Questions for World Building

So I like to remind you guys from time to time that many of these posts arise from what the young writer in my house would like me help with. I hope you all are enjoying #NaNoPrep. Here are my 20 questions for world building. Remember even if you are setting your story in the right now, you are still building a fictional world. And while your reader will willing suspend their disbelief for you, they will not forgive you for breaking your own rules. Once the rules of the world are set, they are set and you need to abide by them. Of course your world will grow and change and that's fine, but you can not break the fundamental rules without losing your audience. So here are a set of questions I ask when doing an epic fantasy, but they work pretty well no matter the genre.

 

1) What kind of world do you have? Fantasy, Reality, Stylized, Steam Punk?

 

2) When is your story set? Is it set in a world like Prehistoric France, Ancient Greece, Medieval Italy Regency England or right now? You see how each of those is different.

 

3) What technology is there? You may think this has to do with when, and it does, but in many fantasy worlds the technological timeline diverges with what happened in our world so the world is more stylized.

 

4) What are the basic rules? Magic yes or no? Science is accepted yes or no? Religion is dominate yes or no?

 

5) What kinds of people live in your world? elves, sprites, balrogs, fairies, werewolves, vampires?

 

6) What kind of justice system does your world have, if any?

 

7) What is the level of competence of the justice handed out?

 

8) What kinds of punishment are there for crimes?

 

9) What to the inhabitants of your world think of justice system? Is it generally considered fair, unfair but unchangeable, unfair and ripe for change?

 

10) What is the general level of conflict in your world?

 

11) What is the competency of the armed forces? (This may or may not be different from the justice system.)

 

12) How are elite people treated?

 

13) How do ordinary people live?

 

14) How moveable is your class system?

 

15) What is the biggest problem facing your world?

 

16) What is the biggest question left unanswered by your world's deep thinkers?

 

17) Who does everybody love?

 

18) Who does everybody hate?

 

19) Where is the least likely anyone would look for your hero?

 

20) How ripe is your world for change?

 

I hope you have interesting answers to these questions because if this stuff is boring scrap it and start again. I'll make another questionnaire for magic systems here soon.

 

Love,

 

Melanie