Questions to Help World Build
I’ve realized I have a big problem with my writing. I am awful at world-building. Like, I just start writing without thinking about the world. And since I write fantasy. Well. That’s pretty no bueno and leads to all kinds of problems down the road. So I did some brainstorming with my friends and we created a list of over 100 questions to help think about our stories’ worlds and make them more concrete. Thanks to everyone who chimed in and gave me a hand!
A traditional Japanese clock, wadokei, that counted hours from 9 to 4, starting from sunrise, and then starting once again from sunset. (1-3 were not used for religious purposes.) They’re super interesting and confusing. You should definitely check them out.
Is your story set in the past, present, or future?
Specifically, what year(s), month(s), day(s)?
Are days 24 hours? Or does time pass differently in this world?
How many months are there in a year? Is it a seven day weekday? Does the concept of weekends exist?
Have most existing societies developed a timekeeping device?
Is there a way to communicate across long distances?
The concept of time zones is still relatively new to our world. Prior to the late nineteenth century, timekeeping was a purely local phenomenon. Each town would set their clocks to noon when the sun reached its zenith each day. Do standardized time zones exist across the world?
From a planet perspective, is it Earth? If it is not Earth, or an alternative version of Earth, what is it like? Is gravity the same? Does it have a moon or multiple moons? Can you see other planets? Is it closer or further from the sun? If so, what impact does that have on the climate and passage of time?
What town, state, region, country, continent, planet does this story take place in? What are its bordering/nearest neighbors? Draw a world map if you want.
What kind of land is it? Landlocked? Mountainous? Along the sea? Desert? Tundra? Tropical forest? Plains? Agricultural? Industrial?
What kind of plants and animals are common to the area? Are there any that do not exist in the real world?
What are the most common crops and livestock in various regions? What geographic features influence certain regions ability to grow/raise their crops and livestock (positively and negatively)? Are the regions diets strongly influenced by what they are able to grow themselves, or do other circumstances (like strong international trade) allow them to have more varied selections? How does religion influence what is considered ‘normal’ to eat?
What, if any, natural disasters are common to the region? Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, monsoons, blizzards?
How many seasons does it have? Are any longer than others?
What is the typical weather like for those seasons?
Does the region have any unusual geographical features that set it apart? Perhaps there is some weird thing like Devil’s Tower just chilling out. Or hot springs because of volcanic activity?
Is it easy to travel from place to place within the area? Is it difficult to travel because of terrain/technology issues, or because travel is strictly regulated?
Many stories take place within one city. In Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, a character remarks, “So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams.” What personality does this city have? What soul does it have? What does it dream of when it slumbers? If your story takes place within a settlement, town, or city, give these questions some thought.
Exactly where is it located within the lands you conjured up in the above Geography questions? Does it have a bay? A river? Does it butt up against mountains? Draw a map of the city.
How big is the city? Is it compact, or sprawling?
What is the history of the city? How did it come to be? What tumults and triumphs has it seen?
What is the population? Is it currently increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?
Does the town have any claim to fame? Any tourist attractions? What are they? What’s the story behind them?
If it’s a big enough city, how many and what kind of districts does it have? Residential, Commercial, Industrial, etc. Where are they?
Are there any areas that are deemed unsafe? If so, where are they and why are they unsafe?
Is there public transportation? What kind, bus, tram, train, subway, monorail? Is it good?
How do people get around this city if not by public transportation?
Are the roads narrow or wide? Crisscrossing in a methodical grid or higgledy-piggledy?
What are the buildings like? What materials are they made of? If they’re wooden, are they new wood, old wood? If they’re painted, what colors? If they’re stone, what stone? If they’re brick, is it new red brick or blackened, crumbling brick? If they’re glass and metal, are they sparkling with new hope or dull and jaded?
Are there many skyscrapers? Or are most buildings 1-3 stories tall? What does the skyline look like?
How is the city powered? Coal? Hydroelectric? Wind? Nuclear? Has it always been so?
What is the city’s main source of revenue? Agriculture? Tourism? Manufacturing? Mining? Something else? A combination? Dive deeper into this. If it’s agriculture, what do they grow? Tourism–what is famous? etc. This will help to determine what a lot of people do for a living.
What are the demographics? Ethnicity, age distribution, distribution of upper, middle, and lower class, etc.
How many schools are there? Universities? Are any of them good? Do they specialize in anything? Do schools even exist? Perhaps there are clans that teach their children everything they need, for example, or education isn’t viewed as important.
Are there any particular landmarks within the city that standout?
How many and what kind of restaurants are there?
Are there supermarkets, open air markets, or both?
Where do young people go to spend time? What about adults?
Do people there bustle or do they amble?
What are the nights like? Does the city grow quiet, or does it grow rowdy?
What does the city smell like?
If you had to give your town a color, one that represented its personality, what color would it be?
Main Locations: Houses (or buildings, but mainly houses)
There are many stories that have a house or headquarters or hospital or some sort of building as their main setting. These questions will mostly be geared towards helping you figure out a house, but you can apply these to other buildings too probably.
Exactly where is the house located within the city or outside the city? How does your character usually get there? Draw a map.
What year was the house built?
Was this house built by the current family or their ancestors? Who else lived in the house before the current dwellers? What were they like? Did they leave their mark on the house somehow?
What style is the house? Bungalow? Cabin? A shed? A cave? (makes the following questions mostly useless if so lol)
What is it made of? Wood? Brick? What color is it?
Does it have a lot of windows?
Are the curtains usually open or drawn? Are thee curtains at all?
What does the front door look like?
You enter the front door. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe you use the side door because the front door is for show or something. Anyways. You enter the house. What room do you step foot into?
Draw out the floor plans for each floor. How many rooms are there? Where are they? How big are they? How are they connected? What color are they? What style of decor?
Is there a basement? Is it used or is it just a home for spiders and darkness and unwanted things? How about an attic? Crawlspace?
Are there any rooms that only certain people are allowed to enter? If so, why?
What is the flooring? Carpet? Wood? Tile? Linoleum?
What does the house smell like?
Government/Military/Economy
In other words, “the boring stuff,” if you ask me. But this is a very important aspect of any world.
What sort of government is in place? Democracy, oligarchy, etc? Is it a just or corrupt government?
How are goods exchanged? Bartering? Money? Coins and bills? Credit cards? A specific kind of sea shell? Lol
What are the police like? Strict? Lax? Is there a curfew?
Do taxes exist? If so, do the people feel as though they are heavily or unduly taxed?
Where is the intersection between theology and law? Is it common to have religious leaders in positions of power? Are laws based around religious ideology, or is there an effort to keep them separate?
Is there an organised structure devoted to halting criminal acts? Are they corrupt? Who runs the organisation? How does their reputation change based on demographic? What is the history of the organisation, and how does that history influence how it operates today?
Regarding potentially criminal acts, what is the elgality of prostitution, sex work, ect.?
What about drugs and other illicit substances? Alcohol, illicit drugs, recreational use. Legality, festivity, age limits, etc.
Underbelly. How prevalent is crime, what sort of crime (scaled from pickpocketing to human trafficking) is there? Are there areas that have bad reputations because of it?
Regarding war, are there currently conflicts in the world? Are they international or civil wars? How common is it to have an active war? What is the history of war? What does current warfare look like (Is it dudes in metal suits swinging swords? Have longbows been invented? Gunpowder? Tanks? Missiles?) Is military service mandatory or voluntary? How is the military seen? Is there a sense of patriotism for the military, or does the common man fear it?
Is there stigma around certain genders entering the military? Are come genders regarded as better recruits than others? Is it illegal for some genders to enter the military? Does a person’s sexuality affect their ability to serve?
How has religion influenced war? Have there been holy wars in the past? Do any religious institutions hold their own military forces?
I’ve put these together because events in history lead to cultural change. You can apply these questions not only to the world/country, but also the city or even the neighborhood, workplace, or school that your story takes place in.
What is the history of the region? Who was it settled by? Was another group of people displaced? After that, did any new cultures come in? Did they get along?
Were there ever any wars or serious conflicts in the region? What was the cause and what was the outcome of the war if there was one?
In our world, the internet, social media, and film/tv are massive cultural drivers. They determine the latest fashions, jokes, topics, and expressions. What are the big cultural drivers in your world? Books? Plays? Radio? Oral tradition?
Is it a collectivistic or individualistic society?
What languages are spoken by your characters? Is multilingualism common?
What sorts of cultures can be seen? Do any clash? Do any mesh?
What sort of foods are most common?
What superstitions do people hold? Is there a version of “knock on wood” or throwing salt over your shoulder after a funeral? What are the roots of these superstitions?
Are there religions? If so, what are they? Do any conflict with each other? Are zealots or extremists an issue?
Does slavery or indentured servitude exist?
Are there any class or caste systems? If so, what are they, and what does an average day look like for a member of each class/caste?
How does a person’s appearance change from country to country? Do certain countries have very distinct fashions? If so, are the fashions influenced by religion, surrounding countries, the cultural majority or international trade partners?
How does a person’s clothing relate to their social standing? Is it very easy to assume someone’s roll by appearance alone? Are there punishments for dressing above or below your social standing?
Does the society place a great deal of importance on a person’s presentation, or is the society more lenient on such things?
Is there an emphasis on conformity to a dress code, or is individuality encouraged? How strictly is clothing regulated by gender binary? Is it commonplace to see a man and a woman walking down the street in the same cut of clothes? Is there a social stigma when a person does not conform to the most common form of dress for their gender?
How are sexual rights viewed? Does the LGBTQ community have the same rights as people outside the community? How are sex acts between people of the same sex viewed? Is it legal? Taboo? Are there cultures that encourage those relationships in some circumstances (like how the romans were down with guys with guys in the military)?
Are there any groups of people that are victims of prejudice? If so, who are they, who holds these views against them, and what views specifically are they?
In regards to gender, do certain societies hold differing beliefs? Is there a commonly accepted number of gender identities or does it change regionally? Is the most common gender spectrum a binary, or do certain racial and cultural differences allow for a wider range to be seen as the baseline?
Are children raised by their biological parents or are children considered to be in the care of the wider community? Is it common/acceptable for extended family to raise children, such as parents needing to study, work, or serve time in the military? Is adoption a common thing in society? Is there a stigma around adoption/being adopted? Do cultural or religious views impact how adoption is seen by the wider community? What is adoption like for a single perspective parent? When adopting, is interracial adoption accepted/common, or is it seen in a negative light? Are some societies more open to adopting children outside of their own race?
How is sex and virginity viewed? Does religion influence it? What is the age of consent? What is appropriate on a first, second, third date? Is sex something that is talked about openly, or something taboo? Are you supposed to wait until marriage? Do couples stay monogamous while dating? Do some regions place higher importance on virginity than others? Do some place higher importance on one gender’s virginity than others?
How is marriage viewed? Are arranged marriages a big thing, or are people free to choose? Is monogamy common? How is a marriage symbolized? A wedding ring, or something different?
How is divorce viewed? What is the divorce rate? Can people remarry?
Magic and the Supernatural
If magic or spooky stuff doesn’t exist in your story, disregard this section.
Does magic exist? If so, who can use it? What are the limitations to their magic? What things are they capable of using their magic to do? What things are they incapable of doing?
Are there laws against what kind of magic can/cannot be used? What sort of laws? Who enforces them? What are the punishments for breaking said laws if they exist?
How does the existence of magic affect religion? Are there religious institutions that infuse magic into their worship? Are there religious sects that see magic as immoral and in direct opposition to their faith? Have there been conflicts in recent or ancient history between religion and the supernatural? Do some sects employ people to hunt and/or enforce law over the supernatural?
Assuming that magic does exist, is it taught? Are there different schools of magic? Is there a system of ranking for magic users based on their skill level?
Do non-magic users look towards magic users with respect or fear?
What role does magic play in this world? Has technology not advanced because magic solves many problems? Or has technology advanced and the use of some magics has become unnecessary?
Are there any mythological creatures/monsters, such as vampires, demons, skinwalkers, dragons, or other creatures of your own creation? Are they common? Do people believe in their existence? Do people worship them? Where can they be found? Do they interact with humans? Do humans fear them or try to put up with them as they do nature?
Do the dead continue to exist in some form, such as ghosts or zombies or the like? Can the dead be summoned or brought back to life?
Are there human/supernatural hybrids? Perhaps a half-demon half-human, for example? How are these people viewed by their peoples, and by society as a whole?
How has the supernatural influenced war? Do armies tend to have a mix of regular and supernatural soldiers/weapons? Have there been wars between the supernatural/magical and those without? How does magic influence a person standing in a mixed army? Is it more likely for a magical being to be promoted than a non-magical being? Conversely, are supernatural being forced into service and seen as pawns?
Please feel free to reblog and share, and add on any questions you think should be added!
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