There are a lot of articles out there about worldbuilding and different ways to focus your ideas and create something fully-formed. All of these steps are important, but there are a few general things you need to keep in mind BEFORE YOU EVEN BEGIN. Here are a few ways to get started and focus your ideas:
Plot and World Should Go Hand-In-Hand
Just because you’re creating an extensive and (hopefully) interesting world doesn’t mean you don’t need to focus on plot. The PLOT should come out of your WORLD. They should be tied together and they should support each other. Your world should serve your story, so it should make your story stronger. Your plot and your world are connected to each other, but story comes first.
Your Book is Not a Manual
You’re not worldbuilding in order to show your readers how it’s done. You don’t have to state everything that’s happening in your world within carefully planned paragraphs or info-dump constantly throughout your novel. You want to reveal your world through the story, not just spend chapters explaining how it’s built, how it runs, and what it consists of. Your novel will quickly get boring if that’s the case. Use story to reveal your world.
You Can Create Your World According to Any Rules
You are not bound to the history of our own world. Although, a lot of worlds people build are based on Earth in order to maintain some familiarity, you can make up your own rules. A lot of people defend racism and sexism in their novels by saying “that’s how things used to be or are in our world”, but this isn’t our world! You don’t have to be confined by anything that’s happened here. Get creative and do something different, if that’s the direction you want to go in. Don’t let people tell you it’s unrealistic.
There Should Be Consistency
Whatever happens in your novel needs to make sense. If you have a world without magic or any basis of magic, you need to remain consistent. You can get creative, but you need to stay true the rules of your world THAT YOU CREATED. Your story will get confusing if your readers don’t understand what can and can’t happen. Be clear. This isn’t to say you can introduce an element later, but you need to lead up to it.
Conflict Still Matters
Your novel can’t just be about your world. There still has to be exciting conflict, NOT characters written solely to show off and interact with your world. People aren’t going to be impressed with your world if it doesn’t go anywhere. Also, think about how your world aids in promoting conflict. Is there something about your world that facilitates the conflict between two characters? Think about how the two go hand-in-hand.
Maps, Maps, Maps
Know your world. If you find it all hard to keep track of, find a way to create maps. Having visuals will help you develop your world effectively and remember where you’re going. Make sure you keep everything straight.
-Kris Noel
