When it’s time to write a novel, we often need to create several things. These include characters, backstories, plotlines, cities, and sometimes, worlds. World building is a significant part of an author’s work. And while we often associate world building with fantasy works, that’s not the only genre where it’s important.
From Scratch
I’ve always admired authors who can create worlds that are so clear and vibrant that you feel you’re inside them. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and planets like Bajor and Vulcan from the Star Trek series, are a few examples of these. I’d offer the “Honorverse” of Davie Weber—an extensive example of worlds, political alliances and philosophies—as well. These authors knew that the worlds they created had to support and complement their epics such that their novels could not exist without them.
Step by Step
Jerry Jenkins offers his own step by step guide to immersive world building. He provides several questions to ask about the world, including:
Was your world always the way it is now? If not, what was it like before and what caused the change?
How much of your world do you need to show to support the story?
How does the terrain influence your story?
What are the natural resources and how do they impact your story?
A Focus on Topography
Some believe that world building should start with terrain. Reedsy offers its suggested steps for world builders, and one of them—to create map of the territory—gave me pause. This is not because I didn’t envision something like this when creating a world for the second Flight of the Raven novel, but because building a map is such hard work! Nevertheless, Reedsy suggests that it helps, and provides an extensive 31-page guide with questions and prompts to help.
A Focus on Characters
The Write Life addresses world building as well, with quotes from famous authors commenting on their own world building efforts. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, says she starts her world building by thinking about how her character eats breakfast. What type of kitchen does the character have? These questions help her gain a sense of how the society works one step at a time. Self Publishing School suggests that authors consider clothing and what that says about a world. Both Atwood’s and Self-Publishing School’s approaches create a sense of a world from its people, since how they live reflects on their world as well.
Going Deeper into Character
I used an element of the character approach in 2018 while developing back story for Twin Worlds. In the novel, I described the society, economy and physical characteristics of the central worlds –Herai and Hemod—so that the differences and similarities could inform the reader. But I needed to go farther with the second novel—Desert Son—where I created a planet from scratch. One line I wrote addressed the news media. The broadcasters were reporting on the capture of two aliens in the city near the governmental facility, and I mentioned that they were wearing the uniform of the news media. That line came out of nowhere, but the idea of a broadcaster having a uniform says a lot about a world, don’t you think?
How will you build the world of your novels?
