World building is a process resulting in something that's called a "constructed world". Take a look at the media you're consuming. From books, movies, even games—most of them have some sort of reimagination of reality where their characters function. They have their own sets of rules and limitations, which makes them more interesting. World-building, like its etymology suggests, is the process of building worlds.

Why is it essential? Why do we need to bring upon ourselves the pain-staking task of building a world from nothing? Why can't we just say a certain blob of land was magical and set our characters loose?

Well, what is fiction for you?

Fiction is a type of written or verbal narrative that features events and situations that are not seen in real-life. It makes dragons come alive, spaceships travel in the speed of sound, and alter reality with just a minor tweak. In short, fiction makes anything and everything possible.

Imagine there is a group of knights. These knights cannot fight in wars if there are no wars to begin with. There can be no wars if there are no lands with different governments. There can be no lands if there are no worlds. Without worldbuilding, these knights will still be in their armor (or maybe even without one since it hasn't even been introduced yet!), waiting for a war that will never come.

So, why build worlds?

Because it's the pillar of a fictional tale. The world sets the landscape of a story, defines its rules and limits, sketches out the concrete setting where your characters and the plot will be interacting in, and sometimes, adds substance to the heart of the story.

Plus, world building is fun! It's a perfect way to procrastinate on drafting, as some of my peers can testify to. Your worldbuilding file can also function as an ideas dump where you spill every creative idea you have and hope for the best. It's a good place to cook up spaghetti and receive an omelette after three days. The main point being—with worldbuilding, you never really know what you're going to get! Let your imagination and creativity surprise you.

The next thing you know, you have 300,000 words of worldbuilding details with no idea how to use them.

Discussion Questions
1. What do you know of worldbuilding? Share your own definition of it!
2. What is the first world you've built? What does it look like now?
3. What things are you most excited to learn from this guide?

Still here?  Read on to the next article: Methods of Worldbuilding.

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