Worldbuilding is one of the joys of writing fiction. It can also be daunting. Endless possibilities make starting difficult and stopping even harder. Myriad templates, tools, mnemonics, and books (many of which boast the word “ultimate” in their title) add to the confusion. I suggest a more minimalist approach.
Four Categories
When worldbuilding for a story I start with power, place, culture, and technology/magic. These are not only important for a strong world, but a strong story as well. For example, culture can provide character motivations, place can provide plot points, and all of these can be a source of conflict.
Four Questions
I ask myself four key questions about each category. The answers to these questions will extend out into other areas such as history, social structure, commerce, ethics, religion, the arts, and so on. Here are the key questions for each category:
Power
Who has power?
Why do they have power?
Who wants to take their power?
What’s stopping them?
Place
What locations are desirable?
What locations are undesirable?
Who lives in each location?
Why do they live there?
Culture
List some of the important cultural groups.
What external markers signal someone’s cultural heritage?
What internal beliefs are the norm for each group?
What would members of each group never do?
Technology/Magic
List some technologies and/or magical abilities.
What activities does the tech/magic make possible?
Who controls the tech/magic?
What are the costs of the tech/magic?
Four Answers
Multiple answers to each question provide depth and richness to the world. I set four answers as my benchmark. This forces me to think beyond the obvious and add balance and variety to my world. By the time I’ve generated four answers to each question, I’ve established 64 (4x4x4) different elements of my world. That’s a pretty strong start!
No Magic Number
This worldbuilding math is straightforward but it’s not ironclad. I settled on 4x4x4 because it gives me happy memories of Nintendo 64. For someone else, five answers might be the standard. Go for it! Perhaps they want to include wildlife and politics in their categories. Wonderful! Customize this however you like. Just remember to start small with your questions and go big with your answers.
Happy worldbuilding!