other books in this KU-exclusive series, these books give the basics on these mythical creatures. I used this particular book a lot when creating the appearances of my non-human characters. CliffNotes’ Mythology by CliffNotes - I’ve always been a huge fan of mythology, especially of the Greek and Norse vein, which is why when I started worldbuilding, I regularly consulted this book for inspiration when it came to creating creatures and storyworld history.
A Dictionary of Tolkien by David Day - I mostly used this book to make sure the names I (and my writing friend) came up with weren’t already taken. Hot tip - if you’re using a similar language base as Tolkien to create names for your storyworld, cross-reference the Silmarillion or this book if you can manage it (or Google the name).
Software(s) World Anvil (https://www.worldanvil.com/) - When I was really active on the Nanowrimo forums, a few of us (especially R.M. Archer) were particularly active on this site. I’ve never used this site’s competition (notebook.ai), mainly because I found World Anvil to be too amazing to try anything else. If you’re looking for a website that will store all of your worldbuilding info and allow your fanbase to see your storyworld as you make it and do all of this for free, then you need to try out World Anvil! If you want to learn more about it, R.M. Archer has a great post about her favorite features of the site and why she likes WA so much.
Google Sheets (sheets.google.com) - There is nothing quite like a good, old-fashioned Google Sheet to store all your fantasy-related thoughts. You can use a simple Google Sheet/Excel Sheet to store all of your half-baked fantasy ideas. When I knew I wanted to start developing different languages for my book, I compiled a list of words and their meanings in various languages on a sheet.
Websites Azaleas Dress Up Dolls (azaleasdolls.com) - I used this website all the time, mainly for the LOTR and Hobbit Scene maker game. Sadly, the murder of Adobe Flash (yes, it was murder, because they unncessarily killed it) made most of Azaleas’ games (including said scene maker) stop working altogether. But this site is still functioning without Flash, and their fantasy-geared games are amazing if you’re wanting to create some fun character art.
Artbreeder (https://www.artbreeder.com/create) - Before OpenAI, there was Artbreeder. This low-functioning AI platform basically blends different styles, pictures, and other forms of art into a mash-up masterpiece. I never did get the hang of this website (and honestly I love my siblings’ handdrawn art more anyway), but this is a valuable tool if you’re wanting minimal-maintenance fantasy art.
Fantasy Name Generators (https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/) - This website has so. Many. Different. Names! It’s unreal how many different types of names are available here on this site.
Roll for Fantasy (https://rollforfantasy.com/) - This is a companion site to Fantasy Name Generators and is a mash-up between an art generator and a name generator. It’s not as developed as the first site (it’s still a relatively new endeavor) but it still is a trove of fantasy worldbuilding treasure.
These are just a few of my favorite worldbuilding tools. Do you have certain tools you like to use in your worldbuilding? Comment below and let me know!
A Field Guide to Elves, Dwarves, and Other Magical Folk by Aaron Sautter - Along with the other books in this KU-exclusive series, these books give the basics on these mythical creatures. I used this particular book a lot when creating the appearances of my non-human characters. CliffNotes’ Mythology by CliffNotes - I’ve always been a huge fan of mythology, especially of the Greek and Norse vein, which is why when I started worldbuilding, I regularly consulted this book for inspiration when it came to creating creatures and storyworld history.
A Dictionary of Tolkien by David Day - I mostly used this book to make sure the names I (and my writing friend) came up with weren’t already taken. Hot tip - if you’re using a similar language base as Tolkien to create names for your storyworld, cross-reference the Silmarillion or this book if you can manage it (or Google the name).
Software(s) World Anvil (https://www.worldanvil.com/) - When I was really active on the Nanowrimo forums, a few of us (especially R.M. Archer) were particularly active on this site. I’ve never used this site’s competition (notebook.ai), mainly because I found World Anvil to be too amazing to try anything else. If you’re looking for a website that will store all of your worldbuilding info and allow your fanbase to see your storyworld as you make it and do all of this for free, then you need to try out World Anvil! If you want to learn more about it, R.M. Archer has a great post about her favorite features of the site and why she likes WA so much.
Google Sheets (sheets.google.com) - There is nothing quite like a good, old-fashioned Google Sheet to store all your fantasy-related thoughts. You can use a simple Google Sheet/Excel Sheet to store all of your half-baked fantasy ideas. When I knew I wanted to start developing different languages for my book, I compiled a list of words and their meanings in various languages on a sheet.
Websites Azaleas Dress Up Dolls (azaleasdolls.com) - I used this website all the time, mainly for the LOTR and Hobbit Scene maker game. Sadly, the murder of Adobe Flash (yes, it was murder, because they unncessarily killed it) made most of Azaleas’ games (including said scene maker) stop working altogether. But this site is still functioning without Flash, and their fantasy-geared games are amazing if you’re wanting to create some fun character art.
Artbreeder (https://www.artbreeder.com/create) - Before OpenAI, there was Artbreeder. This low-functioning AI platform basically blends different styles, pictures, and other forms of art into a mash-up masterpiece. I never did get the hang of this website (and honestly I love my siblings’ handdrawn art more anyway), but this is a valuable tool if you’re wanting minimal-maintenance fantasy art.
Fantasy Name Generators (https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/) - This website has so. Many. Different. Names! It’s unreal how many different types of names are available here on this site.
Roll for Fantasy (https://rollforfantasy.com/) - This is a companion site to Fantasy Name Generators and is a mash-up between an art generator and a name generator. It’s not as developed as the first site (it’s still a relatively new endeavor) but it still is a trove of fantasy worldbuilding treasure.
These are just a few of my favorite worldbuilding tools. Do you have certain tools you like to use in your worldbuilding? Comment below and let me know!
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