Creating a fictional world for a story is one of the best parts of writing. There's something powerful about moulding an entire mythology in your mind and then putting it down on paper, something akin to godhood (or the closest we'll ever get to it, anyway).

That said it's not always an easy process, and can be fraught with little pitfalls you might not see coming. Don't despair, though, there are ways around your troubles. Here are a few tips on establishing your new world, organizing it and then populating it with detail.

- Stuck for ideas? Look around you. It's amazing how small and insignificant of an object can spur on world generation. I find the natural world to be excellent inspiration for coming up with your own little universe, though just about anywhere and anything will do. With a little imagination even the most mundane of items can help this process.

- Read. Read, read, read. And I don't necessarily mean fiction, but non-fiction. Again, you can take just about any material you find of interest and change it into your own brand of fiction. I prefer non-fiction for this because fictional works run the risk of unwittingly copying another writer's ideas, which doesn't work well for anybody - and besides, even if you get away with it, your readers will notice and you might be considered something of a hack. Good sources of material are other cultures and their mythologies and history books, though your material depends on the world you're creating.

- Start writing. Every time you get even the slightest idea for your world, write it down. Free writing helps well with this, too, as you'd be surprised how easily fresh ideas flow into your fingers as they move. Don't disregard any idea, no matter how dumb it seems.

- Keep your ideas in order. As more flood in you'll want to keep them in similar areas. I find using a word processor to keep everything that's related together an easy way to manage your growing world.

- Create some sort of conflict. A fictional world is going to be dull without something going on in it. What's causing unrest in your world? Not only will establishing a point of contention serve as a cornerstone for future stories, it'll help you populate your world.

- Which brings us to the next point: put people in your world. Or creatures. Or something. You'll want to establish a few major groups, whatever they may be, which comprise major forces in your world. From there you'll be able to work downwards and start creating smaller communities, groups and even important individuals.

- Lay out a chronological history. How did the world come to be the way it is? What was involved? Even if the history doesn't end up being important right away, chances are it will eventually.

- And once that's all done, flesh out the details. Now that you've got a solid world, look at each element and fill in the blanks. As you do you'll discover more things that are necessary to make the whole world work.

Learn more about this author, Matt Bird.
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