Originally an exercise for a blog challenge, the author has developed this into a really useful workbook to guide, inform and stimulate writers as they settle down to create their own unique worlds. Consistency, believability, and logic are essential when designing a world, and there are many aspects to consider, from moons and gravity, to geography and weather, through societies, economics, fashion, food, flora and fauna, to name but a few, and this excellent work book, while by no means exhaustive, covers a huge range of topics every writer should know about their world, even if the information never comes to the fore of their narrative.

I hope many writers will use this excellent resource to help guide their creativity. ~ Goodreads review

Covering everything from Architecture to Zoology, The A-Zs of Worldbuildingis a comprehensive workbook on how to build a fictional world from scratch. Evidently.

Each chapter provides some background on the chosen topic, giving examples of how that specific aspect may affect people or culture, both individually and as a whole. This is followed by exercises: questions about the topic, plus guidance on things to think about in answering those questions, which I found useful. A lot of times, I give up on workbooks because the questions are either too vague or too difficult to answer–and then everything goes all over the place. However, with the guided questions, Loper provides a structure that is both general (if you’re experienced and just need a checklist) and focused (if you still need help figuring out what’s going on). ~ 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