When you think of incredible world building, some of the top authors that might come to mind would be Brandon Sanderson with his sprawling mythical worlds and magic systems, or J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth with its lore and history.

Some others have come across recently have been Stephanie Garber‘s Caraval (see my review) series where the world seems to breathe with whimsy and magic. Or Cornellia Funke’s Reckless series that mixes modern and fairytale.

However, you don’t have to create a brand-new language to make a world feel rich. All it takes is some time with a piece of paper and a pen and lots of questions. Here are some of my favorites when putting together the histories in my fantasy worlds.

Significant events:

To start, it’s important to make bullet points of all the significant events that need to have happened in your world to shape your character’s world today. (The key here is to highlight the aspects of the world that relate to your character(s).

Are they living in the slums, barely getting by on what they can hunt and forage while the buildings around them are crumbling from past bombings?

Is your character one who once had a lot of money, but because of circumstances out of their control, they barely have enough to eat?

Determine the past events you need for your character to start their journey of growth.

Persons in Power:

This section needs to highlight who the governing bodies of your world are. Who are they? Would you consider them kind and benevolent leaders? Or are they harsh and vindictive while thinking they are the heroes?

How are laws made up, and why do they need them? What are they protecting (or think they are protecting) their citizens from?

Put these down in your history sheet.

Myths, Superstitions, and Legends:

Myths and legends can be a powerful way to ramp up the history of your world. What stories did the kids in your world grow up with? How has it shaped their beliefs?

Are characters afraid to walk the streets at night because of the myth of monsters in the shadows? Do they always pick up dandelions that have gone to seed and make a wish as they blow the seeds away?

For this step, determine what myths and legends are in your world and try to write at least a paragraph on each one.

Catch-phrases and Idioms:

Does your character always say something specific when they’re excited or frustrated? If not, they should. This not only helps solidify character voice, but it gives a glimpse into their relationship with the world.

In my novels, elemental magic is a big part of the world building, so my characters use a lot of references to the element they are closest to (i.e for earth magic, “Where in the wandering woods…”, “Thank the gems,” and “withering trees…”)

Another thing to consider are the idioms of your character’s culture that came past events?

For example, in our modern world, we may use the phrase “Nest egg” to refer to something we are allowing to grow. This term came from farmers leaving one egg behind in the coop to encourage the chickens to lay more.

Small things like this can deepen your world and they way your characters move around it.

Geography:

When you think about the physical location where your characters live, consider what forces shaped the landscape. When they walk out their door, are they in a run-down urban setting, or are they greeted by fields of rolling pasture lands?

Or are there large broken spaceships dotting the sand from an ancient star battle and this is where the damaged ships landed?

Did bombs hit the city and how has that shaped the way your character lives now?

Did your character always grow up on a farm in the middle of nowhere or is a forced exile?

Who fought in the war and who won?

Concluding thoughts:

The four areas I listed above are not the only ones you can utilize in your worlds. But hopefully this will give you a start and help you to deepen your understanding of your world and why your characters behave they way they do.

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