Prep-Tober, as I have come to know it, are the steps one takes in October to prepare for writing a novel in November (or any month). I first came upon this terminology in Rachel Stephen’s video, which described what she will be doing to prepare for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. Since seeing that video, I have become aware that it is a common term for describing to prepare for such an obstacle as writing a novel in a month. It made me think about the many different methods on constructing and preparing a novel. The intention of this article (and the ones to follow) are to help elaborate on different techniques to prepare to write for those individuals attempting their first novel, or for those who are looking to try a new method. You can find last week’s article on plotting methods here. This week’s issue of my "Guide to Prep-Tober" will focus on world-building.

So what is world-building, and why is it important?

World-building is essential if you are creating a world different than our own. Some examples of this are the famous “Harry Potter” series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” and “Game of Thrones.” Even if the world you are writing about takes place in our own, but with variations, such as “The Mortal Instruments” novels, world-building helps create a stronger sense of story and can elevate how your reader interacts with your novel. Knowing what kind of world your story takes place in can help tell your story, and vice versa.

What to focus on.

The senses.

The senses are a great way to start your world-building and build off from there. From the initial senses, you can then ask yourself why they are this way.

• Sight:What does it look like? Are the buildings large enough to touch the clouds, or small enough to hide beneath leaves? How big are the leaves in the world? Are there even buildings in your world, or do they all live under the light of the stars? What type of constellations decorate the night sky? What do the people look like? Do they have hair that sticks up on end like the “Bride of Frankenstein,” or braided like Katniss in “The Hunger Games”? Is it medieval structures like in “Game of Thrones,” or do they live in the distant future in a colony on one of Saturn’s moons?
• Taste:What does the food and drinks taste like here? Is soda invented? Is coffee? Is there a metallic taste to the air? Do they live underwater where everything tastes of water? Is that water saltwater or fresh water? What type of makeup do the people use (if they use any)? If it's natural, do they taste like berries? If manufactured, do they taste bitter, etc.? What is the favorite dish of the region you are writing in?
• Touch:Are the structures coarse or soft? What do clothes feel like? If your characters don’t wear clothes, what does their skin feel like? What do instruments used to fight the conflict feel like? Is everything metallic? Is everything woodsy? Is it a mix? What do trees feel like in this world? What does water feel like when your character touches it? What are common allergic reactions, and what does it do to the characters? Is there a plague? If so, what does it feel like? What item makes your character happy just by touching it? What makes them sad?
• Smell:What does your city smell like? Does it smell like acid, brimstone, and grim? Or is it more sterile, like a hospital? Is there foliage in the world? What does it smell like? What does the food smell like? What is your character’s favorite smell? What is their least favorite smell? What does home smell like to them? What do their friends' houses smell like? What does it smell like before it starts to rain?
• Sound:Is the world quiet? Loud? Does it have a minimal buzzing that seems unexplained until the climax of the novel? What are the sounds of the different regions? Are there any unfamiliar animals that make interesting noises? Describe what noises you might hear on a normal jaunt along the street, where most of your scenes take place. How is that noise different when you introduce the conflict?

Similarities and differences from our world.

How similar is your world from the one we are living in now? Do they have indoor plumbing? Do they have magic and dragons? Does it look more like our past, our present, our future, or does it look nothing like our society? Knowing how different you want your fictional world will help you know how different the people living in this world will also be.

The infrastructure.

What kind of jobs are there? This goes even to the ones we take the most for granted. What is their monetary transaction methods? How do people get money? Is it called something different than money? Where does the trash go, and who takes it? Who cultivates food and who cooks it? What is the most profitable exports and imports? Who runs the country? Who decides fashion, and who makes those clothes? Who are the most influential people in the realm? Why? Are they the same people who run the realm, or are they different? Is there a black market? Where do they meet, and why there? To know what infrastructure you need, you will need to know how similar or different the world you create is from the one we live in. For example, considering the muggle world is vastly different than the magical world, the infrastructure would be different.

History 101.

Just like our world grew to get to where we are now, how did your world get to where it was? This is especially important if you are writing about a future version of our world or a world completely different from ours – like in “Game of Thrones,” where the different rulers had made different changes to Westeros. Knowing how your world got to where it came from can help you know what not to do in the story – or to even repeat history if characters are taking luxuries for granted and not paying attention to how things started to go bad. History doesn’t just have to mean politics, though. While that part is important, you should focus on the history of what is important to your character. So maybe they are invested in fashion, athletics, cooking, or monster hunting. How has that evolved or stayed the same?

Rules of the world.

What laws make up this world? What laws do people keep? What laws do people tend to break? This can be anywhere between murder and jaywalking. What laws are your characters more likely to break? If you need any help, you can also take a look at our world and why we have the rules we do. Alternatively, it might be helpful to think of the rules made by society. Is there a reason your character might feel ashamed to do something? Is there something your character is more likely to do because it is considered safe and acceptable? Does this change throughout the novel? If yes, how and why does it change? Remember, these rules can be contradictory. Some people might disagree and some people will be pitted against those who don’t conform to the norm. As I mentioned before, take a look at the world and see how certain people react to “society’s rules,” and how some might be considered hypocritical. Flawed systems can be frustrating, but they can also seem more realistic depending on how passionate the characters are about the systems.

The tipping point.

What has happened in your novel to make it get here? What was the tipping point for the world to need a call to action? This part ties in with plot, and you can always make a note in your outline to mention bits of world-building during that part so you don’t forget in the heat of writing. You need to know why your world is changing around these characters’ actions and why these characters are making these changes.

Mapping.

Maps are important so you don’t get lost while writing. You can determine distance (like how far Hogsmeade is from Hogwarts), but must be able to keep it constant throughout the story. The scale and medium are completely up to you. Whether you want to use Google Maps because the world looks similar to ours, or you want to hand-draw a map because it’s something remarkably different, anything goes. Maps can also help you keep track of how many places you have mentioned in the novel and what differences they have compared to other places you created.

What to be wary of.

Time.

When prepping for writing, you don’t want to spend all your time on writing. If you invest everything in prep on world-building, then it would be more helpful for Dungeons and Dragons rather than a novel. World-building is essential for most novels, but you don’t want to overdo it. Creating a world from scratch can really tire the imagination and actually make you want to stop the novel before you have even written anything from the novel. Taking breaks will help, especially if those breaks rotate to another portion of the writing prep to focus on, such as outlines, plot, or characters.

Balance.

This point relates to the above point. Since you don’t want to only create a world, you want to make sure your knowledge of your story is balanced. For everything you learn about the world you create, you want to know about your characters and plot. If it is unbalanced, you may interrupt your writing time and can actually slow you down or kill momentum. In order to avoid that turn of events, make sure you have enough of your story to keep you writing till you reach “the end.”

Over-Explaining.

Subtext can be your best friend while writing. You don’t want to demean an audience by stating everything about the world outright. In “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” Lemony Snicket leaves holes in the logic and takes painstaking lengths to leave some questions unanswered – like what time period the novels actually take place in. That being said, the world he created is fascinating and it’s fun to read in between the clues he has given readers. Know that everything you figure out for your world might not make it into the novel, but they help shape the novel and the characters. Knowing what the world values will help discover what your characters want and why they want them.

These are just some of the world-building tips, tricks, and suggestions to use towards your writing. For more elaborations, you can check out these articles: Charlie Jane Anders’ “7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding,” Chuck Sambuchino’s “Tips on World Building for Writers — How to Make Your Imaginary World Real,” Chuck Wendig’s “25 Things You Should Know About Worldbuilding,” Malinda Lo’s “Five Foundations of World-building,” and Veronica Sicoe’s “13 Worldbuilding Questions.”

World-building can make or break a story, and it’s important to get as much as possible figured out before starting your novel. Prepping this stage can affect everything from your characters to the plot. Knowing a great deal of the world before writing can help minimize some of the rewrites in later drafts. But remember, don’t spend all your time stressed out on creating this world at once, because you might discover some things while writing.

So what’s your favorite fictional world? Would you visit it if you could?