​Sorry that this is late. I had an argument with my tablet last night... I lost. I celebrated its victory by crashing the app and deleting my post...*sigh*

But I won the war.... *evil chuckling at the low battery notification*

Okay, back to the topic at hand. Part two... lets make out world messy and nuanced. This post will explore: causes for conflict in your country; the customs that bind people together; and the daily grind that we call life.

​Problem Three: Causes of societal conflict
All our worlds have conflict, if they didn't they are either a) a utopia or b) so unrealistic... if you're anything like me you've made the latter. So down the rabbit hole we go...

Justice system:
The police are always the good guys right... well, no. The laws are there to protect me right... again, no. Let's stack the odds against our characters.

1. Who controls the justice system? How do they bend the rules to suit them?
2. Who does the law favor? How are they favored (laws, access to lawyers, language laws are written in, rights)?
3. What is a common punishment for stealing? For murder? For not paying taxes? For treason? Are these punishments different for different people?
4. Is anyone exempt from the laws? Why?
5. What are lawyers like? Are they just? How do they become lawyers? Are they respected in society?
6. Are there any examples of socal justice or vigilantes? What do they focus on fixing?
7. Are the police corrupt or do they want justice? Why are they like that? Do they use force or diplomacy to enforce the law? How are they armed? Are there enough police for the population? How are they viewed by the population?
8. How does money influence the justice system? How does social connection? Does family name influence anything?
9. What are prisons like in your world? Where are they located? What do inmates do in prison?
10. How hard is it to escape prision? How hard is it to be killed in prision?

Societal prejudice:
Last but not least, good old human vs human conflict. That nasty decay of attitude, (racism, sexism, ageism, et al.) that is like trying to punch the wind when you fight it. Good times (NB: this is not a good time). Now let's think about how to make some isms:

1. Who is the least liked group in your world? What defining feature of that group is reviled (skin, height, gender, horns, scale shape)? What names have been made up to taunt that group based on that feature?
2. How do people openly express their hatred openly for this group? Who is most likely to do this (rich, uneducated, foreign, male)?
3. How do people show subvert (hidden) hatred of this group?
4. Is hatred for this group accepted by society as a whole? Who is against it?
5. In what ways is the hated group given less opportunities than the average person? How does this affect their lives?
6. Are there places that the hated group is not allowed to go? Any other restrictions of movement?
7. If there is more than one hated group, list which are more hated than others.
8. Do the people in power (government, religion, business) promote hate towards any groups? For what purpose?
9. Do different groups hate different people? Explain who and why.
10. Is the hatred on the rise or is tolerance getting better? What has caused this?

​Problem Four: Customs

​Customs are an important part of a society, they are the ways of doing thing that are accepted as normal; that identify a person as a part of that culture. I ignored this part and thus my civilians read like they were westerners stuck living in a fantasy world. There was nothing about how they interacted with the world, or each other, that made them unique. To not have euro-centric societies that are all kind of the same, have a think about the questions below.

Religious Customs:
Religion is often a feature in worlds; as people try to explain their origin, death and why things happen. If you are anything like me you made a religion but forgot about the customs that go along with worship. Here are some questions to help our more pious characters:

1. What is the name of your religion? What is the name of the god/s? How do you join this religion (baptism, birth, trial, contract)? What text do they use? How easy is it to read? To find/buy? Who can own one?
2. Is there more than one religion? Do they coexist peacefully? What are points of conflict between them? Can they intermarry?
3. Where do the groups meet for worship (home, building, town square)? What is that place called? Is it lavish or humble in appearance?
4. How often does the average person meet for worship? Someone pious? Irreligious? Lax in their faith? How long is the service?
5. What do they do when worshipping their god/s (sing, pray, lash self, dance, create pottery)? Is this done alone or in a group? Is it led by a leader/holy man? What are the leaders called? What is considered taboo to do during worship?
6. What style of dress indicates someone who is pious? Someone without faith? Are there jewels or head coverings? What is the importance of dress and grooming standards? Are the rules different for classes or genders?
7. Is faith an important part of society? What happens when someone goes against the teachings? Can they repent? How do they repent?
8. Are there atheists? How are they viewed? How do they view the religious? How are their lives different from religious people?
9. Are there any greetings, sayings or cuss words tied to your religion? Can religious people cuss? What other restrictions do religious people have?
10. How do people decorate their homes to show reverence to their god/s? Their workplace? Means of transport? Are their god/s or government/king more important? How is this shown? Who debates this?

Customs of important events:
Not everyone celebrates birthdays. New Years is celebrated differently in different countries. When creating a culture it is important to look at what is important to them, what they celebrate and how they celebrate.

​

1. Do people marry? What does the bride/groom wear? Who can marry? Who can't and why? How to they bind themselves together? How long does the contract of marriage last? Can you have more than one contract? Are the terms of marriage different based on gender?
2. How do people react to death? How do they dispose of the body? Who prepares the body? How soon after death is the body disposed of? Do they have a ceremony during the disposal? How do people grieve? How long is considered normal?
3. Can you get divorced in your world? Why? What would be grounds for getting divorced? Is it equally easy/hard for men and women to divorce? How does society feel about divorce? Who gets the possessions? Who gets the children?
4. How do people feel about pregnancy (accepted, to be hidden)?  Does this change if the mother is unwed? What are pregnant women expected to do? Is birthing private or public? Where do they go to give birth? Who helps the mother after childbirth?
5. Are birthdays celebrated? For what purpose? Are all celebrated or just some? When do people stop celebrating birthdays? How do people celebrate their birthdays? Is there a stigma around getting older? Is it the same for different genders/races/species?
6. What important times of the year are celebrated (changes of season/year, harvests)? How are they celebrated? Is there a myth or significance to celebrating that event? Is there more than one? How are they different? Do different people celebrate it differently?
7. Are there any religious days for celebration? What do they celebrate? How are they celebrated? What is the purpose of the celebration? Is anything done in excess or denied during these celebrations? Is the celebration public or private? Do the celebrations line up with the teachings?
8. Are there any government days for celebration? What are they? Are they mandatory or optional? How do people feel about the celebrations? Where are the celebrations held? Do officials attend? Make speeches?
9. How do the celebrations impact trade and business? Do the businesses close for the celebrations? Do they have a big sale? Do they have to pay their workers more to work on that day?
10. How are success celebrated? Are failures ever celebrated?

Cultural customs:
How do we say hello? Goodbye? A lot of what we do tells others what sort of person we are; if a hand is presented to us and we don't shake it we are seen as rude... kinda weird when you think about it. So what weird stuff do people do in your world?
​

1. How do you greet someone (handshake, bow, high five)? What was its original purpose (show humility, trust, respect, non threat)? Does the greeting change for higher or lower ranked people? For men and women? how do you say goodbye?
2. How do you show respect when addressing someone? How do you show disrespect? Who goes through the door first? Who talks first in a conversation? When do these rules change?
3. Are there gestures that are considered rude? How do you apologize? Is there a process for forgiving? Is it rude to not forgive? Are grudges considered normal? Do blood feuds exist? 
4. What is the proper etiquette to arrange a visit (invite self, arrive unannounced, dove carried invite)? How important is hospitality in your world? How do you show appreciation in your world? Is gift giving a thing? When do people give gifts?
5. What slang words are used in your country? How did they originate? Who uses them? Are they considered polite? Do different classes/races/species have different slang words?
6. What is considered to be shocking behavior in your country? What is considered normal in your world that would be shocking in ours? What behavior would people shun you for (taboos)?
7. What do people swear oaths by? How binding is an oath? What situations will nullify an oath? If you break your oath how do people react? Are oaths common? 
8. What faux pas does your country have (burping, showing ankle, not booping your host's nose)? How does this change when with friends? Family? Acquaintances? Strangers? Royalty? 
9. What are the rules around courtship? What is considered beautiful? What makes a desirable mate? Are there any races/species that find the other unattractive? Can different species/races date? Marry? How is that marriage received by the population?
10. How do the greetings/gestures/customs change according to different countries in your world?

So that concludes the mistakes I made when world building. Are there any areas that you find challenging that you would like me to write a post about? Comment below.

Next week... very exciting news!! We will be having guest bloggers who will share a little about their writing process and their genres.

Until next time, build the worlds that your characters will fight to save.

It takes some serious courage to create a whole world that is filled
with people, places and stuff happening. When I started my world-
building bible (or Carol as I call her) I did some half-assed research about what should do into it, thinking that I could just make up the
other details as I went along. Please, don’t do this.

*Sigh* I did do this. I figured out some basic races, my magic
system, a class system and even a religion/origin story. I felt on top of the world.
​

I quickly discovered (NB: Not quickly enough) that I had some massive gaps in my world, it was missing the depth that
makes fantasy so engrossing. Epic fail.
​
So where did I go wrong? Below are five categories that I should have planned before putting fingers to keyboard.

Problem One: Economic System
​
I did not think about how money functioned within my world. At all.
I knew what the money was called and that was all I thought I needed. I was wrong. So, so wrong.
To be fair at this point my main character has no money, at all, ever. She lives on the shanty-fringes of the city with her mom, and scavenges from the scraps of the
wealthy to find food. When I started world-building this didn’t seem like a huge
​issue. But it was. 

Major industry
People need jobs right? Well in my world-building book, apparently not. I had not thought about this until I was faced with the realization that nobody in my world had a job… nobody. I couldn’t explain the vast wealth of the Nobles or why my
poor were so poor. So back to the drawing board I went.
​
Some questions to have actual jobs for your characters:

1. What is your country known for making (food, weapons, magic, excellent margaritas)?
2. Why are they the best at making it?
3. Are people able to cross-craft (learn from other trades/races)?
4. Are there unions? How much impact has this had on the industry world?
5. What business would you see in a village? Town? City? Why?
6. Do you need a license or an apprentice to enter into certain careers?
7. Are any jobs illegal or obsolete? Why?
8. Do any of the regions within your country have specific crafts, skills or jobs?
9. Do any of the races/species have specialized jobs that only they can do?
10. How do politics and religion affect what is sold and made in your country?

Trade
So other countries exist right? And they have different locations and climates? Chances are that they can grow or produce things that your current city/country cannot. This often leads to trade (or war/pillaging depending on your cultures
values). I did not think about this. Instead I created an isolated bubble in which my country lives.
​
Totally believable…

A few questions to answer to not have a sucky bubble-country:

1. What does your country import/export (food, weapons, household items, magic?)
2. Are there any countries who refuse to trade? Why?
3. Is there a trade language that all countries know and use?
4. How important is trade to your country?
5. Is the money system universal? If not how do they deal with exchange rates?
6. How are the goods transported?
7. Is anything illegal to trade?
8. How do politics and religion affect to whom and what is traded in your country?
9. How much smuggling occurs?
10. Is there a black market? What is sold there? Where is it? Is it a secret?

Problem Two: Transport and Technology
​
Again, as my main character gets around on foot most of the time, I did not think this one through. But transport is vital in a world. It controls
movement, trade, and even communication. Add technology to the mix
​and well… I had some serious inconsistencies floating around.

On Friday I will post part two which covers: Causes of societal conflict; Cultural and
​religious customs; and Daily life.

I hope you found this helpful and that you can learn from my mistakes.
Until next time: do whatever keeps you writing.