Writing: How I Build a World

I wanted to share something I’ve been dying to share for quite sometime and I’ve decided to share my template. I leave you to decide to put down how much or little detail as you want. This template should be used a springboard and to be used to keep track of important information. I will not pretend this is perfect. It isn’t but this is what makes sense to me and doesn’t overwhelm me as much. Hope this helps those who are in my position right now. Keep in mind, you are allowed to be out of order from my list.

I put these things in the order I, usually, do them. These are the things you need to keep in mind before you get the green light to start your story whether you post it raw or start on the rough draft. I start writing in notebooks and post-it notes before I write in Google Docs just so I can have two different copies. You never know when your laptop’s going to die or when you misplace your notebook. Both get updated at the same time.

1. Characters: I usually have an idea of who I want in my story and so I start here. No matter how big their role is, this is their section just so I can reference for later use. I put down their personality, what they look like, and their role. Over on RoyalRoad, I have a story called Death’s Cat. The main character is named Styx and this is how put down the description: Styx is a young man who has been abandoned by his family at the hospital and poisoned by Enid. He made a deal with Hemlock the catsith to get revenge. He starts off a bit meek. It’s brief and I kept in the important information I need to remember when writing the next chapter for Owen’s story and how he reacts to what’s happening to him. I will also advise making a subsection like I did with another book I’m planning writing just for familial and lines of succession in case that is important.
2. Setting: This is where the story takes place. I start with the bigger setting and then I get into more and more detail. For example from Death’s Cat, the main character is named Styx. He lives on a planet called Paradise and on the continent called the Seeding Continent. Paradise is basically like Earth with different continents that fits a certain theme. The seeding continent has wildflower fields between forests and cities. I even include Styx’s hometown of Leaffall Town. As you can read, it’s basically what the cities and the continents look like and with who the patron fae are which is King Rowan. (This is planned to be serialized so it’s okay not to know King Rowan right now.) I don’t use this to put down history as I will be adding it to the timeline. I would include the culture there under each setting of land/continent/ect.
3. Timeline: Yes! Nailed that segway into my next topic. By now, after thinking about my characters and my setting, I usually form a timeline. This is so much easier to do it on the computer but I use sticky notes to add more details if I have years. I usually order them with numbers like 1, 2, 3… You get the idea. How I normally go about timelines is that I only talk about the past events before we get to the first book. You see, I’m a plotter to an extent and then I pants the heck out of it once I feel like my timeline is solid. How far you want to go back is up to you but, please, make sure you include the important information. With Death’s Cat, I had to rewind to how we go to the beginning of the book.

One, Styx and Enid (the antagonist) are cousins that grow up together. Enid dealt with customers and soaked up the attention on the family farm which Stys handle the logistics and stocking.

Two, Enid got jealous of Styx impressing their grandfather and so she poisoned Styx and had a secret campagin of destroying his reputation.

Three, Styx landed in the hospital and that’s where he meets Hemlock the catsith. He makes a deal with Hemlock to save his life and do his bidding.

Notice how I kept it to important information that impacts the story. I am also following the main character which is, of course, Styx. It focuses on what happens to him only. I do have a couple of stories that looks at the broader picture but that’s because that truly does matter in the world. You’re more than welcome to add those details as well. I just like adding important tidbits for writing my stories.

4. Government: It’s very important to think about the government as it affects everything and everyone in the world (believe it or not). You have to establish a hierarchy within the world. Death’s Cat is part of a much larger story on the planet. Styx is lowest on the totem pole as he lives on Paradise and not the Fae Realm Hemlock normally lives in. I cannot spoil much because it’s planned to be serialized so I will be careful with talking about detail. Here’s how it goes in Death’s Cat: Styx the human, human government, Hemlock the fae, then council of the region in the Fae Realm, and then the ruler of region, the Royal Faes, and then King Rowan who is currently the king of it all.

5. Currency: It’s important to think about currency here as well as money makes the world go round. I’ve always pictured the citizens and government on Paradise uses credit cards and money notes much like the US does (I’m an American writer) and then in the Fae Realm they use a coin system and credit cards as well. Since I think my coin system is very generic, I’ll share with you all how I made the coins in terms of value. I did include details of what the coins look like as well but I don’t feel it is important for this. Copper is like the penny. 10 copper is a silver coin. 10 silver coins is a gold. 100 gold coins is a platinum. It’s simple, I know but it works for me.

6. Magic System: If you have magic, you must lay out the system. I’ve got one basic one I use for everything else and it’s too lengthy to share it here. I did make one for Death’s Cat for what each job the faes does (catsiths included). The magic is based on species. I also included the hierarchy of power. With Hemlock being at the bottom of the pole, he’s not as powerful as Morren (the one Hemlock answers to) and his family, and Morren and his family aren’t as powerful as the Red Princess (she gets mentioned) and she is less powerful than Rowan who rules everything on Paradise and the Fae Realm.

7. Species/Races: This feels self-explanatory. You should include races and species into your world building notes. I would include where they live as well if they live in a specific area. Subspecies should be included as well as the rules. For example: The Royal Fae bloodlines are pretty whacky so there’s a mix bag of things a fae born from them could be. If Hemlock (element of death) married another death fae, the result is a death fae baby. If Hemlock and a different fae got married, it could be either a death fae or whatever element the mother is (Hemlock’s sex is male). Anyone could give birth to a catsith. All catsiths have the ability to deal in souls. I also put in details of their jobs since faes (including catsiths) are spirits of nature. In these stories, that includes human nature. Death is something all experience. Hemlock’s job is to guide the dying into the afterlife.

8. Religion: Something I have forgotten to include in my own world building notes but I will be soon. This section should be about the made up deities that the characters and NPCs (non-player characters. I’m using this here because I’m lacking the right word) worship. In Death’s Cat, Hemlock and Styx all worship the Royal Faes like Morren and Red Princess. It doesn’t give them power at all but details like that should be included. You should include the rites everyone does, symbolism, and whatever else you can think of. I recommend studying religions for this and talking to your fellow writers on how they go about religion. An author’s and writer’s greatest resource is their community and friends.

After you figure out everything that’s been said above or at least a good majority of it, you can begin writing your rough draft or just writing. It means you’ve thought of everything that’s needed to begin your story. It’s also okay to lean against your community to see if you’ve missed anything or if it’s something that can be answered while pantsing (improvising) it. I know I have a lot to improvise as I write out Death’s Cat.

I truly hope this helps your writing journey. Let me know if this helped you get unstuck. I would love to know.