Creative Writing Lessons - Worldbuilding Manual: The Five Steps of Worldbuilding

The Five Steps of Worldbuilding

I write this with high fantasy in mind, but, of course, it can be applied to science fiction and all else.

I must here interject that the most important early step of worldbuilding is your world map, for it shall tell you where the land masses are (and in turn countries, etc.) and where people will be and it shall tell you which parts are hot and which parts cold, and thus where the deserts, rain forests, and snow mountains, etc. are and in turn where the desert people are, where the forest people are, and where the mountain people are, etc.

You need to create a realistic world map with your circles of latitude: the Arctic Circle; the Tropic of Cancer; the Equator; the Tropic of Capricorn; and the Antarctic Circle. This is what tells you the former. I suggest studying mapmaking and reading just a bit, you can even use world generators to create a realistic land mass. I suggest between 30% and 70% water. Earth, say, has 71% water, not much land, really, but, of course, the earth is half way through its life, years hence we shall be a world water, for as the years tick by, land ticks by, too. This is worth remembering. And above all, what has now become, to my mind, the Tolkien cliché... a world with 90% land and 10% water down the left or right side. Note Lewis used this, he simply flipped Tolkien's Middle-Earth, where Tolkien put water down the left(west) Lewis put water down the right(east), and, of course, of course, it is still the same thing if you instead add 10% water to the top(north) or bottom(south), don't do this. But, alas, there is another great cliché... it is to make your world map merely an island chain. Avoid these things at all costs. (Note that you can still have these things (such as an island chain) within your world, just don't make it the whole world.)

Step One:
Create a credible intertwined basis behind there being humans and the English language within your fantasy world.

This means, in essence, you must give the reason for there being humanoids and the reason for their speaking English, within an unearthly realm (this being your fantasy world).

Note the troubles of Star Wars, Doctor Who, and of the ilk. Although there are some ways to explain there being humans and English people (or at least English-speaking people, if not the British) within such creations, this is almost always done via means of science fiction and not high fantasy and even then it is highly iffy, such as Doctor Who, where - somewhere - the Doctor is Northern and he once uttered 'we have a North, as well, you know.' And this is fine, all worlds have a north, yet not all worlds have a North of England, in fact, only one world does - this one!
Some of the greatest works of fantasy have, in fact, been earthly, either directly or indirectly, rather than a fantasy world elsewhere in the universe, which helps with this quandary.

Note some of the greatest worlds ever mustered, of which were directly or indirectly earthly, or explicitly of the earth itself: Middle-Earth; the Wizarding World; Neverland; Narnia; Lyra's world; and Wonderland.
So, it is clear, the common thread linking these states of affairs is the simple, elegant, believable, and relatable nature to our own and in turn to ourselves, and this is due to its innate realism, and that only comes by it being earthly. What you are doing here is creating a fictional world of which is consistent in and of itself, so much so, in fact, that it could almost be a true history or a true possibility if done correctly.

The Three Possible Solutions:
The possible solutions ought to be clear by now, with regards to high fantasy, one must link one's fantasy realm either directly or indirectly to our own world.

Choice One:
A parallel world. Notable parallel worlds would be Lyra's world from Pullman's Northern Lights and its American title and movie The Golden Compass. This is used in works by the likes of Stephen King, H.G. Wells, and also, to some degree, Narnia.

Choice Two:
A vague in between kind of world, or a crossing from one world to the next type of place. You can note this within Lewis' Narnia, Barrie's Neverland, and some worlds of Burton and many others, too.

Choice Three:
A direct link between the fantasy world and our own. This can be noted in the likes of Carroll's Wonderland and to the most direct links, that of Tolkien's Middle-Earth and Rowling's Wizarding World.
The latter worlds are quite literally a part of our own world (not literally literally, of course). Tolkien's being written as a kind of forgotten English history and the world of Harry Potter being right under our noses, yet not seen by non-magical folk. Hogwarts castle, say, is in Scotland. Also, Wonderland is said to be directly under London, under the earth. (Again, only in terms of fiction, but nonetheless, these matters are key!)

Now, which one is for you? I ask you and I think the answer entirely depends on what kind of world you are creating, but, I do suggest one of them, for they are the greatest ways to truly make a fantasy world (or any other world, for that matter) with ground to stand upon.

To reply in kind, then, your question to me may very well be 'which is the best choice?' and I must stand repeating, of course, it depends, completely, on what you are doing; it may be the case that the second choice fits your creation best, or the third, or indeed, the first.