30+ World Building Questions to Ask Yourself When Writing

 

   Looking for simple ways to improve on your world-building, but you’re not sure where to start? Check out 30 of these World Building Questions and see where they take you!

    In no way are these meant to be a catch-all for world-building, but I find that asking questions like these help me to really flesh out my world. In case you want to improve on specific areas, I’ve divided them based on a general theme. Enjoy! 

Economy:

• Does trade between nations or cities exist in your world? If so, describe the basics of how trade works.
• If there are multiple cities, how do they interact with each other economically? Do certain cities take advantage of others or use them for economic benefit? 
• Are any cities wealthier/poorer than the other? How does the disparity between them affect the people of each?
• Is there a black market of some sort and, if so, what do they sell?
• Has there been any recent major economic boom/depression? How has this affected the people, the world?

History:

• Think about the history of your world: has it changed or has it, more or less, remained the same in the past 30 years? 50 years? Whether unchanged or not, think about why this is so.
• Has there been any recent disturbance or major violence/upheaval? How does this sit among the different people of your world?

Environment:

• Have there been major environmental problems in recent years?
• Are there any major rivers, roads, highways, or other sources of travel in your world? How do these modes of transport affect your cities — and the people that live in them?
• Are there any environmental factors that currently pose problems for the people of your world?
• What is the relationship between the environment and society?
• How does the climate, extreme or mild, affect the daily lives of your citizens?
• Are there changes in the environment (climate, terrain, etc.) between different parts of your world? How do the people of your world interact with these differences?

Social:

• What is the diversity of your world like and how does that play a role in society?
• Do the citizens of your world follow any major religions? If so, what are they and how did they arise?
• If your society is made up of different classes, religions, races, or backgrounds, how do they generally interact with each other?
• Do the people of your world share a commonly experienced event (ex: war, famine, plague) — and did it unite them or divide them?
• Is the social structure organized in a distinct hierarchy or is social mobility possible to attain in your world? Whether it is possible or isn’t, how does this affect the mentality of your characters?
• What is the general education level like? How about education among the different parts of your society?
• What is the commonality of violence in your world? 
• What do the people in your society do for entertainment?
• Are there any holidays/festivities in your world? If so, how did they arise?

Government

• If your world has a government or multiple different ones, what basic structure do they follow?
• How often does the government play a role in the daily lives of your people?
• How has the government changed in the past 30, 50, 100 years of your world? And why has it changed?
• What would the arching goal of your world’s government look like summarized into a single sentence?
• What is the relationship of your world’s government with its people? 

Scenarios:

• If an outsider were to enter a city of your world, how would others react? Would they take it as a normal occurrence or something incredible?
• If you lived in your world, what would a day in your life look like?
• An outburst of violence/an entire war breaks out somewhere in your world. Where would this likely occur, and why?
• Similarly, plague ravages somewhere in your world. Where would this likely occur, and why?
• Assuming no drastic changes occur, what will your world generally look like in 20 years? 50 years? What changes and what stays the same?