Wordbuilding in literature involves designing the perfect fictional setting of your story. This process is so important because, as the container that houses the story, your setting – the world you have built – deeply affects character psyche, plot, tone, atmosphere and even the major themes.

Worldbuilding lays the foundation for your story. It is the platform that allows the characters to develop, the stage on which they will perform.

Depending on how good your worldbuilding is, your readership can be so drawn into your story that it leaves an indelible mark on them. Some major worldbuilding feats have created notable franchises such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, Hunger Games, Twilight, Chronicles of Narnia, et cetera. These franchises have pulled huge crowds, many of whom have dedicated significant parts of their lives delving into all the possibilities and all the angles made possible by the worldbuilding. Examples of online forums where you can find these fans include Reddit, Quora, and Wikia.

J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is set in a very deeply constructed world, with a whole backstory published in a separate book. The characters even have different languages constructed by the author. Some fans have spent decades studying his work and its various interpretations – such that “Tolkien scholar” is pretty much now a recognisable phrase.

More recently, George R. R. Martin has followed Tolkien’s style and published his world in a separate book from his main novels.

Different aspects of worldbuilding

Read more