World-Building

[sarillia]

I noticed that I'm not the only one around here who likes to write fantasy and come up with my own worlds. So how you do go about it?

For me it depends on which elements of the world will be most important to the story. I have one where the religion is very important so that's what I started with. Other times it may be a political story so it's the government that's most important. Or the family structure for more domestic stories.

Once I've figured out the elements that are most important to the plot, I go through a typical day in the life of my main character and write down any questions I have. What food do they eat? That will largely depend on indigenous wildlife in their climate and how sophisticated their trade networks are. Same with what clothes they wear.

So how do you all build your fantasy cultures?

Comments

[sarillia]

For me the amount that I build that will actually show up in the story varies. My usual approach is to only build what I have to so that I will actually start writing and not get caught up on the worldbuilding forever. But there are times when I really enjoy the world I'm making and I go deeper.

I actually created a mythology for my latest project but that's because it's set at a temple and the characters will be learning and teaching about the religion so it was important to know. But I've also done it for other stories where it wasn't as important. I love creating religions especially.

I haven't studied history much academically beyond the requirements at school but I do enjoy researching on my own.

[serria]

I love creating religions, too, which probably comes from a personal interest in religion and mythology (especially ancient stuff). The "epic" I'm working on actually has several religions, as some of the characters from from different countries.

For worldbuilding, I know I sometimes do go overboard - I find it fun to write short essays about whatever element of my world, but that's probably time better spent actually working on my story. Still, even if I don't use it all, I like being able to add little details here and there that (hopefully) make the story feel more authentic.