...AAHHHHHH...I wasn't expecting that fast of a respond! While I'm not complaining, I wasn't expecting. But this will be about world building, mostly in the fantasy side of things. I'll have other chapters about dialogue, book covers, how to write fighting scenes, plot twists, and more coming soon. But for now, let's talk about building your world.

I love doing this, building your own little world is fun. But it can be hard. This is how I approach it and I'll be using the methods I used for the Heir Series' world, Astina.

(1) Create a Map!
Astina is a world that I mapped out....literally...I drew the map. I did this to help me know where the heck my characters are and also make some landmarks that would be important, especially since Astina is for a series and not just one book.

Fantasy worlds usually have ruins, kingdoms, forests, mountains, all that geography. Take out a piece of paper, grab some beans or ripped up pieces of paper like I use and put it on your sheet of paper. This is building the landscape, the shell of your world before you put in the fine details. Magic can be a rule breaker, and if you have that, break the rules, put in areas that defy logic. This is a fantasy world after all, magic is like something that needs to be in a story. But arrange the pieces of paper or whatever you are using in piles or one big one, rearrange till you are happy with it and than draw it out. If you want, look up videos on YouTube on Fantasy Map creation, there are some really great tutorials on how to draw what and how to approach things. But also some advice on creating a world.

(2) The General Details

These details like culture, cities, different civilizations. A city that is built next to an ocean is probably a port town. Laketown in The Hobbit is literally a town on a lake, they are very different compared to Mirkwood which is a giant forest that has elves in it.

But also think about people who lives in the desert would have clothes that cover them entirely to protect them from sunburn while someone who lives in a port town would hate to cover up like that. And while we are talking about deserts, make sure you include a oasis (A body of water) near cities in deserts. But also think about how cities would look, cabin would look weird in a porttown since that cabin belongs in the woods. The woods would be a vast lustful landscape, they have rivers and are home to animals. Ethnically diversity is a major part of world building. Think of it like this, say we take someone who grew up in California and put them in Pennsylvania. I'm only saying PA because that is where I live, not saying which county you stalkers! But we have bad winters, and the fact that cityfolk are so amazed at seeing wide open fields and farm animals is amusing to me. I've been to almost all the states and the cultures are very different, taking it from someone who is from Alaska, moving to Europe and than to Arizona was a big culture difference. So make sure you think about this when building your world, Kingdoms will be different from each other. Where you place your towns and cities would affect on how a person looks. Tanned skin, pale skin, has tattoos, how they dress, how they act all are things that depend on where they are located because they adapt to their surroundings.

Take it from my End of Empire's kingdoms, they are very different from each other and if you need inspiration, check them out, I provided a Kingdoms description for each one and map as well.

(3) HISTORY! WRITE IT!
DO NOT GO IN BLIND! THAT NEVER ENDS WELL! Write out some major history points in a Kingdom. Going in blind will blow up in your face!

Making a timeline can help, include events like if the Kingdom's King was killed, riots that broke out, a siege, major battles won, peace treaties, ordinances, wars, battles, treaties, slavery, anything! It helps you plan out how a Kingdom is. It will help your readers know what Kingdom you are talking about if you are talking about a dead King because that Kingdom lost a King while the others have not.

And I would suggest writing the history behind and ruins you may have as well. Just so you know how they become ruins and who once was there and what is was once used for.

(4) Planning out cultures in greater detail.
This can be hard because you never know where to start. Try filling this out. I found this off another writer that I use for my worlds.

FOOD:
What food do they normally eat? (Each social class is different. A noble would have roasted pheasants while a peasant would not)

How do they get their food? (Trade, hunting, etc..)

What special foods are there during celebrations?

RELIGION:
Do they worship a god? Spirits? Animals? Deities?

How do they worship?

Do they have rituals? It yes, what do they do?

How often do they worship?

Where do they worship? At home? Temples? Special place with a religious meaning?

What happens if they DON'T follow the rules of their religion?

What those rules?

Do they have objects they use?

Are there people of that culture that does not agree with the religion?

What are the moral teachings?

Are there other sects or divisions/branches of this religion?

Do they have special clothes they wear?

What is the religious hierarchy? (Such as Priests and popes or monks) Are certain people more important than others? Are certain people at the complete bottom? (Like the untouchables in India)

Do they use their religion as a form of healing illnesses? (witch doctors)

Do they connect with the spirits of the dead?

How old is this religion (This would be in the Kingdom's history)?

What are their celebrations, ceremonies, festivals? What are they based on and how are they executed? Dancing? Parties? Try to think of something unique.

How do they please the gods? Sacrifices? Cannibalism? Not sinning? What happens if they DO sin?

How is the society organized?

Do they believe in reincarnation?

Remember religion would have a huge impact on a person's life.

GOVERNMENT:
Well, common sense much but don't make two cultures the same. Like how the U.S is a democracy while England is a Constitutional Monarchy. They are both very different from a dictatorship.

Who is the leader/King/ruler?

How are they chosen? By the people? Through birthright? By strength? Through a contest?

Who makes the laws? The ruler? Her/His subordinates? The people?

Who enforces the laws? Is there a type of police force? Guards? Patrols?

What happens if a law is broke? Jail? Stocks? Death? Community Service? An eye for an eye? Do the people who were hurt in the crime decide the punishment?

Are the rule breakers considered scums?

MILITARY:
Most place require a type of military to protect themselves from attack of other nations. But sometimes, Kingdoms who do not believe in violence would not have a military. Make srure you know where your Kingdom or place stands.

Fighters and soldiers are usually not only needed for protection from other nations, but also internal conflict. The people won't always be 100% happy with their government.

Keep size of armies in mind. A city of 10,000 won't have an army of 90,000. Keep the army proportional to the population of your place.

Who are the soldiers? Men? Woman? Children? Teens? Who is allowed to join? What happens if they aren't allow and try to join anyway?

How does someone get into the army? A draft or volunteer?

Are the soldiers feared or respected by the people? Are the soldiers just and fair, or abuse their power? Are certain people expected to join the army? If they don't, are their consequences socially?

What weapons do they use? Keep your resources in mind. Soldiers typically have cheaper while generals have they fancy stuff. And keep the era you are writing in in mind as well.

What the chain of command? Who gives the orders? Does she/he have a replacement/right hand man/ An adviser? Keep in mind that Generals and Commanders do not typically go onto a battlefield given their importance.

What is their fighting style? Combat strategies? Guerrilla warfare? Do they surround their enemy like wolves or fight head on?

Training: How do they train? Where? What do they do? Is it like boot camp or do they spar with each other? How do they practice their skills? Who teaches them?

Food, water, shelter? Who supplies them while they are on the move?

RECREATION:
What do they do for fun?

Games they play?

Dancing?

Arts and Craft?

Sports?

Competitions? (think of like battles to the death.)

Fighting?

EDUCATION:
Do children go to school?

Are certain children more privileged and not have to go?

Is an educated person more valuable than a normal person?

What do they do with children born with mental illnesses? Do they kill them or take care of them?

What do the children learn?

How long do they stay at school?

Do they need school to make it in the world?

Who teaches them? A teacher? A nurse/maid? A priest? A mage?

Where are these schools at?

What is the school? (What is the building I mean.)

Are there a lot of them?

Is there an application process or you just walk in?

LANGUAGE:
Are there accents? Accents are important, they define characters, but do not go overboard!

How is the language different from others?

Are there any slang?

How are they about foul language? Do they accept it or is it looked down on? Most places, cursing is looked down on.

TRANSPORTATION:
On foot?

Cars?

Wings?

Horse and buggy?

Horse?

Teleportation?

ECONOMY:
Do they barter and trade?

Do they borrow money or is that seen as shameful?

What happens if you can't pay a bill?

Are there free things in the society?

How do they treat the poor?

Is there a lot of poverty?

Is it important to be rich?

Do they have money?

Is food rationed among the people, or do they have to buy it?

Where are goods bought? Marketplaces, malls, shopping districts, etc..

Can goods be returned?

ENVIRONMENT:
This goes with map-making. But remember this, USA doesn't have a jungle in it at all while South America does. Kept your geography consistent or else it would seem strange to be one minute in a forest and than in a tundra next. Make sure it makes sense before you commit to it.

ART:
Do they paint?

Write? Poetry? Novels?

Sculpt?

Dance?

Martial Arts?

Jewelry?

Interior decorating?

Landscaping/ gardening?

MUSIC:
Fast pace?

slow pace?

What genre do they like? (keep time period in mind)

What instruments? (time period in mind)

Do they have words in their songs?

Is there a restriction on music? W

SOCIAL CONDUCT:
Are elders respected? How about babies and children?

Swear words? What's allowed and what is not allowed?

Are woman limited? Are men?

Are there specific gesture one must use when talking to someone of higher status? (like a bow or curtsy)

How do marriage propoals work?

Are women seen as inferior to men and not allowed to look them in the eye? Are men inferior to woman?

Are people of lower status allowed to talk to those of higher status?

How are nobles treated?

How are commoners treated?

Are there slaves? How are they treated?

What do they value?

(5) Naming your worlds
Go onto fantasynamegenerator.com. They have some cool generators for almost everything you can think of! And remember to name everything. Name rivers, oceans, Kingdoms, towns, cities, military bases, jungles, forests, everything!

It ain't easy creating an entirely new world. But I hope I helped in some way. Be creative with it, it is your world! Do some more research if need be!