Worldbuilding Ins & Outs

Welcome writers! This month, we’ve given some tips on “Worldbuilding Ins & Outs." These are great tips to review both before you start your novel and especially after you've finished as you prepare for revision!

Tip 1: Worldbuilding applies to all fiction writers—yes, that includes you! Regardless of whether your book is set in the real world or an imaginary one, your story will be more immersive when you take the time to develop it.

Tip 2: Setting is just where your story takes place: a location. Worldbuilding is understanding why your setting matters to the story you're trying to tell.

Tip 3: Ask yourself: would moving your characters to a different setting have any impact on the plot? If your answer is no, you need to do more worldbuilding!

Tip 4: The world might be as small as a cubicle where your office worker has memorized the coffee stains in the carpet while she deals with disgruntled customers or as large as the universe where a space pirate uses a lost wormhole to rediscover earth.

Tip 5: Your characters weren't raised in a vacuum! As you develop their world, think about how it influenced their identities. How does it impact their culture and background?

Tip 6: Your world will come alive when you ground it in details that are specific, relevant to the plot, and personal to your character.

Tip 7: Keep your world consistent with itself and with readers' expectations. Readers expect the world to be round, so give a reason if it's flat (Tolkien did!) and don't contradict it with circumnavigation.

Tip 8: Know your world inside and out, but also know that your readers may never see some of this information. Your expertise will still enrich your writing.

Tip 9: While worldbuilding, don’t go overboard on planning—you may never get to writing if you do! It’s still a good idea to have some planning in place, but you don’t need to know everything.