This week we are going to discuss worldbuilding cultures. This is the biggest part of worldbuilding in my opinion. Everything that happens in the world stems from the people’s culture. It’s the how and why they do things that makes the story exciting, and creating the culture before you write will keep the story details consistent. Here is a list of nine categories to consider when building your world’s culture.
1. Customs
Every society has a specific way of doing things, and your world should as well. What holidays do they celebrate? How do they treat death, birth, and weddings? Invent different ways they greet each other and say goodbye. They could have taboos, folklore, and signs of good luck. Think about other cultures in our world and identify what makes them unique. Then twist those traditions to make new ones for your world (just be careful to not insult any real cultures with your story).
2. Government
Rules and regulations are necessary for any group of people. You need to decide how your world is governed. Dictatorship, monarchy, democracy, or something entirely new? You should craft the major laws, how they are enforced, and how the penal system works. You can also have some fun with it by thinking about how society views the government. It is respected, begrudgingly obeyed, or ignored except when total chaos breaks out? Your story doesn’t have to be political, but you will need to mention the entity in control if you want your world to feel realistic.
3. Religion
Every world has some form of beliefs. You can use real religions of our world or create new ones. Craft how society views religion, and it’s priority level in daily life. If you want to bring in gods or religious beings into your world, you can create them as well. Again, religion doesn’t have to be a major part of your story, but mentioning it even in passing will make your society well-rounded.
4. Communication
Communicating is vital for any society. What languages do they speak? Are there different dialects? Do the rich speak differently than the poor? You don’t have to invent a language, but you can add some new phrases or words to make a more “in-culture” vibe. Another thing to think about is the way they talk. Are they direct or is it rude to be blunt? Maybe they describe things by feelings instead of visuals, or they always use titles instead of personal names. Pick a couple ways to differentiate their communication from ours to make it seem more exotic.
You also need to think about how they communicate. Consider the mode of communication: email, letters, telegrams, phones, holograms, etc. Communication is power. The quicker the mode of communication, the more powerful the people because they can coordinate and share knowledge more consistently and reliably.
5. Economics
Despite it being often overlooked in worldbuilding, you need to think about the economy. How do they trade goods between countries? What do they use to purchase supplies? What’s the most valuable asset and the least valuable? If you have magic or high technology in the world, how does that affect the economy? If someone can create gold with magic, that may decrease its value in society. In order to thrive, the world needs to have a circulating economy.
6. History
History exists everywhere. How did the world begin? How do the people think it began? Create wars, famines, climate shifts, plagues, government takedowns, and anything else that shifts history. A history buff friend of mine offered me some advice that I found useful when thinking about how history affects a population. History has proven three things: wars advance technology, peace advances art and science, and any high death counts (plague, religious persecution, or devastating wars) usually result in loss of knowledge and progress setbacks. When you create your world’s history, think about how that affected the society and made the world what it is in your story.
7. Societal Structure
Society comes in layers, usually lower and higher classes. There are also social expectations placed on each class and rules about how to move classes. You will most likely focus on your character’s social class, but you’ll need to define the others and mention them in passing throughout the story. Even if characters from other classes never appear in the story, your character grew up with knowledge of them that will creep into the story. Take some time to think about how people are classified and how that affects their daily lives.
8. Values
All societies have values even if they don’t have a designated religion. Killing and stealing are bad. Maybe men aren’t allowed to look women in the eyes, or animals are considered too disgusting to have as pets. What values does the society uphold as a whole? What happens if someone breaks one? Sometimes, societal rules are far stricter than government laws. Don’t make the mistake of not making any social expectations for your world.
9. Daily Lives
The last little detail I’m going to list is daily routines. What’s a typical day like? What kind of jobs do the people have? Consider their diets, manners, interactions, dress, and education. What are important times for them? Think about when they would eat, sleep, work, and play. This may seem simple, but some cultures do it differently. The Spanish take a siesta in the middle of the day, the English take an afternoon tea, and Americans believe in bigger breakfasts than most other cultures. Think outside the box on how to make your character’s life unique to that world.
Final Thoughts
Culture worldbuilding is a lot to take in all at once. I just want to remind you to breath and take it slow. You don’t have to create everything I listed. Just develop one or two areas in each category. As I said last week, we only want to see the tip of the iceberg in your story. There is no need to create the whole universe if you can get away with only doing a fourth of it. Create what you need, and let the rest go. The goal is to make a realistic sounding world—not a real world. Now go have some fun creating!
Thanks for reading!
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