One of the most important parts about building a fantasy world is the integration of many different cultures, as it can add complexity and depth to any world that you’re building. It’s also super important to give something for the readers to find intrigue over in your world. But, just like in the real world, fantasy cultures can also be complex. So, how do you even start? Well, let’s take a look at some things you need to consider when making a fantasy culture for your world!
1. Take Geography into Account
One of the first things you need to think about is the geographical location of your culture. Is it a mountainous region? A desert? A forest? These things can all play a role in the development of a culture and they have meaning to the story. I’ll give an example from my own books!
In The Fallen Age Saga, there is an alien species from the planet Varkava. One culture resides mostly in the mountains and they are heavily based off of Semitic cultures, hence the name: Shaytanurashi. They are very tribalistic and have more strength than some of the other groups in Varkava due to their hostile climate in the mountains. They are also associated with the fire element more than other tribes.
Hopefully that example can help stir up some ideas of your own!
2. Develop their Beliefs and Traditions
Another big part about developing a new culture for a fantasy world is to ensure that you have some beliefs and traditions that they live by. You don’t need to go too crazy in-depth with this, especially if the culture in question is not necessarily the main part of the story.
However, if your unique culture is really significant to the story, then it’s likely that their beliefs, traditions, and customs will come into play and discussion at some point. This can include things like religious beliefs, superstitions, and related topics.
For example, the Ones Above from my series are an alien species that worship a demon named Diabroka. They believe heavily in things like militarism and will conquer planets and practice magic. These are core aspects to their beliefs.
Also check this out: How to Design Creatures for Your Fantasy or SciFi World
3. Design a Language (Or Come Up With a Whole New One!)
If you’ve ever watched any of the Lord of the Rings movies or you know a bit about LOTR in general, you’ll know that Tolkien was a linguist that developed his stories around his languages. Throughout the LOTR films, you can hear characters like Legolas and Aragorn speaking in Elvish languages. These were actually developed by Tolkien when he was curating his worlds!
It’s honestly a really cool thing to sprinkle into your stories, and it can add a lot of depth and personality to your fantasy cultures. Another example would be Brandon Sanderson’s series, The Stormlight Archive where he has cultures like the Azish and the Alethi, who have their own languages.
In my own series, the Ones Above speak a hybrid of Semitic and Latin. Their script is Semitic, so it’s read from right-to-left, but they have many Latin conventions and words in their language.
If you couldn’t tell by now, languages are a big point of interest for me so don’t hesitate to have as much fun as you want with this part! It can add so much depth to your fantasy culture and your world!
4. Develop Some Social Structures
No culture is without some level of social structure, so it makes sense for your fictional culture to have some as well! These can include things like hierarchies based on social class, gender, and age. It can also include things like if your culture is more family-centric or not.
For instance, circling back to the Ones Above, their societal hierarchy is based solely on a person’s military status. Age does not factor into military leadership–the strongest are at the top. That’s why General Azurai is the First General, since he’s the strongest.
5. Provide Some Conflict and Tension
One of the more unique ways you can build an interesting story around a fantasy culture is to introduce conflict. This can be between social groups or religions or even within the same religion (i.e., extreme zealots vs casual believers).
Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive series includes societal conflict in Alethkar between people who have light-eyes and people who have dark-eyes, which I thought was really interesting. Sanderson did a great job delving deep into the way people who have dark-eyes are affected constantly by this division.
When you’re trying to curate a fantasy culture for your world, you need to make sure that it does have a level of relatability. Conflict and tension exists in the real world, which means that it’s a great way to connect with the reader.
Extra: How Can I Make Sure My Fantasy Culture Feels ‘Real’?
The biggest thing you can do is research, research, research! Writing a book and going in-depth the way fantasy calls for is never a simple thing, so you need to make sure that you’re putting in the proper effort and formulating a believeable culture or set of cultures.
It’s also worth considering how your fictional culture has evolved over time. Historical events, migration patterns, and cultural exchange can all shape the development of a culture over time. By considering the history of your world and how it has influenced the cultures within it, you can create a more dynamic and engaging world for your readers.
To wrap things up, when you’re working on building up your world, making sure your fictional cultures make sense and are believable is a big part of crafting a good story. By considering the geography, beliefs and traditions, language, social structures, and conflicts within your world, you can create cultures that feel authentic and engaging. Don’t forget to research and jot that research down! Part of being a good writer is also being a good scholar, so don’t fret if you don’t get it down the first time.
If you’re still struggling with world building and would like a bit of extra help or maybe you want me to help craft your world for your books. If that sounds like you, then book me over on Fiverr and let’s have a conversation on how we can make your story excellent!
While you’re at it, also check out my series!