“…This book’s format will guide you through the creation of a whole new world, crafted from your own imagination and with the prompts on these pages, including the obvious necessities (what is the family structure, where do they live, what do they wear, and eat, and create?) as well as the politics and belief systems that will enrich the literary home for your characters and their adventures, giving them things to strive to attain, and logical obstacles to block their way…” ~ Excerpt from Goodreads review

“As a writer, I found this book to be super helpful for thinking through all the elements that go into creating a fantastical or science fiction world. Honestly, even if you’re writing about a time in the historical past or a place of the world that you’ve never lived, this book would be useful. It encourages you to consider everything from wild life and plants to religions and family… and so much more that can potentially use to help create plot complications and inform the motives of different characters. It includes exercises to help you work through these different world elements, if you’re so inclined. It’s probably the most accessible and practical book on this topic that I’ve personally come across.” ~ Goodreads review

This book is a fantastic tool for writers of fantasy and science fiction who have to build their worlds from nothing. However, I soon realized that this is also useful for those of us whose fiction is set in the present day US, as well. It is a comprehensive guide to setting, including aspects many of us don’t think about until we are in the middle of a story and get lost.  Even if we are not creating the world from scratch, we still need to be mindful of how the various aspects of geography, society, and culture affect our characters and their lives.

The book has 26 chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet. The topic is discussed and thought provoking questions are asked. Sources of inspiration are also given. Each chapter concludes with exercises that can be used to flesh out the topic for the reading author’s work. The chapters do not have to be read and practiced in the order written, but the reading author can jump around to what sections are needed easily.

I definitely recommend this book to any fiction author. ~ source