One way to get on top of all this is to make a novel (or series) bible. This comes from screenwriting, where a show would have a series bible to make sure that all of the different people working on the show were working on the same thing. There’s probably just you working on your book, but having one will give you an easy way to reference some basic facts and figures.
Start by thinking about what we talked about above – what you need to know for the plot, and what your characters will know, and start there. It’s a good idea to leave blank pages in case you need to add more to the entries later.
Some things to include might be:
- A map, or multiple maps (think a map of the village, then one of the country showing where the village is, or the layout of a space station and a map of the planet it orbits)
- Details of the main locations – population size, settlement size, culture of the place
- Technology – not just for scifi! If you’re writing a fantasy think if there are steam trains or horses, what they use to cook (firepit vs stove), weapons (are there guns, crossbows)
- Historical timeline (especially the bits that are relevant to your story)
- Political and/or religious hierarchy at the level of detail that you/your characters need to know
In addition to creating a novel bible, I’d also recommend looking at the other posts in the worldbuilding series, especially part three, because they are going to get you to the point of feeling like you know your world and how your characters fit into it.
If you want to do some more work on your worldbuilding, my Fantasy Writing Planner or Science Fiction Writing Planner are there for you.
And next time we’ll talk about the level of detail that you need to put into your novel. If you want a reminder, sign up to my newsletter and you’ll also get a free character workbook.