Writing Craft
World-Building Worksheet
The best world-building serves the story — it creates constraints that generate conflict and texture that makes the world feel inhabited. Answer these 15 questions across 5 categories to build a world that has depth without becoming a wiki. Export your notes when done.
Geography & Environment
City, wilderness, space station — anchor the reader in a place they can picture
Scarcity drives conflict. What do people fight over or hoard?
Desert societies are different from coastal ones. How does your setting change behavior?
Power & Society
Monarchy, corporation, religious body, democratic system — and who is excluded?
Your protagonist's position in this hierarchy shapes every interaction
The world's wound — the tension that predates your story and shapes its backdrop
Rules & Systems
Without limits, there's no tension. The cost of power is what makes it interesting.
Forbidden things create temptation and stakes
The world's lie — false consensus that characters either reinforce or challenge
Culture & Belief
Honor, survival, wealth, loyalty, knowledge — these values create character motivation
Fear shapes behavior as much as desire does
Small cultural textures make a world feel lived-in, not backdrop-painted
History & Change
Wars, collapses, discoveries — the Before that everyone lives in the shadow of
Stories are about change. What's shifting in your world right now?
The worst-case future — this is your ultimate stake