When writing a fantasy novel, inventing an entire universe is not out of the question.

It’s actually expected! From mystical creatures to strange lands, the better you know your world, the better the audience will be able to visualize it. It is a fantasy world after all!

[For the sake of your sanity and my own, I’ll be avoiding the topic of creating languages (that is a whole other lesson in and of itself).]

If it’s your time to play the almighty Creator, here are some questions to ask yourself before your characters begin their journey.

1. What races or beings are the focus of the story?

No matter where you go in our world, cultures and dialects vary far and wide. The diversity is vast and the contrast from one region to another speaks volumes of humans’ abilities to evolve and adapt to the area where they’ve settled (if their groups chose to settle at all).

To start your story, get a grasp and understanding of the person or persons of interest. Are they humans? Or is there a different race of focus? How many races are there? Understanding the ins and outs of how these beings look, in appearance and in action, will be critical to forming a solid picture in the audience’s minds.

2. What is the geography of the starting location? What about other locations that come into the story at a later point?

Visual descriptions are crucial to creating an image in the mind of the audience. Knowing the geographical layout of the region will help with what professions, religions, and cultural practices may occur within the specific location. Geography heavily impacted where early settlers would construct towns. Be thinking about why and how this location would be an advantageous location. If there is nothing but a desolate wasteland as the setting, you better have a good reason why your character is there.

This may be the perfect step to outline a quick map! (One of the best parts of writing fantasy, if I say so myself.) Draw up some quick borders and boundaries that can change at any time the story evolves. If the story involves some sort of journey or traveling, you’ll find having done this before hand will save a lot of headaches as you draft the story.

This post is not sponsored by them, but a good website to check out is World Anvil. It’s a great tool for worldbuilding!

3. What are some of the ideologies, professions, and holidays of different regions?

Once you’ve developed some geographical details about your world and its lands, you’ll be ready to develop the groups of people who inhabit it. You already know about your protagonist and their background. Now let’s look at the other people around the fantasy world. Many they aren’t all people, be thinking of that as well. You don’t necessarily have to develop every region. But knowing of a few so your characters can reference and perhaps even run into those of different regions can really help in fleshing out your story and pulling the reader into the world. The more you know about your world, the more confident the reader will be in your story.

Coming soon, I’ll have a post with ideas for this very topic! Stayed tuned!

4. Are there any global or local conflicts that can or will affect the story of the protagonist?

We all are living our own lives. But there are outside influences that affect the choices we make. It should be no different for your characters. Whether a war in another nation affects the economics of their region, or the politics between their nation and another causes problems on their journey, there will always be worldly factors that can and will affect your characters. Not only will this make your world believable, but it will create another layer of tension to keep the audience on edge. Do they live in a dangerous city? Did they grow up in a nomadic tribe where they are accustomed to constant movement? Can a war break out at any moment? Are the characters safe in a certain region? Politics may not always be the focus of the story, but it will definitely play a role in the ins and outs of society. Sorry, but you can’t avoid it!

5. What are the senses coming into play with the characters and settings?

Sights. Sounds. Smells.

These are all super important to create a vivid world with dynamic characters. Don’t just tell the audience about the history and details. Show it to them. Take them on an adventure through the humid rainforests, rampant with insects and long grasses that tickle the ankles. Introduce them to the merchant who hasn’t bathed in several days and smells of the onions he cooked for dinner last night, with his curly hair, oily and static upon his head. The reader doesn’t just want tall buildings and blue-eyed characters. They want a world to escape to and characters that feel like more that stick figure your 5-year-old drew.

This is not the be all end all of writing fantasy. These are questions to ask when diving in. Many other questions will pop up along the way as you find yourselves in the trenches of your fantasy world. Don’t force it. Allow it to come to life in you. And take inspiration from the real world whenever stuck. Do all this and you’ll be on your way to crafting universes in the blink of an eye!

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments below what you think is the most important question in crafting fantasy worlds!

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