the master list that will help you make your world believable
One of the most magnetic qualities of any work of speculative fiction is the imaginary world where it’s located. But making such a place, one that breathes and reaches off the page to capture readers, can be daunting. You have a premise but no setting, and you’re struggling with the question, overwhelming in scope: how to make a fantasy world from scratch just like that?
In my opinion, this should be fun, not an agonizing trial. We just need to nail this writhing hydra down so you can come at it with a plan. To that end, I’ve assembled a comprehensive list of details to consider as you embark on this journey of creation.
Geography
- barriers natural: what keeps people from moving about?
- canyons
- rivers
- lakes
- oceans
- mountains
- deserts
- barriers manmade: how do people limit themselves?
- walls
- borders
- manmade wastelands
- how do people travel?
- highways
- rivers/ sea lanes
- portals?!
- unusual features
- battlefields
- natural wonders
- scope/ mystery/ blank spaces
- does the world extend beyond the map?
- do your characters know anything about what lies beyond?
- forbidden zones
- areas too dangerous to go
- areas considered sacred or profane
- catastrophes: has disaster left its mark on your world?
- volcanos or earthquakes
- meteor strikes
- tsunamis
- climate/ weather
- how many seasons?
- are there storms?
- flooding/ landslides
- look up!
- moons?
- anything special about the night sky
- For more in-depth discussion on developing your geography, look here.
Flora and fauna
- anything not found on Earth?
- are people predators or prey?
- what animals are domesticated?
- forests or jungles
- wetlands
- grasslands
- deserts
- scale: got any giant plants? elephant-sized birds?
- For a more in-depth discussion on how to populate your environment with plants and animals, look here.
Locating your people
- urban setting
- architecture
- bad neighborhoods
- street food
- ritzy areas
- popular entertainments
- are there walls and who is allowed past them?
- immigrants
- temples
- institutions of learning
- parks/ greenery
- are the streets all paved? is there glass in all the windows?
- festivals/ special events
- rural setting
- who’s in charge
- does the culture differ from what’s going on elsewhere?
- architecture
- holidays
- migratory populations
- what makes this necessary or desirable?
- mechanics: do they have help from animals? do they use vehicles?
- schedule: how often do they shift locations, and on what basis? seasons? the movement of herds of animals? something magical you invented?
- if you have any combination of the 3, how do these peoples interact with/ feel about one another?
- For a more in-depth discussion on fleshing out the manmade aspects of your setting, look here.
Culture
- education
- how educated are people?
- how is learning achieved: apprenticeships, home schooling, a school system
- child rearing: whose job is it?
- gender roles
- family structure
- sexual mores
- marriage
- how does the institution work?
- is it controlled by the state, the church, or someone else?
- noteworthy holidays
- when
- what’s being celebrated
- what activities are traditional
- class system
- clothing/ accessories
- language
- does everyone speak the same language
- if not, how common is multilinguism?
- body art
- piercings
- tattoos
- something less obvious
- music/ art
- entertainment
- games
- sport
- theater
- values: what’s most important to people?
- community
- family
- adhering to a code
- food and drink
- mind-altering substances
- is their use common?
- how do people feel about those who imbibe?
- For a more in-depth discussion on the basics of culture, look here.
Economies
- coinage
- decimal/ non-decimal
- discs of precious metal or something else?
- is barter ever used instead?
- property
- restrictions on who can own land or inherit wealth?
- banking
- do banks exist?
- if not, where do people go when they need a loan, and whom do they trust to safeguard their money for them?
- trade
- employment
- guilds?
- serfs?
- a flourishing middle class?
- industry
- resource dispersal: who’s got the good stuff?
- is organized crime a factor?
Religion
- pantheon: who are your gods?
- names
- natures
- duties, if any
- weaknesses
- enmities
- rituals
- how formalized is worship?
- consequences of heresy
- priests: who are they?
- vocation
- caste
- chosen by destiny
- do we like and trust them?
- how real are they?
- CREATION MYTH
- witchcraft/ magic: is it heretical or part of your faith?
- lesser demons: are there magical or mystical beings between the gods and humanity?
- death/ the afterlife
- is the afterlife provisional on faith/ behavior?
- is it considered desirable?
- funerary rituals
- is death shunned/ feared?
- are ghosts a thing?
Law
- where does the ruler’s power come from?
- divine grant
- will of the people
- might
- wealth
- something else
- who makes/ enforces the law
- the government
- the church
- someone else
- combination
- is law codified?
- what is the age of majority?
- if there’s magic in your world, is it regulated?
- contracts
- get everything in writing OR
- a conversation and a handshake: someone’s word is their bond
- inheritance
- agnatic primogeniture is not a law of nature!
- appanage
- citizenship
- available to all or only some
- who keeps track of this?
- what rights and liberties can citizens expect?
- trials
- adversarial (the court is a referee, prosecution and defense argue the case)
- inquisitorial or non-adversarial (the court investigates the merit of the claim)
- is it possible to appeal a decision? to whom?
- who deals with crime?
- how are those who run afoul of the law punished?
- fines
- prison
- corporal punishment
- rehabilitation
- something novel and more interesting?
History
- dead civilizations whose impact is still felt
- old wars/ animus between peoples
- migrations historical or ongoing
- forgotten stories/ secrets deliberately hidden
- how long have people been where they are?
- legendary individuals
- how is it recorded?
- written
- oral
- documented with visual art
STEM
- science
- what is people’s understanding of the world around them?
- is scientific study a noble endeavor or selfish and dangerous?
- technology
- machinery
- metal smelting
- civil engineering
- medicine
- are there professionals?
- how do people understand health?
- magic: does it possibly belong more under this heading than culture or religion? that is, is it an industry?
You’re ready to start inventing!
Hopefully this helps to jog your mind and get the creative juices flowing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, please understand: you don’t need to answer every single question, let alone in detail. Most readers don’t want to get bogged down in pages-long info dumps, and (I’m sorry to say) you’re going to come up with amazing ideas that never find their way onto the page.
If anything here feels unclear or you like an idea but aren’t sure how to put it to use, further posts will be forthcoming. I’m doing a long-form piece on each section, talking in greater depth about the questions we raised here today, and will link to them as they arrive. Until then, good writing!
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