Posted: May 21, 2024

---

If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard this term before, but just in case you’re still wondering, worldbuilding means quite literally what it says: building a world. Whether you’re creating an entirely new world from scratch or just building your understanding of the existing world, you’re collecting pieces of information that are integral to your story.

Most of it, though, won’t actually go into the story. It’s recommended that only 10% of your research actually goes into the story. Why? Because as the author, you should know everything that’s going on, and whether you share it with your reader is determined by the plot. You may feel compelled to add every little detail or fun fact that you’ve learned along your writing journey, but that will only overwhelm your reader.

But then why do all that extra research? you may ask. Why come up with all this extra information if you’re not going to use it?

The reason is simple. It gives your writing confidence. If you know what you’re talking about, it will come across clearly in your writing, and your readers will feel it. This is especially helpful in historical fiction, where in-depth research is a given, but it’s also very important for Fantasy, Romance, and other genres. It paves plot holes, gives your writing depth, and roots out inconsistencies before you can even write them.

So, how do you get started?

Types of Worldbuilding

There are two distinct types of worldbuilding: macro and micro. Macro worldbuilding is the Big Picture stuff. What world is it set in? Does magic exist? If it’s set on a different planet, what’s the climate like? Et cetera. For fantasy worlds especially, you may even draw a map of the world as well as the specific location the story is set. Micro worldbuilding is the opposite. It focuses on the details. What language(s) do the people speak? What season is your story set during (if that matters)? What kind of food do they eat? What kinds of jobs do they have?

Potential categories for macro worldbuilding:

• Planet (The entire planet. Is it Earth? Something else?)
• Map (Draw a map of the main location of your story, whether you’re an artist or not.)
• Magic System/Rules (A large piece. If there’s magic, what are its limits? Keep this handy; you will use it A LOT.)
• Geography (Again, like the map. If you’re building your own world, how was the land formed? If not, how does the landscape affect the story [city vs rural area, etc.]?
• Climate (What is the weather typically like? Hot? Dry? Cold? Wet? Does this affect the story at all?)

Potential categories for micro worldbuilding:

• Religion (Does your world have a religion? Multiple? Who do the people worship? Why?)
• Culture (Different culture for cities and towns. Different groups based on ethnicity, background, social status?)
• Food and Drink (Main resources and how they prepare their food. What’s traditional? What’s considered rare and exotic?)
• Technology (How advanced is the technology? Is it medieval, Victorian, modern, futuristic?)
• Transportation (How do people typically get around? Do people travel, or tend to stay put?)
• Class Structure (Is it heavily segmented?)
• Jobs (Considering the location, what kinds of jobs do the people have? What responsibilities and needs must be met?)
• Politics (Who governs the group? How is the system organized? How is it corrupt [every system is corrupt in some way]?)

Worldbuilding and Characters

Worldbuilding goes hand in hand with building your characters, though they are two different exercises in writing. They are affected by one another, but separate. You may choose to switch between the two. Or you may choose to complete all of one, then all of the other, then revise. Whichever you choose, experiment to find the best method for you.

Characters are always affected by their surroundings. How does their social status, diet, and religion affect who they are? How did the world shape their upbringing? If they were raised somewhere else and were brought to the story’s main location, how do they react to everything that’s new?

For example, in Dune, Paul and his family move to the desert planet of Arrakis from a planet that was abundant in water. They quickly learn how much the lack of water on the planet has affected its culture and practices, and how important it is not to waste. The politics and power struggle are the same, but their points of view must shift.

Balancing Worldbuilding and Writing

Some writers find it immensely difficult to focus on worldbuilding because they don’t plan ahead of time—they just write. Other writers begin outlining and researching and they get lost in it, finding no time to actually sit down and write the story before they lose interest.

The key is balance. It might be difficult, but once you get the hang of it, things go that much smoother.

A good exercise when worldbuilding is to write fiction about it. Meaning, for example, if you’ve just put together the magic system for your fantasy world, write a short story about it. Perhaps you have two wizards fight a duel. Or you describe a difficult ritual. Or you write a fairy tale for the children of your invented world to teach them about magic. Use an existing character (or make one up) to test the limits of your system. Push it to the edge. Does it work? Does it make sense? Is there something you can tweak? Writing a small story like this also helps set those limits more firmly in your mind so you don’t accidentally break them when you write the actual story later on.

If, instead, you’re the type of writer who wrote your story before doing any research, or you’re just not the type of person to write things down—put that way of thinking aside. You don’t have to plan before writing, but you should always do the appropriate research before a book is published. Even for fiction. Fiction doesn’t need to be realistic, but it does need to be believable, and making it as accurate and consistent as possible is the best way to achieve this.

Once you’ve gotten down your first draft, all you need to do is record what you’ve written in a systematic way. How does your society function? Why does it function that way? You may find that in the process of organizing this information, you find something that doesn’t quite add up. Now you can fix it when you revise your second draft.

Other Tips

You’ll probably also want to keep in mind a list of sources for your research. While a lot of worldbuilding can simply be made up (mainly in more fictitious works) don’t discount real research as well. Books and websites on the internet are valuable tools at your disposal that you shouldn’t waste. You don’t need to record things in perfect MLA or APA format, but try to jot down where you got your information: a book name and page number, a URL. You never know when you want to go back and check the original source so you can tweak your story’s information.

As for where to record all this information? Personally, I have a different document for each category. I find that much easier than having a single 50-page document of research (even with headings I can use for navigation). Overlap is natural, and I typically include information in both areas, just more focused on its specific piece.

You can almost always tell when an author has done their research for a book or not, so what are you waiting for? Go out there and make your book the best it can be!

Related Articles:

Top 10 Tips for New Writers
Top 10 Tips for All Writers
Top 10 Tips for Writing Captivating Stories
Writing Good Characters
Writing Compelling Villains
Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Rules

Related What is...? Articles:

What is a First Draft? [writing]
What is Plot? [writing]
What is an Outline? [writing]
What is Character Building? [writing]
What is Beta Reading? [review reading — pre-launch]