How do I start.... Fantasy World

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Immortal_Chaos

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Ok, I feel rather stupid asking, but I want to start developing a completely new fantasy-like world. Where do I start!
 
*flees for links*
8D you should skype me if you don't mind some gushing (mini.bit)
 
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Sorry, I don't have skype *cowers*
I know it kinda takes a lot of effort to type it down, but I'm fine with gushing. You dont have to though
 
All right, I return! @Immortal_Chaos lame, what about teamspeak? :3

There are as many ways to worldbuild as there are worldbuilders, so try lots of things and find what works for you! This is how I usually go about starting from absolute zero, and I'll link to some other methods people have shared below it:

You probably have some idea in your head, however vague, of what you want this world to be. Do you picture soaring dragons? steampunk cities? epic wizard duels? impressive armies? Go ahead and write down all the things you have in mind for your world, even if it's as vague as "some kind of magic rock or gem or something". This is your starting point! It sets up a theme, mood, atmosphere, and gives you some idea of basic worldbuilding elements like technology level and what the world physically looks like.

Now, what you want to focus on next is totally up to you; there's no rule about what order you have to do things in, so just go with whatever you feel like/have the most ideas for
  • The physical world: Draw maps! Name things! Remember that when we say "world" in worldbuilding, we don't necessarily mean a whole planet. A world in worldbuilding is defined as the setting of a story, so it can be as small as a town or as big as a universe; it's limits are up to you! Don't feel like you need to decide info for the entire planet if all that's relevant is one or two areas. It can be fun/unexpectedly handy to come up with extra stuff, but there's no pressure for it :)
  • The culture: How do people dress? what kind of people live here? What's for dinner? What are the religions, the social rules, the castes, the popular opinions on hunting for sport? This is where you figure out the mood and colour of your story; culture is such an all-encompassing term that it really covers everything that doesn't fall under defining the physical/scientific parameters of a world.
  • The specifics: If you're like me, you probably have a couple of specific things you want to include in your world, like enchanted jewellery or a dimension-hopping wizard. This is where you can look at those things and integrate them into the world, come up with the details, etc. Have a look through the 'expansions' subforum of this guild; it's probably someone's put up a form-sheet for you to fill out that fits what you want to make! If not, you should make one and post it ;P
  • Characters: I don't often do this, but it's common enough; if you have a character or person that you've come up with who is part of this world, try developing their character and letting it branch into worldbuilding! Where did they grow up? What did they study in school? What did they do in their life? Characters always interact with the world around them, even if it's just by standing on it, so exploring a character can easily transition into worldbuilding if you let it!
Worldbuilding from Square One, part 1 (another of my personal methods, more in-depth and structured
Revision's Quick and Dirty Guide
Malku has some things for you to keep in mind about fantasy worlds
Kitti helps you make planets :O

There are lots more bits and bobs about specifically building magic systems, maps, history, culture, and much more, but these are general 'whole world' guides. Make sure you explore the guild for more!
 
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