WorldBuilding is the process in which an author adds the finer details to their setting. Also check out SoYOuWantTo/BeOriginal and TheTropeHistoryOfTheUniverse.
!!Choices, Choices
* Will your genre be ScienceFiction, {{Fantasy}}, [[ScienceFantasy both at once]] or [[AlternateHistory neither?]]
* [[AngelsDevilsAndSquid Mythology?]]
* What are the inhabitants like?
* Are everyday people useless, [[HumansAreSpecial minorly flawed (but that's part of their charm)]], [[HumansAreFlawed jerks]], or [[HumanityIsSuperior awesome and]]/ [[HumansAreCthulhu or terrifying]]?
* What are the politics?
* [[PunkPunk What technologies have risen to prominence?]]
* [[FunctionalMagic Is there magic?]] If so, [[MagicAIsMagicA what are the rules?]] How does it interact with technology?
* [[DeliberateValuesDissonance Accepted morals?]]
* Overall tone?
* [[SlidingScale/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness How "hard" or "soft" is it?]]
* How will your justice system work? No matter what you're building, every setting ''will'' have at least some crime. What punishments are given out to criminals - imprisonment, whippings, or outright death? Who puts them on trial and makes sure that they have a fair and impartial trial (if they do have one in your setting, anyway?) And what does the setting do with convicted criminals? Do they put them in prison, send them off to be exiled, or just execute them?

!!Necessary tropes
* WorldBuilding: Why else would you be here? And if you go through such time and effort to forge out the details, show them off.
* InAWorld: Not exactly necessary, but introduce your world ''somehow.''
* OurMonstersAreDifferent: A new take on an old beastie is essential. For example, ''Film/TheThingFromAnotherWorld'' combined {{Doppelganger}} (by way of YouAreWhoYouEat) with BizarreAlienBiology, OurVampiresAreDifferent and PlantAliens (it's a species of carrot). The 1982 remake, ''Film/TheThing1982'', traded plant alien and different vampire for ShapeShifterMashup, to stomach-turning effect. But don't [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga go so overboard that people shout]] NoTrueScotsman.
* SpeculativeFiction: While you could build a fantastic world just for SceneryPorn in a SliceOfLife story (like ''Manga/{{ARIA}}''), most likely you'll want to explore the implications of living in your world.

!!Pitfalls
* ItsBeenDone. You need to brainstorm long and hard to make your setting truly unique. [[JustForFun/XMeetsY Or just cherry-pick bits from other works that you like, toss them in the metaphorical pot, and see what boils up.]] But be sure to boil long and hard so it doesn't look messily ripped off and stuck on with gore. It helps to read widely in your genre to see what has been done. Some literary agents recommend reading works published in your genre in the last five years.
* Justforfun/RecycledInSPACE. If you want to (for example) make a reimagining of your favorite treasure hunt-story, but as a political satire, or it happens in an urban setting, really put effort in to it. Most of the popular *some character but in SPACE!* type of stories feel worthless, because the storytellers haven't put much thought in to how the story would change, if their Aquaman really WOULD go to space. How would they react? To underthink it, is the pitfall, not using the said trope.

!!! The RandomEventsPlot and How To Avoid It
In an episode of ''This Dumb Industry'', Creator/ShamusYoung [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzLZvXB2lbc quotes]] Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone, who decry the idea that scenes and plot points should be connected by the phrase "And then [X]." Instead, they claim, the links should be, "And ''therefore'' [X]" or "''However'', [X]" -- the things that happen next are consequences or reactions to the things that happened before. Young describes this consequence-based narrative as "Domino worldbuilding" and points out how it adds verisimilitude to the fiction. It's also very accurate to RealLife, where most actions are (in fact) consequences or reactions to the things that happened before -- to the point that certain events become {{Foregone Conclusion}}s. (For instance, contemporary Americans saw the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar coming ''75 years'' before it started.)

A simple example comes from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''. It stars a DestructiveSavior, one who is going to go AxCrazy and ruin everything BecauseDestinySaysSo. How could such circumstances even arise? Well, via worldbuilding. OurMagesAreDifferent: they "channel" a force called the One Power, which is [[NonIndicativeName divided into male and female halves]]. The series is big on the MarsAndVenusGenderContrast. In fact, it dominated the last repetition of the EternalRecurrence inherent in the [[TitleDrop Wheel of Time]]: the male mages couldn't agree with the female mages on how to defeat the BigBad. Eventually, the men chose a solution and went alone. This exposed them to an insidious counterattack by the Big Bad, who ''tainted the male half of the Source'' so that all male channelers would, forevermore, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity go Ax-Crazy and ruin everything]]. This resulted in a massive WorldSundering that capped off the Second Age and gives rise to the MedievalStasis the actual {{Main Character}}s find themselves in some three thousand years later. It creates a WorldHalfEmpty where the best one can hope for is that TheChosenOne saves the world ''before'' they destroy it... and it all makes perfect sense because it all arises logically from the rules of the setting.

This kind of worldbuilding takes a ''lot'' more skull sweat, but it comes with fewer {{Plot Hole}}s -- and is, to a limited extent, immune to them, because a reader who is thinking about the cool thing you thought of, may not be sparing much attention for the things you ''didn't'' think of.

!!Potential Subversions
* StandardFantasySetting: Everybody who thinks "Hey, I can write a fantasy epic!" usually plagiarizes [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien]] or ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'', complete with MedievalStasis. There are comparatively few WeirdWest fantasy epics, for example, which can be counted on your fingers (''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', ''VideoGame/WildArms'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' are the only ones that springs to mind); Same with Sci-fi[=/=]fantasy crossover settings (''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}''). Even if you want to keep the medieval flavor, you could set it somewhere more like [[ArabianNightsDays the old Near East]] or [[{{Mayincatec}} pre-Columbian America]].
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Dwarves are usually all short, fat, mildly agoraphobic drunkards who really like mining, eating, drinking, gold, and fighting. The most different dwarves usually get is that "oh, my particular dwarves have SteamPunk tech and /or guns because they stink at magic." [[ItsBeenDone Done to death.]] So how about trying something different with `em?
* ISOStandardHumanSpaceship: ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s human ships are giant, flying gothic cathedrals with weapons mounts tarted up to look like gargoyles. Johnny's ship from ''ComicBook/WonTonSoup'' is spherical. There's no reason to go for the standard flying-box-with-riveted-plates look.
* SpikesOfVillainy: Armor types are rather neutral. It'd be great to find out that, just this once, the [[AnAdventurerIsYou Tank]] in the jet black, spined armor with-skull-mask-helmet is one of the good guys.

!!Writers Lounge
!! Suggested Themes, Plots, and Aesops
Too many, so I'll just toss you the {{Genres}} index.

!! Departments
!!Costume Department
* Armor and tunics[=/=]leggings[[note]] this includes stuff like pants[[/note]][=/=]skirts work great for almost any setting. You just need to adapt them to fit the setting. Fantasy gets plate or chainmail armor, Sci-fi gets PoweredArmor.
* Those technologies we mentioned? [[TransHuman Can any of it be implanted into a character?]]

!!Casting Department
* Whatever classic races you want to include, and any new ones you dream up.
!!Stunt Department
* A heroic deed here and there (up to and including wars) in the history to keep it interesting.
* And scandals, humorous or serious, to add drama or humor.
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