Worldbuilding is vital for any story, especially science fiction and fantasy, when you often need to create entirely new worlds. But how do you approach worldbuilding effectively? What does it take to create a deep and not broad world?
I’m going to give you some tips on how to develop your world and give it depth, looking at examples from well-known writers of sci-fi and fantasy. Check out the tips below!
Focus Only on Certain Parts of Your World
Don’t overwhelm yourself with creating every aspect of your world. That leads to broad worldbuilding. Instead, ask yourself: what’s the most important part of my world? When you have your answer, develop that first and foremost. The rest comes later.
For example, a major aspect of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn is the magic system. A lot of the plot, characters’ abilities, and even how the world works hinge on the magic system. So if that wasn’t developed, then the entire world and the story that takes place in it would suffer. So Brandon Sanderson focused most of his worldbuilding on that specifically. The rest came later. What’s important is that the thing readers need to know most about was developed much more than everything else.
To do this, I suggest putting the parts of your world into three groups. Your world will include:
1. Geography, cosmology, people groups, and world map
2. Language, magic system, religion, society, education, customs, and culture
3. The arts, music, songs, riddles, poetry, and more
When you begin worldbuilding, take a look at all these things and decide which is most important, then write down everything readers need to know about only those things. For example, Patrick Rothfuss knew a majority of The Name of the Wind would take place at the University, so he centered his world around that. He built deeply by focusing mostly on the University rather than random details. So when you build your world, focus on digging a well and not planting a field.
Want some more tips? Check out three more tips for worldbuilding a story.
Establish the Setting
Of course, you also need the basics of certain things to create a credible world. Don’t worry. Brandon Sanderson helps out with this, too. In one of his lectures, he describes that your world needs a physical setting. So ask yourself:
1. What does my world look like? (Think of geography, as well as your world map)
2. What does my world feel like? (Think of the climate your story takes place in or how the weather affects the story)
3. What inhabits my world? (Think of plants and animals)
4. What does the sky look like? (Think of planets, stars, moons, etc.)
You can find all this through Brandon Sanderson’s lectures here, but I would like to add something. Be sure to focus on what matters. When you establish this part of your world, don’t get caught up in the details. If your story doesn’t rely on what the sky looks like, then only add a few details in passing, rather than infodumping or spending too much time thinking about it. Avoid the disease of worldbuilding too much!
Establish the Culture
Lastly, you need to establish how your characters live in the world, specifically. This involves building up the culture and society of your world. Like the physical setting, you need to develop where people live and interact; however, to worldbuild deeply, focus only on the cultures that matter.
What do I mean by that? I mean, don’t burden your readers with information about the cultures and societies in your world. Instead, detail the cultures readers will interact with. Ask yourself:
1. What culture/society do my character(s) exist in?
2. What is the most important characteristic that this culture values?
Then ask:
1. What are some customs, taboos, or expectations this culture has? (Also, think about other aspects, such as how the culture treats gender and race, how they dress, and stuff like that.
All these things work together to give your world depth. When you start by focusing on one part of your world, then planting the seeds of the rest of it, your world comes together to make something memorable.
I have more tips on worldbuilding a fictional culture here!
You can get a FREE LIST of 100+ science fiction and fantasy literary journals to submit to when you subscribe!
…
I have a freelance editing service now! Contact me about book editing, beta reading, and brainstorming book titles. Use the contact form below to ask for a free 15-minute consultation.
…
New to the blog? Check out my most popular post here!
#worldbuilding #fantasyworld
You can check out my AUTHOR SITE here.