Gabrielle here!
In contrast to my fellow editors, I grew up in Wisconsin. So breaking out my winter jacket before it’s freezing seems ridiculous, I classify any town that isn’t surrounded by cornfields as a city, and the manure smells like home. But obviously, this isn’t normal for everyone. Some people wear heavy coats in 60℉ weather, others don’t consider a settlement a city until they see skyscrapers, and, shockingly, some find the smell of manure exclusively revolting. But that’s likely because they didn’t grow up around the same things I did; our environments shaped how we view the world. And by understanding a person’s environment, you can understand them better. So to kick off our worldbuilding series, we’re going to start with the most basic element of a world—the environment. But don’t tune out if you don’t write fantasy or science fiction; there are still principles of worldbuilding that will help your story thrive.
Why Environment Matters
As stated above, where we come from shapes what we view as normal. This is typically applied to culture which, while very much true, isn’t the full picture. There are a lot of parts of culture that originally arose from the environment. For example, Wisconsin’s affinity for cheese comes from the abundance of dairy farms which are facilitated by the state’s landscape and climate. So a story’s environment can do a lot to shape a person’s culture. The environment can also determine the challenges individuals face. My parents always have an ice scraper in their car, and my dad and I commiserated over when the air gets cold enough to freeze our nostrils shut. However, if I had grown up in a different environment, I would have faced different environmental challenges and found different tools to overcome them. The bottom line is that the environment establishes the framework of your story, so it needs to be selected and crafted with care. And yes, I did say crafted and I didn’t just mean fantasy writers. Because even if you’re writing in the real world, worldbuilding is an important part of your process, even if it looks different. So what are the different kinds of worldbuilding and how can writers best tackle them?
5 Levels of Worldbuilding
Level #1: The Real World
These are stories that take place in a real, specific location set in a specific moment of time. The level of specificity can vary in location—country, state, county, city, etc.—and time—span of years, specific years, span of months, etc. But regardless, this story aims to reflect what life in this setting is like.
So to create this kind of setting, writers should research this place and time period in specific detail. If you lived there or know someone who has, even better. Not every detail you discover needs to make it into your story, but it’s important to determine what weather, plants, geographical features, and animals populate the area to paint an accurate picture. You don’t want to write about crocodiles in Montana or you’re going to lose your readers.
As you build this setting, consider how the environment can enforce certain challenges and shape the people who live there. Hopefully, your research will reveal the answer to these questions and it will be your job to take advantage of those realities for conflict.
Level #2: Based on a True Story
These stories also take place in the real world, but they aren’t as tied to specifics as the previous level. These stories are more interested in capturing the vibe of the location and time rather than replicating it.
So to create this setting, writers still have to do research. Sorry, there’s no getting out of that when you’re creating a setting. But precision is less important. You don’t need to pinpoint the details of an exact location in the exact year. Instead of researching a specific town in a specific year, research a region over a decade.
As you build this setting, consider how you can exaggerate elements of the real location to demonstrate your themes and exacerbate conflict. It’s like how a lot of Hallmark movies will take place in a small town where the main export seems to be Christmas trees and cheer. No, there isn’t a town out there exactly like it, but there are enough towns like it in a similar setting where that exaggeration feels believable and makes the story richer.
Level #3: Magical Upgrades
Now we’re stepping into speculative fiction territory. These are the stories that still take place in the real world, but there are fantastical elements. This could be magical realism, a secret second world, superhero fiction, or urban fantasy, but regardless there’s some level of fantasy or science fiction layered onto the real world.
So writers can take the process from levels #1 and #2 to begin. Even though there are magical elements, the setting is still grounded in reality. A good way to integrate magical elements is to place them alongside recognizable ones. So pick a real setting, portray it well, and your readers will appreciate how the magic richens the setting rather than cheapen it.
As you write, consider how the fantasy or science fiction elements impact the normal setting. How are the natural challenges enhanced or morphed because of the fantastical elements? How does a society with magic deal with tornados or potholes or lake effect snow? By connecting the magical and real in this way, the magic will feel like a genuine part of the world rather than something that’s stuck on just for show.
Level #4: Used to be the Real World
These are stories where we’re technically still on Earth, but the world has been so thoroughly warped by time or by catastrophe that it’s functionally a different world from the one we live in today. Think about franchises like The Last of Us where the characters are still in this world, but the impact of the changes in the world means that society is wildly different.
But the environments remain the same. Or at least, very similar. The ecosystems and landscapes are still the same, but the fingerprints of the future are clear.
So when creating a setting like this, follow the first three levels whenever possible and consider how the environments have changed with the world. How can the physical environments show the changes the world has endured? Have cities been abandoned and begun overgrown with trees? Have lakes dried into deserts? And once you decide on this, consider how these new environments create new challenges or opportunities for the characters.
Level #5: Starting From Scratch
Now we’re where your mind probably goes to when you think about worldbuilding. This is a unique world to fit a fantasy or science fiction story. Here the author is building a new environment to best tell their story. So the first four levels don’t apply right?
Well, yes and no. The first four levels had the benefit of having the real world as a framework. That’s not so much the case here, but creating a world from something is incredibly difficult. So the best way to start building is to create a framework for yourself. Your goal is to evoke an experience, and that’s easiest when you have a concrete starting point.
Pick an ecosystem that you want to build and start researching it. Pull from that base of research to create a grounded, believable setting. There needs to be something real and concrete amid these fantasy elements. And once you have that foundation, consider how the unique forces of your world will change parts of the ecosystem. Maybe there’s a fantasy creature that changes the flow of the food chain. Maybe the magic comes from something in nature and that shapes how the environment looks. As you add your unique touches to the environment, consider how this environment will impact the characters and plot.
Conclusion
The environment is one of those things that seems so basic that we don’t need to worry about specifically creating it in our stories. But every element of our story should be carefully crafted to best serve that story, and that includes the basic things. Where we come from determines a lot of who we are, so what does your story’s environment say about your characters and you as their writer?
Thank you for tuning into the start of our new series, and come back in two weeks to learn about crafting a world’s history and government.
In the meantime, bee brilliant!
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