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Setting

Time/Era: Exact year or approximate time

Name of Country: For fun, you could alter the name of an old country to amuse more educated readers. For example, I altered the Assyrian Empire's name for a conquering people to evoke images of brutality and Mesopotamia.

Geography: Keep track of all the places you mention and their approximate locations. I find it handy to draw a rough map of the area.

Landscape: Trees, soil, water, buildings... Imagine you were flying over the place in an airplane. What would you see down below? (And no, you can't write "screaming people who have never seen airplanes before and think the apocalypse has come.")

Housing: How big are the houses that the people live in, and what are they made of? If they're members of a migrant tribe, what do they use for shelter, and how do they transport their shelters? (If that last question is an issue, look up Plains Native Americans and their tents for a start.)

Climate: Is it hot and arid or are people wearing sweaters in the hottest month of the year? (Unfortunately, our climate appears to be the latter, as my apparel today suggests.)

Politics, History and Economy

Political System and Hierarchy: From basic stuff (democracy, monarchy, etc.) to chain of command (governors, mayors) to bureaucracy

Size of Government: How large is the government, and how active is it in the lives of its citizens?

Political Climate: Are the people isolationist or pushing for trade? Are they content with the political situation, or is dissent in the air? (Hint: it's usually the latter.) If there are dissidents, how many are there, and how do they express their discontent?

Wars: What wars are going on? If there are countries at war, I recommend you look up a few famous wars and just read about the things that happened. Usually the government tends to be more controlling during wartime, and sometimes expressing dissent becomes a crime.

Size of Country: Small countries are very different from big countries.

History: Activate your inner nerd and have fun writing! Write as many paragraphs as you need; there are few better ways to get to know your country.

Important Locations: capital cities, cultural centers, etc.

Holidays: Your civilization would be very strange if it didn't have holidays. While you don't need to write about them, it might be fun! Consider what each holiday means (religious, historic, changing of seasons, honoring a person or group of people) and how people celebrate it. Parades, costumes, feasts, and ceremonies are all options. Find some civilizations like yours and research to get ideas!

Economic System: How much control does the government have over the economy? Regulation can vary from the government controlling all aspects (prices, wages, hours; see Communism) to regulating nothing and allowing severe exploitation (see Industrial Revolution). Regulation tends to increase during war (America during Civil War, WWI), mostly regarding war industries. Smaller economies (think Tolkienesque villages) tend not to need regulation, while industrial and postindustrial economies work best with a level of consumer and worker protection. Too much control stifles the economy, but power-hungry dictators may do it anyway.

Economy: What is the current state of the economy? Is it booming, or are they in the midst of a recession?

Currency: For example, 4 bronze coins for a silver coin, 4 silver coins for a gold coin; a bronze coin is about 50 cents (USD)

Where to Buy Things: Do they go to the mall or the market? Short shopping scenes can be useful because they give the reader a good feel of the setting and atmosphere.

Technology: How advanced are they? Are they starting their fires with flint and steel, or are they zipping around on hover scooters from portal to portal? Be sure to do your research: you can't have robots before an industrial revolution. Your civilization lacks the knowledge (first they'll need to develop electric wiring, mechanical parts, cheap energy, advanced computers...) and your genius inventor there will need to buy materials, which are not easily accessible until industry has developed a lot. This is why research (or a history class) is the key. If I just deconstructed your setting there, try lots of re-working or have your genius use magic to animate a homemade dummy.

General Wealth: Is the average citizen poor or moderately wealthy? Is there a large rich/poor discrepancy? How much money does the government have?

City Infrastructure: (for each city) Why is this location the best spot for a city? How do people get in and out? How are the roads, running water (if any), sewers (if any), etc.? Does the city have a grid layout (indicating planning), or do people just add more buildings wherever they please? How does the weather affect the infrastructure?

The People

Name of People: Usually citizens of a certain region have a specific name for themselves. (You know, like "Americans.") Also consider what people of other regions might call them. For example, a travelling merchant might tell my character Athryl, "I can tell you're a Northerner" while someone from the Borderlands might sneer, "You sound like a city boy." Nicknames for people of other regions may reflect racist or classist attitudes in the culture.

Physical Description: Whether they simply tend to have reddish hair or they're a strange alien race, it's nice to give people of a certain geographic area certain physical traits. Some traits may come from regional things (for example, darker skin in equatorial regions) while others may be random and due to isolation (such as the shape of noses). I hope to cover this in an upcoming resource.

Names: What do their names sound like? Please see "I Dub Thee" for ideas and help with coming up with consistent naming patterns. A monocultural, isolated place will probably have names that follow patterns more closely, while a cosmopolitan place may have names from many cultures.

Language(s): Is there more than one common language? Do these people have an accent based on region?

Slang and Swear Words: Tamora Pierce came up with a lot of street slang in her Beka Cooper series (about 30 words, 10 used regularly, all indexed). While you don't have to go that in depth, experimentation could be fun.* You could also invent swear words to show characters who curse without alienating young or sensitive readers. (Eoin Colfer did this in Artemis Fowl.) It helps if the words mean something or have some sort of history. For example, in my current book, the name of a dangerous predator can also be used as a curse.
*Note: As always, practice this in moderation. Tamora Pierce had a very long novel in which she could acclimate the reader to these terms. When in doubt, less is more.

Demographics: Most common races, ages (premature deaths? old people migrating to warmer places?), percent of slaves if slavery exists, anything notable

Social Standards: What offends them? Are they proper and Puritanical or does anything go? Vice will exist no matter what, but reactions to vice will differ. What is the ideal man/woman/child?

Social Activities and Customs: Do they watch sports in the field for fun? Do girls, upon reaching womanhood, throw large parties with all their friends? What do people do for entertainment? (Note: Free time expands greatly after consumerism takes hold. In medieval times, there was little free time, because the peasants had to farm all day, the wives looked after the house and kids, etc. See 1920s and post-WWII America.)

Social Inequality: eg. patriarchy, unregulated capitalism, slavery, caste system, etc. Inequality comes in three levels: legal, economic, and social. Check out feminist literature if this interests you. Consider race, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, region, (dis)ability, size...

Attitudes towards Newcomers: How will they be received? (You may have a few special characters in mind here...)

Typical Wardrobe: Feel free to come up with completely new and original ideas! In the Victorian Era, little boys wore dresses until about the age of five. Clothing could reflect age, marital status, social status, occupation... just about anything. Keep the climate in mind.

Atmosphere: Is there a lot of cheerful hustle and bustle, or do people prefer to stay home behind locked doors?

Magic

The Magic If it exists, how does it work?

Limitations: You NEED these. One way to limit is to say that it costs as much physical energy as it would to do the thing without magic (see Eragon) or to make a chart of how much energy each spell uses. Consider how wide of a range a spell can cover. (For example, is it difficult for a magic-user to enchant herself, or could she enchant a whole army at little cost?)

Magical People: What do you call a magic-user in your civilization? Who uses magic: orphan girls or snooty high priests?

Commonness: If that orphan girl comes up to the temple and shows the people magic, will they fall to their knees in shock and admiration, or shake their heads and get an escort to take her home? Will your sorceress distractedly snap her fingers at a lamp to light it, or is it so difficult and powerful that she will only use it if absolutely necessary?

Tools: Are wands and staffs necessary, or can you use your hands?

Spells: Make an index. I'm serious. You must to keep track of your spells.


You now hopefully have a better understanding of your setting. Remember: the best way to get to know your setting is to write a good scene in it, so off you go!