What In Your World...?

Today, I want to list off some things to help you figure out your world. Now, keep in mind, you Do Not need to know all this before you write. Some people like knowing all this beforehand, but it's up to you, and what works for you. That being said, sometimes having a list of questions will help as you write the story, so you know what to come up with on the spot when the story needs it. In later drafts of your story, you can figure this out to improve your writing.

We're going to talk about Geography and Population first. When worldbuilding, consider how much different your world is from reality. You can go as far away from reality as you want, it's your story. What's the overall geography and topography of the area relevant to your characters' journey? Are there mountains, lakes, plains, valleys, oceans? What kind of plants exist here? Trees, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, fruits?

Are there kingdoms, city states, seaside towns? Do you have nomadic tribes instead of countries? Who are the main factions and what's the area like between borders? Are the separate kingdoms aware of each other? Friendly? At war?

Now, Who is in this world? Do you have only humans? Aliens? Elves, fae or fairies, orcs, ogres, merpeople, supernatural creatures? Are there monsters, mythical creatures? What kind of other creatures exist? Land animals, sea creatures, birds? Dinosaurs? What's common and uncommon, rare, or extinct?

As you think about this, make sure you don't overwhelm yourself. If it's relevant to the story, definitely figure out as much or little as makes sense. We'll go into more depth tomorrow, but hopefully this gives you somewhere to start.