In the previous post, I mentioned the importance of world-building as you begin to develop your story. Today we’ll be going more in-depth and talk about what techniques you can apply to your book.
But before we get started, keep in mind that world-building is for books that take place in their own world (hence the term). If it’s grounded in reality or history, then you can skip this step.
And now on to the post.
1). History
Our first thought of world-building is creating, well, the world. But we often make the world without thinking about its history. What happened before the story? Were there wars? Ancient civilizations? What happened to them?
Answering these questions can help your reader fully immerse themselves into the story.
Let’s look at The Hunger Games. Panem used to be North America before an apocalyptic event. It was then divided into thirteen districts and the Capital. After a failed revolution, the Capital bombed District Thirteen and started The Hunger Games as punishment and a warning against future revolts.
Spoilers. Sorry.
By giving us this info, we know about past conflicts and the brutal nature of the government. Readers can quickly get a grasp on the situation as the story gets underway.
2). Inhabitants
Now that we have our world, we need people to fill it. And depending on your genre you could have different species. You could have various types of aliens for science fiction, vampires and werewolves for supernatural, and elves and orcs for fantasy.
We also have to think about how they interact with each other. Are there hostilities between certain species? Or do they mingle without any problems?
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Lord of The Rings take different approaches. In the former, Narnia consists of both humans and magical creatures like centaurs and talking animals. The relations between the two groups are fairly good as they live amongst one another. Granted, this changes drastically in the sequel Prince Caspian, but there’s peace between the people in the first entry of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Lord of The Rings is much different. The different people live separated from another. There are the kingdoms of men, elves, and the mines of the dwarves. And there are open hostilities between the elves and dwarves.
Think about how the people would interact with each other and the fictional world will feel like a real one.
3). Culture
This feels redundant after the previous section, but it’s not. Different societies naturally have different cultures. And they could have differing views on magic or science.
Harry Potter obviously has magic, but it’s used so much by wizards that it’s become commonplace. Yet they’re awed by modern technology.
So think of your book. If there’s magic, is it viewed religiously or as just something they encounter every day? The same applies to technology. Do they embrace or reject it?
There are other examples, so think about what cultures make up your world and what makes them unique.
4). Government
World, check. People, check. Culture, check. The last major thing is the type of government.
Is it a kingdom, democracy, or dictatorship? If it’s the first two, are the leaders benevolent or corrupt?
And how do they manage their economy? Do they have their own currency? How does it tackle its infrastructure?
While the idea of government is very broad, it’s the details that help flesh it out. Think about the small things and work your way up.
World-building is no small task. But if you tap into your imagination you can create your own living, breathing world. One that others crave to escape to.
And that itself is the goal of every true writer.
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