Fiction Writing and World Building

January 8, 2008 by Melissa Donovan

World building is an inherent part of fiction writing. And it’s not just for fantasy and science fiction writers.

I can already see the contemporary fiction writers rolling their eyes and thinking, but I write stories set in the modern world, the real world. What does world building have to do with me?

The answer is, quite simply: everything.

Speculative Fiction and World Building

Of course, speculative fiction writing involves in-depth world building. Faraway planets and the distant past (or future) provide the setting, but it’s the writer’s imagination that supplies the rest.

Each world must come complete with geography, culture, and a social system. Some fictional worlds are reflections of the world we all know, but there are others that are so wildly different, it’s amazing that with mere words a writer can pull us into these alternate realities.

In the science fiction and fantasy genres, writers have an enormous challenge in world-building, but that’s part of the reason so many fiction writers are drawn to those genres – world building is fun. It’s creative and lets you really put your imagination to good use.

Fiction Writing in the Real World

Writing fiction in a contemporary setting might be a lot easier. At least you have a pretty good grasp of the foundation on which your world is built, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the world-building hook.

Think about this world and the people in it. Have you ever visited a household that was completely different from you own? Ever been to a city that felt like a different country (or planet)? Ever started a new job, a new school, or got to know a group of people that made you feel like you had entered a totally different world?

We may all share the same planet, and technically, it’s one world. But it’s also a conglomerate of many smaller worlds. Think about your country, city, neighborhood, your home, and finally, the world you live in inside your own head.

Now, imagine your characters. Sure, you can put them in the same world that you’re already familiar with, but where’s the fun in that? And wouldn’t that be more of a memoir than an adventure in fiction writing?

Start Building Your World

There are articles, books, and entire websites dedicated to the craft of world building. There are even video games that allow you to build virtual worlds, though I don’t recommend those for writers since those games can be addictive and if you’re busy gaming, how will you ever get your fiction writing done?

I’d like to close with some questions that we can all think about when we’re plotting and planning and building a world for fiction:

In your own fiction writing, do you intentionally build a world or let it happen organically?
Do you write speculative fiction and if so, what is your world building process?
If you write contemporary fiction, do you keep it close to home, writing about people and places that you know, or do you venture beyond the familiar?

And finally, do you think world building is essential to fiction writing or is it only applicable to select writers or genres?

Keep on writing!

Do you have any fiction writing or world building tips to share? Leave a comment!