People make the world. They are the reason we are here in the story. Without them, there is no story. How can we create people and their societies?
I want you to look at your life in your hometown. Look at your life in the area you live compared with the next one over. Look at the country you live in compared with another. There are differences in the people and how they live. Their values and ethics are different, their lives are different and their lifestyles are different.
In your world, no land, no city or village will be exactly the same. Is there any defining details to your people's lives that another society may find odd or have in common?
There will always be differences abroad. Is life in France the same as life in Sri Lanka? There may be similar aspects but the details are at odds with one another. Do the English eat the same way as the Japanese? No. Perhaps some do but not all.
You add the differences to make a world seem large even if you haven't been overall creative in our building.
One way to plump up the feel of vast difference is Culture Shock. If you have been abroad before, has there ever been anything striking to you? Or have you read that people in some country do odd things and been taken back?
To make any society one must focus on the typical day of any random member of the society. Everyone has a different life and means, yes but we also share similarities.
A student at college will wake early for classes (alarms and Tequila providing), run/walk/crawl to college, sit a few classes and go home.
A typical day. Perhaps there are certain rituals your people will do in their lives everyday.
Morning: Who wakes up in the house first? Who makes breakfast? What must be done in the morning? Are there certain chores to be done? What time is the best to go shopping in the morning? Who would be on the street if you looked out the door?
Noon/Afternoon: Are there any precautions at noon for labourers working in the sun? Are there are less or more people in the streets after/before noon? Does work end in the afternoon? If so, what do people do then?
Evening/Night: Are there any curfews in place at night? Who would be outside at night? Where would be the nightlife of the society? Is there any rituals in the night? Is it dangerous to be out at a certain time? If so, are there any methods in place to protect people?
Do remember that different classes have different daily lives? The bigger the differences the more interesting and troubling your world and political situation.
France is famous for its baguettes and delicate pastries as well as its snails and frog's legs. Italy is famous for its wine and pasta. Scotland has its haggis and Ireland has its humble potato of many forms. If I say paella, we immediately think of Spain. If I say cheeseburger, we think of America. If I mention korma or goulash or tikka masala, we know its Indian cuisine.
Food is and will always be the center of society. Foods can be banned or consumed in great quantities.
Food that is banned usually has a reason why. In some predominantly Muslim countries, pork is prohibited. In India, beef is not widely eaten due to Hindu beliefs. These are due to beliefs and religion. Of course, food can be banned by political reasons such as boycotting trade with an enemy.
Food that is consumed in large quantities, are usually easily obtainable and easily made and always locally sourced. In Ireland, we eat the humble potato because it grows well here and we're terrible fond of it and once we ran out of them and we kinda died. A lot.
Differences in diet will always be focused by class and status.
Everyone believes something. Not in gods or god or money. People have values that they prize or have different understandings of ethics.Lets look at two Greek cities.
In Sparta, they valued strength, courage, love of country and war. They believed that men AND women had the responsibility to protect and better the country. They would train and fight. Children had to be born to ensure the betterment of the empire so men were encouraged to marry and singletons were booed in the street. Women had rights and were treated with respect, being granted headstones in death but only in cases of birth-related deaths as they had died serving their country. Being gay was okay but in some cases only up to a certain age. This was the case for many young warriors who were paired with older warriors to be lovers and students. Spartans were bloody and often incited rebellions between themselves and their vast amounts of slaves. Spartan women were famous for short skirts. They whipped young boys before the statue of the virgin goddess Artemis to appease her. When young boys were seven they were sent to war camps to train. They were beaten and starved and had to rely to thievery to live and were only punishment for getting caught.
Athens was the reserved city state. They valued knowledge, purity and honour. Women had very little rights and were rarely allowed out of their homes without their men and denied education. They were married off to breed children and disallowed the right to vote. They dressed well, with all areas covered excepting during the Olympics were everyone was nude. Being gay was OK. Athens had slaves but always maintained that freeborn and citizens should have work too. Paedophilia was rampant. When wars came, they conscripted their men alongside their standing armies. It was a nation of thinkers and knowledge. They focused on their reputation of naval excellence, artistry, philosophy, medicinal attributes and their democracy.
Fashion is different everywhere. To some societies, seeing naked tribal peoples is shocking while to some seeing the conservative clothes of the Amish is equally gobsmacking.
The cut, style and color of clothes is and always will be a staple in society. One land may wear light linens and silks due to the warmth while another may wear furs and wool. Different styles in each land can attribute a larger sense of vastness and space in the world.
There will be different tastes and limits everywhere. In some countries they will prefer short clothes and some may choose long clothes.
General factors of a land's choice of clothing are sourcing, wealth, weather and opinion.
