I mostly write fantasy. I’ve taught lots of classes on worldbuilding. I’ve taught classes on magic systems. Classes on how to draw fantasy maps. Classes on creating a storyworld bible. Classes on creating cultures, creating creatures, and creating entire solar systems, pantheons, and complex governments. I love, love talking about worldbuilding. Strangely, I’ve never taught a “How To Write Fantasy” class or wrote such a blog post.

I started to wonder why, and I came to the conclusion that writing fantasy is not really all that different from writing any other genre—apart from the storyworld and magic, which explains why I’ve taught so many of those type classes.

So, for the next couple posts, I wanted to back up a little and talk about what you need at the very beginning to get started on a new fantasy story idea. What is important without becoming completely overwhelmed? (Which the fantasy genre has the tendency to do to authors.)

1. Build the world and ONLY the elements you NEED to tell the story you want to tell.

Most fantasy novels don’t need everything you can possibly create about a storyworld. If you’re writing a story about a virus that ravages a village, you’re going to need to spend a lot of time building the level of technology in regards to medicine. You’ll need to know if your world has doctors or healers or medicine men. You’ll need to understand the virus, its symptoms, how it is transmitted, and whether or not it can be cured. But you probably won’t need to spend a lot of time worldbuilding the military or a history of wars in your world. You likely won’t need to spend much time on the government. You might not need a magic system for your story.

Now, if you’re writing a quest story, you probably don’t need to know much about the daily life of people in the different towns along the way. You might not need to worry about the government and politics of your world. But you’ll want to know all about the landscape of your world—interesting landmarks your characters might see along the way and the different creatures they might run into.

So, take some time to figure out which storyworld elements you are going to need, then brainstorm only those things. You don’t need the rest. And if later, as you’re writing, you realize you need more, you can pause and take the time to create what you need then. But for now, this will keep you on track and away from feeling overwhelmed.

2. Create, and stick to, some rules.

Part of what’s thrilling about the fantasy genre is the limitations the world or the magic places on the characters. Frodo is carrying the One Ring. He’s not supposed to put it on because when he does, Sauron and the Nazgul can see him and find him. That’s cool! And of course he’s going to have to put on that ring a few times, right?

Rules are not only for the magic system in a story, but if you’re writing hard magic, you definitely want to have some rules.

Allomancy in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series has a lot of rules. Allomancy is performed by swallowing a metal and “burning” it to achieve an outcome. Some people can can only burn one type of metal, which limits their abilities. Others can burn all sixteen metals, which gives them many more abilities. Sanderson invented all of the different things Allomancy can achieve, from controlling and manipulating the emotions of another person to using metals to pull and push oneself around the world (kind of like Spiderman). This is hard magic, which is magic with lots of rules.

Fantasy novels that use soft magic have rules too, only they’re not quite so outlined. Take the Harry Potter books, for example. The magic system is pretty soft. Swish and flick, right? But the world has rules, and we learn those rules little by little as Harry learns them. There are three unforgivable types of magic curses: the Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra), the Cruciatus Curse (Crucio), and the Imperius Curse (Imperio). There are a few ways wizards can travel apart from magical beasts or enchanted vehicles or objects: flu powder, portkeys, apparating. You have to be of age to apparate.  There are societal prejudices about the purity of one’s genetic line and cultural tensions between wizards that adds conflict. There is controversy over owning house elves and the worldbuilding rule that the gift of clothing sets them free. Goblins run all the banks. Students are sorted into houses by a hat—it’s tradition and (apparently) nonnegotiable. I never heard of a student transferring to a different house, have you?

The rule Rowling used to her greatest advantage was wonder. She made things wondrous from the food and candy to the enchanted portraits to the game of Quidditch to the ghosts living in Hogwarts. And she considered natural consequences too, like how paper airplanes are now used at the Ministry of Magic because so many owls were leaving bird droppings everywhere and the place was a mess. This is just a small mention in a passing phrase of dialogue, but Rowling did that kind of thing over and over in her books to powerful effect.

So, rules are not only limited to magic systems. Storyworlds need rules too. Rules and traditions create legitimacy for your world and help the reader understand what can and can’t happen.

3. Expand the elements you chose.

Too many authors make the mistake of thinking they need more cool things in their new fantasy story. But you don’t need more. You simply need to go deeper with what you have. Take Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races. Her main elements are 1) the small island of Thisby and 2) the Capul Ishkah water horses. The story is very simple. There is no magic system, no government, no major religions. She has one fantastical creature and the island on which they are captured and raced. She spent a lot of time on the horses and their behavior. She created rules for them. She spent a lot of time on how the races work and traditions and celebrations surrounding that. And she worked hard on Thisby itself, which was kind of like a 1950s world with electricity, cars, and radios but no mention of television, phones, or the Internet. It’s an absolutely brilliant, award-winning novel. Stiefvater chose what she needed to tell the story she wanted to tell, and then she went deep, expanding each area in ways that completely immerse the reader into the story.

But how do you know what worldbuilding aspects and rules you need for your story?

Some of this will likely be obvious based on your story idea. Yet, sometimes you won’t discover a worldbuilding need until you’re halfway through writing your first draft.

My book, Storyworld First, started as a series of blog posts here on the Go Teen Writers blog, and those posts are still available for you to read. So, go take a look at the list of topics and consider the different categories. I also put a more in-depth list below. Use this list like a form for ordering a pizza. What toppings do you want for your story? Check off only what you know you’re going to need.

• Geography
• Borders and boundaries between other countries
• Cities and landmarks
• Environmental elements
• Civilizations, species, and cultures
• Creatures, magical or mythical
• Occupations—Entire stories can be built around occupations. Think of the movies Minority Report or Equillibrium.  Cool occupations in those stories.
• Magic—Including physical and mental abilities that might be natural to certain people groups or creatures. How important is magic to your world and story? Is it a main part of the story or is it a background or side element? Is it hard or soft magic?
• Religions—Apart from allegories of real religions, stories can center on fictional religions too. Think of Brandon Sanderson’s Ellantris.
• Technology—This includes weapons, tools, vehicles and means of travel, forms of communication, medicine, and other inventions.
• Government
• History
• Languages

Pick the elements that are integral to your concept, your plot, your characters, and the growth you want for your characters through the story. How are the elements you chose important to your characters’ arcs and the problem they’re going to face in the story?

Then figure out how your list of storyworld elements will interact with your plot and characters. Try and build some cohesiveness and (if you can) conflict here. This is where expanding your elements and going deeper can help. For example, in my current WIP, I spent a few hours making an insignia chart for my military. I got frustrated after I did it, thinking I had wasted over an hour that should have spent writing. But I had been writing when I got stuck trying to describe the insignia on a soldier’s uniform. In my book, soldiers not only display their army ranks, they display their mage abilities. The fact that one soldier glanced at another’s insignia to gauge his where his skill compared—and I didn’t have an answer—made me realize I hadn’t gone deep enough in my magic system. Taking the time to draw out my ranks and insignia helped me flesh out my magic system and how it is integrated into my military. Turns out it was good time spent after all, going deeper to expand my magic system and how it is part of my characters’ military life.

You can also make lists, timelines, character charts, family trees, maps, floorplans, and magic charts. All this will help you! Even if you’re a seat-of-the-pants writer, if you’re working on an epic fantasy novel, doing a little paperwork can help keep you from pantsing yourself into a corner.

What main worldbuilding elements are part of your work-in-progress? How can you go deeper with them? Have you created some rules? Share in the comments.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.