5 Must-Have World Building Tools
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I’ve been talking a lot about world building over the last few weeks. Camp NaNo is also running this month and one of the tracks is just for world building, so this seemed like the perfect time to talk about the world building tools that I rely on in my writing practice. Just remember, nothing in the writing world is ever one-size-fits-all (no matter what you’re told) so make sure you run my suggestions through the filter of your writing practice. Take what works and leave the rest!
Here’s a fantasy map I created in Inkarnate. It’s not perfect or detailed but absolutely serviceable for keeping track of where things are in relation to each other during the drafting process.
#1: Inkarnate – for map making
Inkarnate is a map making software that even my non-artistic self can use. I love a good fantasy map, but drawing is not my forte. Thankfully, Inkarnate levels the playing field by making it easy to create your own fantasy maps. If you’re intimidated by the tech side of things, Inkarnate also has hours of video tutorials posted onYouTube that provide step by step instructions for creating a map.
I’m not a very visual person which makes it hard for me to keep locations straight in my head as I’m drafting. To overcome that challenge, I like to create maps early in the writing process so that I have a reference to go back to whenever I need to get a character from point A to point B.
These maps don’t have to be pretty—though people can create absolutely gorgeous things in Inkarnate—just functional. When you’re world building and drafting, the goal is to do just enough to get yourself to the end of the draft. You can worry about creating a beautiful map (or having one created for you) when you get closer to publication.
The best part, you can use it for free and upgrade later if you need the added functionality.
Check it out here!
#2: The Complete Art of World Building by Randy Ellefson – for inspiration & focus
I’ve talked about Ellefson’s series before, but that’s because I use it all the time when world building and I consistently recommend it to clients and writing friends. This series is as close as it comes to a comprehensive guide to building a fantasy world.
Throughout the series, Ellefson clear explanations of key world building comments like different geographical features, where to put your settlements, and the various aspects of culture and infrastructure that your world needs.
There are three books in the set: Creating Life, Creating Places, and Cultures and Beyond. You could buy just one of those books to focus on the world building elements you need help with, but I recommend keeping all three on hand. After all, your world does need to be comprehensive, even if you don’t go into depth on each aspect of your world building.
Check out the whole series here!
#3: Snapfish – for building a library of inspo pics
Now, this might seem like an odd addition to this list, but hear me out! In last week’s post, I talked about my favorite sources of world building inspiration. I’m constantly inspired by nature and travel and I love taking pictures to help me remember the places I’ve been. Staring at all those pictures on a computer scree would be a recipe for one massive headache, so I print out the best options to keep in an inspiration library.
Getting photos printed can be expensive—that’s where Snapfish comes in. It’s cheap and fast and gets the job done. Even better, they almost always have a sale going. I’ll be honest, this isn’t the service I’d use to print a family photo that’s going over the fireplace, but for cheap prints I can tape to the wall above your writing desk, Snapfish is perfect.
You can check it out here.
#4: Dabble – for organizing my world bible
Dabble was created for writing manuscripts, and I love it for that purpose, but I also use it to create my world bibles. Why? Organization!
Dabble allows you to effortlessly create hierarchies of information. Right now they offer five levels of organization: everything is housed in the project/manuscript. Within that umbrella you can create books, parts, chapters, scenes, and notes (which can be further divided into folders by topic).
Dabble’s projects are also searchable, which makes it easy to access your world building information whenever you need to check your facts.
Dabble also has a notes feature that you could use to build your world bible within your manuscript project. If you want to keep everything together and you’re working with a less complex world, this could be a great option.
I prefer to keep my world building in a separate project. Why? It’s mostly so that I can make use of the additional levels of organization that the main manuscript offers. I also keep my character bios, reverse outlines, and querying ideas in the same document for easy access to all of the planning information for my story. My current WIP is epic fantasy and I’m hoping to write multiple books (potentially multiple series) within this world—so my world building is extensive. Your world building doesn’t necessarily need to be this involved, it all depends on your genre and the needs of your project/process. I’m confident that you can adapt Dabble to all your world building & writing needs!
You can check out their website here.
#5: The World Building Priorities Audit – for efficient world building
I couldn’t finish this list without mentioning the tool I created to help you world build efficiently & effectively! The world building priorities audit was designed to help you identify the aspects of world building that are most important to the story you’re trying to tell. You can grab it here for free!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope these tools help you take your world building to the next level.
Did I miss one of your go-to world building resources? Let me know in the comments.
And don’t forget to grab my free world building priorities audit here!
FYI: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. For more information click here and thanks, as always, for your support!
