Writing fiction is not simply combining different elements, such as character, plot, and setting. You also need to excel at worldbuilding to create a believable world for your readers.
The term “worldbuilding” is commonly associated with fantasy and science fiction writing. But that doesn’t mean that other genres don’t need effective worldbuilding, as well. You may not be creating a whole different planet, but your fictional story will still revolve around a “world” that may not be exactly the same as what your readers know.
What Is Worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is creating a realistic environment for your readers to “enter” as they read, just as if they were reading about a real place. To understand it better, check out this post on worldbuilding tips, where we discuss why worldbuilding is important, along with basic guidelines for this process.
Worldbuilding Questions
For this post, we will give you questions to think through as you build your fictional world:
Questions About How the World Looks
Understand that the physical appearance of the world you’re building plays a huge role in how your story unfolds.
Questions to help you decide how your world looks include:
- Is your world one concentrated area, or dispersed across different environments?
- What part of the world will the story take place in?
- What aspects of the physical terrain affect the story?
- How is the weather? Is it temperate or severe? What are its seasons?
- How does the landscape look?
- What are its borders?
- What languages are spoken?
- What natural resources are there?
- What are the cultures present and what are their cultural practices?
Questions About the Characters or Inhabitants
The next thing to consider is, who lives on the world you’re creating? After all, the characters can make or break your story, so you need to get a clear picture of what kind of people (if they are humans) live in your world.
- Are the inhabitants human, alien, magical beings, or hybrids?
- How many are there?
- Have they always lived there? If not, how did they come to live there?
- Do they have a class system? If yes, how is it defined?
- Do they have gender or race?
- How do the characters relate to one another?
- Who are their friends and enemies?
- What occupation do they have?
Questions About the History of Your World
Knowing the history of the world you’re creating will add a layer of believability: your readers will know the world didn’t just pop out at the start of page one.
If your story is set in a real country in our real world, brush up on the actual history of the place. Or, if you are writing about a fictional town in a real country, you can create your own history.
- What is the ruling system in place?
- Who has ruled the world throughout history?
- What major events have influenced this world’s development?
- How have the leaders impacted the government—and consequently, life—in the world?
- Did anything historical happen recently?
- How did the country or settlement reach where it is now?
- Are there religious or political events in history that have an impact on your plot?
- Have there been any major environmental catastrophe, such as plagues, tsunamis, or famine? How have these events affected the land and the inhabitants?
- Has the country ever been at war? With whom? Is it at war now?
Questions About Society and Its Rules
In addition to the world’s history, you need to decide on the rules that govern society. This makes the events in your plot more logical to your readers, especially if they play by rules different from what we have in real life.
- What is the governmental structure of your world? Does it have a democratic, totalitarian, or authoritarian rule (or something in between)?
- Who has authority, power, or influence? Is it run by an individual, a family, or another group of people?
- Do the characters follow the rules, bend them, ignore them, or blatantly break them? What happens when they do this? Who administers justice, and how is it done?
- How do the characters view the rules? Do they see them as just and fair, or are they resentful of the rules?
Questions About Social Customs, Religion, etc.
Remember to steer clear of creating a world with only one race of people, as this is deemed unimaginative, or even boring.
Instead, think of populating your world with different races. This gives you the chance to offer a variety of traditional practices. Also note that a well-developed world tends to have customs of dress, food, language, and even national or religious holidays.
- What language habits do the people have? Are they talkative, or laconic?
- What major religious belief do they have? What gods do they have?
- Are the gods actively involved in the world?
- Do they go to a house of worship? What religious services do they have?
- What do the people consider sacred or holy? Do they revere certain objects or symbols?
- What religious rituals or customs do they have?
- How many of the people believe in that religious system?
- Are there other religious systems? How do people with different religious beliefs deal with one another?
- What major celebrations or festivals do the people hold?
- How long do the people work in a week?
- Are gender roles defined? How do people of different genders act?
- How do the people treat birthdays and death?
- Do they get to marry for love? Or are marriages arranged?
- What does marriage look like in your world?
- What actions are deemed immoral or improper?
Additional Questions for Fantasy and Science Fiction World Building
Fantasy worlds add several layers to the worldbuilding process compared to other genres, simply because you also have to think through the fantastical elements:
- Is there magic? If so, how does it operate?
- Who has magic in your world? Where did the magic powers come from?
- Are there different skill levels for magic?
- What are the rules and limitations for the magic?
- What happens when the rules for magic are broken? Are there exceptions?
- What mythical creatures are in your world? Are they the same or different from existing creatures in other literary works?
- What powers do they have, if any?
- Which species are friendly and which are not?
- What languages do the creatures speak?
Download this list of worldbuilding questions as a PDF to print and take with you for writing on the go.
Asking Questions for Worldbuilding
Asking the right questions will help you build a more detailed and believable world. The more relevant details you add, the more your readers will be able to imagine the world you’re creating in your story.
Whichever genre you decide to write in, pay attention to the physical, social, and religious aspects of the lives of your characters, and you will be able to create a more well-rounded setting for them to live and move in!
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Worldbuilding Tips for a Better Novel
- Fantasy Writing Tips: How to Create Your Own Out-of-This-World Story
- The 8 Best World War II Novels
- 17 Science Fiction Writing Workshops to Help You Finish Your Story
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
