Worldbuiling: Crafting Rich, Imaginative Settings for Your Stories (pt 1)

We’ve talked about character creation using my character template, but what good are characters that don’t interact in a rich and inviting world? This is the first in a series of posts about building compelling worlds and societies for our characters to interact in.

Crafting Captivating Worlds

Creating truly captivating worlds for stories is a multifaceted endeavor, influenced by both the readers’ preferences and the author’s intended message. Will the environment be so unforgiving that survival becomes a daily struggle for the characters, or so ordinary that it blends into the background of the “real world”? Even within the “real world,” experiences vary across different regions; a simple drive down the road can be vastly different depending on the country. It’s these real-world disparities that have the potential to profoundly impact your story and characters. As an author, it’s crucial to be aware of these differences to build and maintain the trust of your readers.

The Role of World-Building in Fiction

When embarking on your world-building journey, it is paramount to ponder, What matters in your world? This pivotal question sets the stage for the creation of a compelling setting. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, the battleground between lightness and darkness serves as a cornerstone for the world and its cultures, allowing characters to traverse the glories of the past while confronting present conflicts. Similarly, in Larry Niven’s Ringworld, the main world transcends being a mere backdrop; it is elevated to the status of a character within the larger Known Space Universe. The Ringworld, therefore, functions as both an environment to be explored and a puzzle to be unraveled by the characters. A common thread between these worlds is the pivotal role played by the world itself in driving character conflicts and interactions, thus serving as a linchpin in the overall plot.

Our Roadmap

We’re going to kick-off this series of posts looking at five elements of world building that I feel apply regardless of the genre you’re writing in. These are:

Creating believable cultures and histories, Establishing laws, ethics, and morality, Developing political structures and economies, Building landscapes and geography, and Constructing a cosmology and mythology

All of these elements are inter-twined. A mythology will affect culture and history, the laws and ethics of the people of the world and possibly the political structures. The landscape and geography should influence the economies and cultures, which will have an effect on the history of the people. By thoughtfully considering how these elements intersect, writers create rich, interconnected worlds that offer endless opportunities for exploration and discovery.

Once these five elements have been explored, we’ll add in things that you may want to consider for genre specific worlds, like Crafting Magical Systems and Fantastical Elements, and Incorporating Technology and Infrastructure.

For subscribers, I’ll also share a handy aid for your own world building journey.

If you haven’t already subscribed to get access to the free character template, and my world-building guide, please do. There will be more subscription only content soon, including my novel outline tool that includes the character template.

Subscribe

Follow me on Amazon, GoodReads, or Facebook to get information about upcoming book releases.