World Building is one of my absolute favorite things to do when creating a new story. So today, I’m going to break down what I generally do to create my worlds in 7 easy steps!

1. When creating a world, the first step I take is the aesthetic. I’ll use my book series Viridis as an example. For that series, I wanted a scifi world that was a mix between some of the worlds I loved. I wanted a combination of the Old Republic from the old Star Wars games by Bioware and Obsidian, and a mix of Treasure Planet from Disney, and a splash of Mass Effect. I know, I’m a nerd. I got the rough visual idea for the galaxy system the story was set in, known as the Known Galaxy. I knew there were multiple planets, I knew there was rugged, hard armor that made lead bullets nearly obsolete, I knew there were multiple alien races, I knew most of the war was waged with swords, and I knew that many of the populace had special powers. So what next?
2. I needed conflict. I knew there was a war going on, but I needed something a little more close to home. Sure, my characters were involved in the war, but what about back home? Can they just wash their hands of it? No. There’s a caste system based around the color of your eyes. And they’re at the bottom. Why does this caste system exist? Who created it? Why is it followed? For this, I chose the simple answer: religion.
3. But when bringing up religion, it’s good to figure out the basic important beliefs, along with a few oddballs in there. The key with world building is crafting enough of the world where your reader gets a sense this is just the tip of the iceberg. That there’s a lot more beneath the surface. So with the Viridis Series, the religion is based off a mythos I ended up writing a while back. It follows that Vix, their creator god, built them out of different materials of the world and gave them all part of his body to grant them special powers and the color of their eyes dictates this. The religion is baked into every facet of the Empire, and is used to keep most everyone in line. 
4. Speaking of magic, how does the magic system work? What can it do, and what can’t it do? Make sure it has limits. Using various stakes for using magic is great: for instance, maybe your world can only create magic by using their blood. Maybe the more blood they sacrifice, the higher magic spells they can use. Maybe there’s a difference in some people’s blood, and some people are just more capable of creating magic and powerful spells, while others need to sacrifice more just to create a small flame. How would this magic influence the creation of your world? Would it be used in small amounts, or would the highly potent magic users be pushed into labor to build cities for the ruling king? 
5. What’s the use of money in this world? Is there money, or is it based off trading? For the Viridis Series, I have a common money system for most of the planets, but in Caerule, we see a different system. Does your world have different means of exchanging goods depending on what city or culture they’re in? 
6. How does travel happen in your world? In the Known Galaxy in the Viridis Series, it’s done by sail ships, galleons and privateers and whatnot, all catching the various gusts that blow through the galaxy outside the planets’ various atmospheres. This, of course, means there’s breathable air out in the galaxy, and to show this, I threw Air Islands in there, which are little plots of land where trees grow. I also figure there are rainstorms and whatnot that can get these traveling ships in trouble if they’re not careful. Throw some fun mythos on what those islands really mean, and you’ve got yourself some interesting travel mechanics!
7. Another fun bit of world building is language. Are there different languages and, therefore, different accents? Does your world have different names for things than we do in our world? Does this cause confusion between cultures at all? 

I will say that I love going in depth with world building, and tend to use a program called Notebook.ai. I know there’s a lot of other ones out there to help organize world building and stories, but I like this one because it keeps everything private! For my newest novel, I’ve researched a lot about the different foods they eat, the different religions that would be in those different areas, and I’ve worked out different prejudices between the races. I’ve even got some notes on the history of various places, and who key players were in history! Honestly, I have a lot of fun world building, but I’d advise you not to get too lost in the process. Remember, you can build your world and have the implication of more beneath the surface without spending years making that depth yourself. 

Stay safe out there!