
World building.
World building is the love of my life while simultaneously being the bane of my existence. I’m in the middle of worldbuilding for a new series I’m going to be working on, so what better time to throw all my opinions on the practice at the wall than now?
World building is one of the main aspects that can make your story sing like nothing else can. There’s a significant difference between a story with and without world building. World building is a skill just like everything else in writing, you have to practice. Of course, not every writing skill is necessary for every writer, not every writer needs to know how to write an unreliable narrator or how to build a logical magic system.
World building, in my opinion at least, is one of the most important skills for a writer to have. Even so, it’s not always the practice of entirely creating a new world, sometimes the skill is more about combining preexisting things rather than creating something from scratch. However, without at least some aspect of world-building a world, a story can easily end up one-dimensional. Characters, relationships, and storytelling can only take a book so far if the reader cannot imagine or understand the world that the characters they’re reading about inhabit.
World building might seem overwhelming, it sure was for me, at least in the beginning. However, there are different types of world building that can help center your focus and make the whole thing feel less daunting. In an article by R.M Archer, they talk about a type of world building called Vignette world building. “Vignettes allow you to focus on one aspect of the world and go deeper with your worldbuilding rather than just bigger. This doesn’t mean you completely cut out all of the other connecting pieces, but the outside influences on your primary object should simply color the piece and hint at more instead of taking over your attention” (Archer).
Vignette is a type of worldbuilding made to help you narrow your view, most often not even on the project you’re actively working on, “Sometimes when writing out your world, you can stumble across characters or places whose stories are begging to be told. Sometimes you write from exactly the right character’s perspective and you realize there are ingredients for a whole novel in your vignette, or there will be after you explore a couple of different facets and put it all together” (Archer).
Whether you enjoy it or not, world building is an important part of setting yourself up for success in the literary world. In an article from Master Class, they had this to say on the topic, “Worldbuilding lays the groundwork for your characters to develop, providing the stage for where your creations will perform. It’s okay if you can’t answer every question there is about your world, but setting down the basics will help you start writing and building” (“How to Write a Believable World: A Guide to Worldbuilding - 2024 - MasterClass”).
It’s something I often have to remind myself when I get frustrated with my writing, there is unfortunately a difference between writing for fun and writing for a career. I will never tell anyone that a certain form of writing is more important than another, however, there are differences in the expectations for different types of writing.
I’ve been on both sides of this coin, I started my writing just doing it for fun, and to entertain my classmates during share and tell each week back in elementary school. I will also be the first to say that the difference between how I wrote then and how I write now, aside of course for the obvious age difference and skill level, was shocking for me looking back.
One of the first things is the sheer amount of planning I do know before I ever put pen to paper (or fingers to keys). I can spend weeks just making sure I know everything from my characters to the smallest details of the words before I feel secure enough to start writing.
World building is an interesting topic to discuss as a writer, due to just how variable the practice is. Of course, just like everything else in what we do, it varies from writer to writer. However, there are some things that just make sense, and tend to follow the practice around. World building can be fun if you let it, one of my suggestions is to have friends and family, or find sources online, to ask you questions about your world. Give them an incredibly basic description of your world, this works very well if you’ve just started the creation process, and let them ask questions they wonder about it.
These questions will give you the opportunity to find the weak points of your world building and show you where you might need to add more detail. In another article, R.M Archer had this to say on the topic. “Having core values also allows me to use tools such as worldbuilding prompts to a fuller extent, since I can see a prompt like, 'What is the most famous art piece in this culture?' and answer it based on what I know of their values. The best-known art piece in my artisan nation is very different from the best-known art piece in my military-led nation” (Archer).
Sometimes it’s the simplest things, the things that when you think about them in regards to our own world, that make everything truly come together for your reader. We don’t think about where our food comes from, well we do but so might your characters. Is there a product in your world specifically made for people with an allergy? If there are laws that seem odd or extreme at first glance, why were they made, and what prompted the change? While these might not be details that end up making into a final draft of your novel, they often provide insight to you as the writer that makes everything easier.
World building also has its place outside of the literary world, as explained here. “However, the merit of worldbuilding doesn’t just lie in fun imaginary games as a kid, it has significant value in adulthood and real life as well. Worldbuilding serves as commentary, catharsis, escapism, acceptance, freedom” (aristhought).
The author continues in this vein saying, “In some cases, even unconsciously, worldbuilding gives us a chance to imagine a new society and universe where we are not so constrained by the truths of our own reality, especially in more dismal times when reality may not seem so bright,” (aristhought). Hope has always been a big part of being an author for me at least, in truth, if there is one thing I would like my writing to do it would be to provide hope for those who have none. It’s an interesting point when you consider that I mostly write fantasy novels, but I grew up reading the same genre, as well as the dystopian stories we all know and love. Even in the darkest stories, there is always some spark of hope, a revolution can bring way to change. There is always going to be light again.
World building allows us to find creative solutions we may not have even realized were haunting us. When we let go of the constraints of our current world or our current situation we finally allow our minds to run the way they are meant to. Humans are meant for creativity, for problem-solving, our brains are the best computers we’ve found. This is explained well by Ari here, “It allows us to thoughtfully and creatively piece together a system, a society, that serves as a counterbalance to the one we live in, paving hope and inspiration for the world we live in now. This is how things could be. This is a world where there isn’t the weight of the current state of our own. This is a world that can even serve as intellectual inspiration for how to move forward to solve the issues in our current societies,”(aristhought).
Ari ended off her article with a sentiment I think is important for all writers, no matter what aspect they are working about to hear. “Whether you’re doing it as a side hobby, whether it’s going to become a published project or just a private one, whether you’re working alone or with others, whether you’re a DM or a writer or a student doodling maps and characters bored in class, keep doing it. Worldbuilding has always been significant and important, and it will continue to be. Keep building, and keep creating,” (aristhought).
On logistics of world building, and why it can be useful Master Class had this to say, “Having a general idea of what your main characters will be up against in this new world, both against external conflicts and one another, will help you flesh out the nature of your setting and your world,” (“How to Write a Believable World: A Guide to Worldbuilding - 2024 - MasterClass”).
As I’ve previously stated in other articles, I’ve grown a lot in my writing, going from being a complete pantser to needing to plan for up to several months to get my bearing on a story before I ever start to write. World building has become a crucial part of my planning process, the idea of starting a project without knowing the world I’m writing about is honestly petrifying now.
There are lots of things to consider when you’re taking on world building, but there are a few things you can start with to make it a little easier, a checklist if you want. One of the main things I start with is fashion, for me this is a big thing in my writing, considering one of my stories takes place in a steampunk city, using Victorian-style fashion, while another takes place in a militaristic future where supplies are extremely scarce. This alone makes a difference in how my characters react and interact with their surroundings. When running from something the character in military gear might take a route through a forest knowing that they can make it through, the character wearing more restricting clothes may take another route, choosing to hide instead of run.
Laws are also another point that I always like to look at before starting a project, there are the basic ones that will be applicable in almost every society such as theft, but there may be other rules in place. Curfew’s in a world overrun by monsters, or libraries being restricted in a world flush with propaganda hiding its own history. Laws are a basis in every society, if you don’t know the laws of your society it’s much harder to plan out conflict for your characters. There are many other points you can use, however, these are two of my favorites.
Writing, while it may drive me crazy even on some of my best days, has added so much beauty to my life and it’s not something I expected when I began this journey. Everything that writing has given me, an outlet, a place to enhance my skills inside and outside of writing, and a future in a field I love, is something I will forever be grateful for. I started writing fiction as a little kid just wanting to entertain my friends, and to in truth make more people in my class want to know me. Surprisingly, it actually worked, something honestly find hilarious to this day, but my point stands. Writing has given me lifelong friends, and goals I can hold onto even when the rest of my world and the things going on around me feel like they are falling apart.
As much as it drives me bad, I will never truly have anything bad to say about writing. Every aspect of it world building, designing characters, will always be something that I can hold dear to my heart.

About the author
Milla Picket is a senior at Poudre High School, and this is her first year writing for the Poudre Press. In her free time, she is involved in the school's choir and theatre department. She is also a writer currently working on her first fantasy novel for publication.
Works Cited
Archer, R.M. “The Benefits of Vignette Worldbuilding - Scribes & Archers.” Scribes & Archers, 4 Feb. 2020, rmarcher.com/2020/02/using-prose-to-build-a-world/.
---. “Worldbuilding Process: Three Examples - Scribes & Archers.” Scribes & Archers, 4 May 2021, rmarcher.com/2021/05/worldbuilding-process-three-examples/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
aristhought. “The Significance of Worldbuilding.” Medium, 5 Apr. 2018, aristhought.medium.com/the-significance-of-worldbuilding-e596cf46a853.
“How to Write a Believable World: A Guide to Worldbuilding - 2024 - MasterClass.” MasterClass, 2020, www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-believable-world.
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