Author: Novel_Worm

Requester: Ink_Scars206

Category: Writing Tips

It's an essential feature of any fantasy or sci-fi, and we've all come across books that make us go 'ooh' and 'aah' with the amount of details in the world. You've probably wondered how they thought of such stuff, where they got the ideas, and so on.

I'm going to tell you that secret. But before we begin, let me tell you that I'm no expert. My knowledge comes from analyzing fantasy novels for worldbuilding and rewriting my low fantasy novel as a high fantasy. So, it's because of this that I've come to these conclusions.

What works for me may not necessarily work for you, but I have two different ways you can go about creating your world. I suggest using both of these if you want a realistic world your readers can understand.

I'll also explain how you should reveal these slowly so you don't overwhelm the readers with paras upon paras of details without any actual content or relevance.

But first—how to build an engaging and realistic world?

Part One: STUDY.

I'm aware that most new authors on Wattpad are students. So, to build your novel, you should study.

Let me explain.

A realistic world won't exist just for the sake of it. There's going to be a political system, some sort of discrimination, some history, some trade. There are going to be different professions, problems faced by the world, etc.

For example, in our world, we face a problem of global warming and water scarcity which are hanging threats over our head. Similarly, Amanda Mae (Amanda-Mae) creates an overarching problem in her series Twisted Kingdoms—that of the monarchs' Grace waning. When the gods left the world, they Graced the monarchs with theurgy (Mae's version of magic) and gave them the rules to ensure that the monarchs would forever remain Graced. However, due to their blood mixing with the non-theurgic, their Grace is now waning in all the kingdoms, leading to barbaric laws which require young teens to be wedded to nobles to restore the Grace and ultimately make the readers and protagonist question the ethics of the world's system.

The first book in the series, A GRACE OF CROWNS, is free on Wattpad, a Watty 2016 winner, and I'd suggest reading it and analyzing it for more tips on worldbuilding. It's helped me a lot, and maybe it will help you too. 

So, what better way to find worldbuilding problems than to study? Take out your social science textbooks, look at all the topics listed and create them in your world—just ensure they aren't the same.

Ask yourself these questions: What is the system of government? Is there anyone or any section of society discriminated against? If so, why? What is the history for that place? Did they have to fight a war for independence, or were they the ones colonizing? How did this history shape today's culture? What food do they eat? What clothes do they wear? Do they talk in different languages?

What about religion? Just because some people here are atheist doesn't mean that all the people in the world are. But if that's the case, why? Did something lead to that? It can't have been that way from the start.

Sometimes you need to look at a component of worldbuilding you already have and then go backwards from there.

For example, in my novel, I knew there was a king and five dukes. But why? So I realized that the king was the one that brought all the tribes together to fight against the Colonials, and the dukes were the heads of the major tribes.

There are many more, but these are the basics of any realistic world.

Part Two: OBSERVE.

We do a lot of things in our daily lives—study, eat, sleep, chat, play, etc. Well, won't the people in your world be doing that too?

You need to look around you, take into consideration every action that anyone does, and ask yourself, how do the people in my world do this? Is there any difference? If so, what and why? Maybe it has something to do with their history or with their magic or... anything you can think of!

With this part, you will be fine-tuning all the details of the world, trying to make the characters' daily lives. If you find this easier, write down the actions you do, and then draw a parallel with someone from your world. Daily schedules, calendars, routines, etc. are a part of this.

CONCLUSION

Now, you can use one of these methods without the other, but I suggest using both. That's because method one deals with the outline of your world, with a focus on how to build it. Method two fine tunes it, talking about the daily lives of the commoners. In a good world, both these components exist.

Remember not to go overboard, however. You shouldn't just build worlds so much that you never actually write! Don't spend too much time thinking about stuff that isn't very essential to the story.

There is a fine balance between a good world, an excessive world, and no world whatsoever. You need to learn to stay on the good side (i.e. focus on stuff important to the story). That doesn't mean you shouldn't develop the rest; you should, just don't give it a huge, twisted, and elaborate backstory for the sake of it.

With that, I've told you how to build a world. Now how to put this in your story is a different matter altogether. If you guys want to know more on that, comment inline here↦, and I'll write that too.

Still having doubts? Comment and tag me! If you don't, it's no big deal, because Laine and Aria can certainly answer your questions too.

Want to submit your own Tip? 
Comment in this book and email your entry to [email protected]. We'll review it, and if we think it's well-written and helpful to the Wattpad community, we'll post it! Your entry may be something you have written previously, even if it is published elsewhere. (=

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