If you’re a fantasy author, you know how difficult it can be to create an entirely different world from nothing but your own imagination. I have some must-dos when it comes to worldbuilding that can be really helpful when you’re just starting out! Here is my list of essential questions that you should know about the world you’re creating (you may not need to write all of these into your story—but they’re important to know!):
1. How is the government in this world set up? Is it a monarchy? Is it a democracy? Is there no government? This can affect laws in your world, and consequences of what will happen if your characters break those laws.
2. What kind of currency is used in your world? Is it coins? Do these coins have a name? Do people just trade?
3. What types of people/creatures live here? Elves, fairies, dragons, unicorns, etc.
4. Are the social classes separated? What is the wealth gap like? Do some people live in castles while others live in tents? Or is everyone in similarly-sized homes?
5. How do people make money here? Are there any jobs that stand out or is it similar to the real world?
6. Draw a map of your world. If there are different countries or territories, add those as well. Name different important spots, like big cities, oceans, small villages (if relevant to the story), forests, mountains, etc.
7. What do people do for entertainment? Do they go to the theatre, do they have dance performances, is there music? If there’s music, what kinds of instruments?
8. If your story is focused on a country or territory, how does this place get along with other parts of the world? Do they have a country that they are friendly with or not-so-friendly with?
9. What kind of food is there? Is there a specific food or drink that is unique to this place?
10. What kinds of clothes do people wear? Is it different for people with certain jobs or higher social classes?
11. Does their written language use symbols or letters? Does their spoken language have a name? Does their written language have a name? Do people from different areas of this world (or different species) speak a different language?
12. How do people in this world react to change? Do they embrace it or push it away?
Hopefully these questions can help you come up with a realistic world and help you fill in some blanks. These questions helped me a lot with figuring out the world I was creating and the society inside of that world. I didn’t end up using some of these details in my book (and of course there are a lot more details you can add) but just knowing this information makes the world easier to write, and it makes it feel more real. Keep writing and keep asking yourself questions!