Tips on World building

[candiedcotton]

Huh, this is one of the few questions on this forum that I'd say has an objective answer.

I believe you should always, ALWAYS do your world building before or during your initial draft. Mostly before, but stuff will often be added during rough drafting as well. I think you should absolutely always have a good, solid world foundation before really putting the story together.

[Avonguardian]

Focus on the area of where the story takes place, think about the structures of the world, beliefs, politics and general vibes of what you want your story to have. You can develop other areas as you truck along but the country or place of which the story take place needs a strong foundation to stand on.

I recómmend Hello future Me on youtube!

[darthmongoose]

Important question:

By a Medieval story, do you mean a story set in the real world medieval period in a specific place and year, or a story set in a Fantasy world with a roughly medieval tech level?

[Lucky_Foot]

It depends on your writing style, and where you fall in the writer spectrum.

Some writers prefer to do all their world-building before they start writing their story. They create maps, timelines, character profiles, and other reference materials to help them keep track of the details of their world. This approach can be helpful for writers who like to have a clear plan in place before they begin writing.

Other writers prefer to do their world-building as they go. They may have a general idea of the world they want to create, but they prefer to discover the details as they write. This approach can be useful for writers who like to follow their instincts and let the story guide them.

Finally, some writers do a combination of both approaches. They may have a general idea of their world before they begin writing, but they also leave room for exploration and discovery as they write. This approach can be helpful for writers who want to have some structure in place but also want to be open to new ideas and possibilities that arise during the writing process

To keep it short, I would recommend trying different approaches at the beginning to see what feels better to you. The draft phase is perfect for that ^^

[Five]

Fantasy not real one, but it’s a medieval era

[Five]

I’m a pantser; I usually let the story guide me, but this is my first time writing a medieval story and I feel like the expectations for this kind of world is high. But anyways thanks for all the replies; I’ve created a rough draft of the world already, I’ll most likely let the story guide me on the rest.

[darthmongoose]

Okay, so... you're writing a pre-industrial Fantasy world.

You should probably start by considering things like:

What sort of biomes is the story set in - What crops can be grown natively, and what animals can be hunted or reared for food and clothing? And what building materials are available?

Read books and watch documentaries or youtube videos about life in medieval times in countries that match the sort of vibe you're going for. The Witcher draws heavily from Medieval Poland, for example, while Game of Thrones (or more accurately, A Song of Ice and Fire) is based on the War of the Roses in Medieval England, but has various other countries with a different vibe (like the Dothraki are a bit like Mongols, for example).

Also be aware, the "medieval period" is a really broad period spanning centuries. Early medieval life, armour, weapons and art are very different from late, so you need to also decide on what tech level and cultural sophistication you're aiming for.

Looking at this depiction of the Battle of Hastings from 1066...

And this depiction of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415...

Perhaps illustrates how much development happened in the intervening 350 or so years in art and the technology of warfare as we go from people in long hauberks of mail to plate armoured knights on armoured horses, and ranks of longbows, and the artistic development starts working with perspective and atmospheric scattering.

You'll also want to factor in what magic can do in your setting and who has access, because if magic is widely available, it will probably accelerate technological and social progress, but if it's controlled by just those in power, it could enforce a feudal system.

Basically, go study some history!

[InfiniteLine]

I love worldbuilding! Definitely one of my favorite aspects of writing fantasy and sci fi.

In terms of planning ahead or making it up as you go… It depends a little bit on how you plan to post your novel/comic. If you plan to post as you write (or only a few chapters ahead), I’d definitely recommend doing some world building up front even if you’re a pantser. This way you can have some consistency and something to build the story off rather than having to discover the world as you go and wishing you’d done things differently in the earlier chapters already posted. If you’re planning to write the whole thing or a good chunk then go back and revise before posting then you can definitely just pants to your hearts content!

Brandon Sanderson is always a good resource for worldbuilding tips and strategies and I highly recommend his lectures on the topic.

Good luck!

[BoomerZ]

My advice is do just enough research and planning to tell your story, no more no less. The local crops? Unless it comes up in the story no one cares. The political system used by the country? If the characters don't interact with it, it doesn't matter. Most peasants and free people knew the king by name only. They never met him and it had little to no impact on their lives. They are more worried about doing their job, whatever it was. You can keep the setting very vague and the reader will not know the difference as usually whatever happens over that hill they never interact with. I would just say don't get too into the world building aspect and focus on the story being told. That is what the reader will remember.

[cherrystark]

Do your research and then trust your gut. For me, I like to start small. For example, if your MC was a fifteen-year-old girl living in a harem or was raised by servants. Where would her information come from? Misinformation? What social constraints would she have? What daily tasks does she have?

Two of the biggest issues I've seen with medieval-inspired fantasy are that 1. writers often go too big. A lot want to be the next Brandon Sanderson so they jump in 110% on overly complicated universes and prepare 100+ page reference guides to explain their work. (Not even joking about this.) Unless your story is polished to perfection and you pledge yourself to a marketing god, your work isn't going to sell.

And 2. Writers don't think through all the details of their character choices. One example I see a lot is the female hunter who has to support her family because either she's orphaned or her parental figure is disabled and/or abusive. They paint her as hunting and drinking ale every day, shunning female-coded things. They don't take into account how much meat a deer produces or how long it takes to eat it. She would also need to know how to prepare meat and raise a garden so that her family has a balanced meal.

My examples are two extremes but if your MC is involved in a task, you should be able to clearly show them doing the task. No one is going to care about your worldbuilding as much as you are, that's just a fact. But if you do your job right, we'll care about the people living in your world.

[darthmongoose]

And 2. Writers don't think through all the details of their character choices. One example I see a lot is the female hunter who has to support her family because either she's orphaned or her parental figure is disabled and/or abusive. They paint her as hunting and drinking ale every day, shunning female-coded things. They don't take into account how much meat a deer produces or how long it takes to eat it. She would also need to know how to prepare meat and raise a garden so that her family has a balanced meal.

YES ^ This is really important!

A lot of fantasy writers hyper-focus on the masculine aspects of life, like what weapons there are, and what power the king has and how many women he sleeps with in brothels, and anything to do with the world of women (and often the world of women as a modern person would see it) is sidelined, even though it's super-important. Things like how food is preserved and prepared, how raw textiles are made into fabrics, what fashion and jewellery denotes social status.

The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones is a really funny book, but also one that pokes fun at a lot of the cliches in fantasy stories this causes, like how nobody ever wears socks with their leather boots (ew), everyone eats the same thing every day regardless of season or region etc.

It doesn't take a ton of detail, but a little specific detail inspired by the landscape goes a long way, like have the characters arrive in a seaside town and be excited to eat the fresh fish and seafood the fishermen just brought in, and have the locals remark on their strange clothes, perhaps they're wearing a distinct style of clothing or jewellery associated with a certain town, or their accents sound funny (If you're from or have ever been to the UK, you'll know regional accents can change literally town-by-town even now, and this was even more prominent before radio and TV, and especially before train travel.).

You don't need an entire detailed history of the region, but just adding some flourishes adds a lot like:

• Is there a special regional dish, maybe using something like a local animal or plant? Example: the town of Melton Mowbray in England is famous for pork pies, even today, or the Champagne region of France for...well, champagne!
• Is there a distinctive characteristic of local fashion, perhaps using a local mineral (metals or stones), animal (fur, wool, leather, feathers, bones, ivory) or plant (dye or fibre)? example: Ancient Celts painting blue patterns on their skin with woad, or Native Americans wearing eagle feather head-dresses as a sort of badge of honour and achievement.
• Does the town or country have an emblem, coat of arms or flag?
• Is there a distinctive local landmark? It could be something amazing, like the pyramids of Giza, or the Colossus of Rhodes, or something more down-to-earth, like a ruined castle the locals say is haunted, a lighthouse, a church or temple, or an oracle, an old ring of standing stones, a bronze statue of the town's founder or hero, or a large graveyard from a plague a hundred years ago.

[candiedcotton]

Can I just add, one thing that drives me crazy in more primitive or medieval settings is that everyone has perfect Herbal Essence hair. People wore braids and things like that for a reason. It kept you cleaner. Having a bath was often a luxury. Washing clothes was a bitch and a half. General hygiene is often ignored in these stories and it's really noticeable.

[cherrystark]

A lot of fantasy writers hyper-focus on the masculine aspects of life, like what weapons there are, and what power the king has and how many women he sleeps with in brothels, and anything to do with the world of women (and often the world of women as a modern person would see it) is sidelined, even though it's super-important. Things like how food is preserved and prepared, how raw textiles are made into fabrics, what fashion and jewellery denotes social status.

1000% agreed. As a romantic device, I hate the concept of harems/reverse harems. I think they're completely sexist. But harems in a historical context are gold: political intrigue, backstabbing, women lobbying for better positions, etc. Watch any c-drama, it's good stuff. A fantasy story where the female MC saves the day using her brain instead of her brawn would be incredibly interesting. A lot of the greatest spies in history were women. Why not show them in fantasy stories? She doesn't have to shot and fight good to be well-rounded.

[river121693]

Basic things like environments, cultures and even aesthetics can be done before or after. But I personally think compelling story arc for the character should always go first. Then You can alter the world to fit that arc— politics and locations that are dependent on the story for example.

[AmazementComics]

You probably have some idea that sparked your creativity already, the reason you are even attempting to build a world. Maybe you have a cool character, a theme or plot point you want to explore or maybe a unique location.

Whatever that kernel that got you thinking is, start there. If it's a character explore who he/she is, start to think about where they might live, what their past was like, who their friends and family are, what they strive for etc. Each question you answer builds the world a bit more and will likely open new questions. Just keep asking questions and you will soon have a world.

What does the landscape look like? What does buildings, villages and cities look like? Who lives in this place, who lives in the next village, who lives in the far away lands you only hear rumors about? Drawing a map is also something I would recommended, it at least helped me make my ideas concrete.

Is there magic? Who can use it? How does it work? What can it do and maybe more importantly what can't it do? What problems does it cause for the characters?

When it comes to plot, I find it easiest to start from the character, what do they want and why can't they have it? What makes the character worth telling a story about? What makes them go on an adventure (or whatever they will do)? Who or what stands in their way?

I wouldn't worry too much about falling into standard tropes, some familiarity can be a good thing, but of course you don't want to just copy someones ideas. Take the tropes you like, throw in something unexpected, mix it up a bit and you will probably find your world growing into something unique quite fast.

[Five]

Thank you all for the replies, I’ll use what I learnt in the story. I’ve also done and plan to do a lot of research. Thanks once more

[powerplantanimations]

I think it's important to note that the writer has to be like water. I'm constantly changing stuff about my world. Once I'm like "Okay THIS IS how things are done" another detail comes up and I have to restructure things. I had things set in stone before going into my comic, but before the Dodgeball Arc, I had to change everything again.

I like to compare it to a game of Wack-A-Mole lol. You hit one mole, another pops up.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I worldbuild whenever I want; if I feel like down an intensive worldbuilding rabbit hole before I start anything else, I do that - conversely if I don't feel like worldbuilding, I'll just work on another aspect like the plot/characters without forcing myself to worldbuild first.

I wouldn't worry too much about writing your self into a corner by not having all your worldbuilding nailed down from the get-go; if you're anything like me, it's inevitable anyway as you come up with new things you want to include that don't interact with your previously established stuff in the most convenient ways. Embrace it! The coolest pieces of worldbuilding I'm most proud of arose from solutions to difficult compatibility problems like that. Things I try to come up with all at once always feel basic and lackluster in comparison XD

Conversely, I wouldn't force yourself to worldbuild when you're just not in the mood or your heart's not into it, just because you 'should'. The best worldbuilding is more than a collection of facts; it's how everything interacts, and if you're anything like me, you'll have an easier time thinking of cool interactions when you're excited

[adkahdj]

The coolest pieces of worldbuilding I'm most proud of arose from solutions to difficult compatibility problems like that. Things I try to come up with all at once always feel basic and lackluster in comparison XD

I 100% agree with this. If I follow what I'd like to do ideally I would end up with something deja vu. I like adding stuff 'I don't like' or 'that don't fit too well' or 'that don't look harmonious'.

That forces me to add some quirks to my world and story that makes it really unique. Last time for instance there was a poster here who shared some drawings and his kings looked very small in comparison to the people around him. I find it an amazing opportunity to add some character to the King. He's now a short king not a boring average sized King.

[system]

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.