World Building - The Mystical World

World building can be a deal breaker in a fantasy novel just because of this extra factor of magic. You see, magic needs to have its own set of rules and laws. You can't just put magic in your world, do nothing and expect it to work out in the end. You need some basic set of rules, and by that I mean detailed set of rules. No one is stopping you from going crazy with your imagination in trying to come up with different types of magic but you still have to write down, draw out or do whatever you can to get those basic rules crafted. 

Here are some guiding questions:

1. Does the magic in your realm have a name or is it just called magic? Does it respond to particular types of people, is it a living thing? Are there different types of magic?

2. What about the magic users? How many types of magic users are there? What kind of restrictions do they have in using magic? (They must have at least one!) 

The type of inspiration I used to create magic and label the type of magic users is by looking through some fantasy-related pictures (It's simple. Just open up google, type in fantasy picture/wallpapers and click on the image results...or you could use Pinterest) You will be amazed to see the awesome ideas that come up. For those who end up having difficulties trying to answer some questions whether it is related to sci-fi or magic, try using this website -http://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com
It's easy to use too. You can either ask a question or select a tag and browse through the questions asked by others related to that tag.

If you are able to answer all these questions then well done, you have just completed the first step of integrating magic into your world. Just to give you a heads up, now that I've finished giving you tips on building the physical world which is covered here, you will have to prepare the certain extra details regarding magic for the upcoming tips on creating your world's history and society. So make sure to think through how the magic affected your world's past and how it might have impacted the society. You will need this head start as the next few posts will mostly deal with people and their surroundings, hence, you might want to have that magic part ready.

World Building - The Physical World

When starting to write a novel or a short story it may seem like you have all the information that you need in your head. Well, think again. Do you know where your character goes to relax or the garden that he or she likes? (If there is one.) What about the type of structures and buildings there? What about the history of the country that your character lives in? (Was it visited by aliens?)

You get my point. World building may seem something that can be conquered using an imaginative mind but as you get past that initial phase it becomes a tireless and tedious process. When most of us reach that part, we give up on filling in the blanks for the minutiae. In recent years, there has been a noticeable lack of effort regarding world building and it might be because most authors only briefly develop their worlds, just enough to make their story look seamless. This is most obvious in most fantasy and science fiction stories since a lot of world development is needed for them. However, this is where these underdeveloped stories lose out in gaining a strong readership. A strong foundation of good world building will increase the writer's chances of finding a hidden gem in that world and also allow the writer to create more sophisticated side-stories which will bring life to the original one.

So, how do you make sure that you story is not underdeveloped because of poor world building? It's simple. Before you even start writing you first chapter you should have a clear outline of the world. Ask yourself a few of these questions to get started.

1. Where does your character live? What about his or her friends/enemies? - Use this base to create a map in your head. (for fantasy and sci-fi) Or pick a location from the world map and use it as a base. (usually for contemporary novels but you can still use this technique for fantasy and sci-fi novels)

2. Once you have a geographical reference, you can start to fill in the map with the main locations and imaginary landmarks or features you intend your story to have. At the end, don't forget to create names for the extra land you might have drawn and don't be afraid to add in a bit more detail or change it a bit. Remember, you can always change the direction your story is moving in at this point. Make good use of the internet to help boost your imagination by searching for pictures. You might even want to use Pinterest. There are still other ways to arrange your ideas, like using a blog. You can even publicize your novel through it like I do.

That concludes the first step in world building and this does not only apply to fantasy but also to contemporary novels. It's almost like creating a treasure map, except that there is no treasure. (or is there?) By mapping out all the significant places your character will need to visit and also the irrelevant places (which your character might have an encounter with in the future) you can start to imagine the journey your character will have to take and what it will feel like to be in his or her shoes.