Whatever he writes involves dealing with a world, whether the story is about talking on a stage, workouts in a gym, or a kingdom he designed. Many authors base their writing on the known universe with known parameters, and some add magical or fantastical creatures. Some might prefer to create their own universe. The late Jim Rohn said that there are some things you just accept. For example, why does spring follow winter or does the sun rise in the east? When you are God, you make the sunrise where you want. Let’s play God and create a world.

There are several ways to draw your world and I have used the three most popular. The first and oldest is pencil and paper, either freehand or tracing. Sometimes I would use an opaque spotlight to illuminate a section of dirt on a wall and my paper. When computers came along, I used a drawing program to redraw the map, but it used pixels, which distort when you zoom in to make it look better. I’ve recently started using vector mapping, which allows distortion-free zooming, but takes longer to learn. Choose the method that is best for you.

Using Earth as a stage is easier than creating a new world. Designing a believable world with all its complexities can be a daunting task; however, once completed, it can take on a life of its own. There are many possible starting points. Some will start big with the world, a solar system or larger. Others may start at the other end of the spectrum with an individual character and work big. I prefer to start in the middle and work both ways. The first thing I designed in my world is the city of Shen Sherin. After that, I worked in the surrounding area, before returning to the city and working in specific stores and buildings. For the course of this exercise, we will start with a terrestrial sphere and its systems, including any moon(s).

size of the world

Depending on the size of the will affect the amount of detail that will make it believable. Smaller spaces will need more details than large ones. A stage or tavern will need more details than a world or universe. However, the smaller one can exist in the bigger one since both are more believable.

Early in the design process, make the decision about how physical laws work. Assuming they are true, then the size and composition of the planet will play a role in gravity. Imagine going to a planet that has a gravity one tenth of Earth’s, you could jump a long way. If you were to go to a planet with five times the gravity of Earth, you would find it difficult to move. The natives will be used to gravity, but the travelers will not. There could be adjustments to planetary spin, orbital spin, and axial tilt that would alter weather patterns.

The distance to the sun and the type of sun should play an important role in the weather, the color of the sky and even the atmosphere. There’s no reason to start from scratch unless you want to, when it’s easier to use an Earth-like orbit and just make changes to suit your needs.

There are several world generators on the Internet, many of which are free. They allow adjustments to the size of the planet, the location of the poles, the heights of mountains, and the depths of the oceans. They will graph the weather, the rain, the temperature, the rivers and the mountains. Some will allow the user to cut out a section and zoom in for more detailed work. Programs are great if you don’t already have something too specific in mind.