World Building

 So, every fantasy writer should know about this 'world building'. 

But what do you start with? Where do you get your inspiration? Is there a questionnaire that you can fill in? What does World-Building generally include?

When I first started looking into world building, I wished there was a list of questions I could answer, and where I'd get my basic understanding of what I needed to do to create the next best seller. I mean, that's what we are all working towards, right?

... So huh, right. Let's move on. 

World building can be as developed as you feel like (well, duh.).As with any important work, you do NOT want to have things on loose paper. I repeat, you DO NOT want to have things on loose paper. A notebook is ideal, because you can take it with you on walks etc.

When I think about world-building, I mostly think about:

-fauna and flora: does my world have different flowers and animals than our own Earth? If so, what is it and what's different? What's similar? Please, also include weather if that's something that's different (and even if it's not, you might want to have a few interesting point for different weather/seasons).

-Society: that encompasses (for me) politics and religions, ways of life. In this 'folder', I include things like ceremonies for birth, marriage and death; is it a monarchy/empire/democracy/tyranny etc. Anyway, you see the drill.

Also, in society, you can include clothes and accessories (that bit can be a lot of fun in terms of research as you can draw or stick pictures in your folder).

-Map(s). That may be a 'fantasy cliche' but it's still relevant in many fantasy books. When you look into it, it doesn't have to be perfect (you can hire someone to do that later on down the line), but you should be able to read it. I know it should go without saying, but take it from someone who's done it: if you colour code it, have a legend with it, same as if you have weird made up words.

Which brings me to my last point (I think). Language and Culture.

Some of you may find it fun and others might find it the most challenging thing of all: Language. Now, I know that Latin is usually the go to for a lot of 'magical' stuff, so you don't have to invent a brand new language (you can if you want to). But. That's part of your world building: from the way the words might roll or catch on the tongue, to the way some letters are 'hiding' or 'eaten'. you don't want to have inconsistencies here. 

Same with Culture. different cultures may mean very little in your world, or a lot. You do the research, you find the similarities and the differences. It could be something simple like clothes or food. That's up to you. The more detailed the research, the better. 

I know that all your research might not pop up in your book and that's okay. You don't want to info dump, I get it. But those little nuances make the difference between a 'it's okay' story and a 'I recommend this book' kind of story.

Alright, leave a comment to let me know if I forgot something (I likely did). 

Also, I'm sorry, I don't have a questionnaire. 

Cheers fellow humans and keep safe.