Creative Prompts for Young Writers: Building the World of Your Story
I love encouraging and supporting into young writers, so I’m developing a series of prompts to help him share the world he’s creating. Maybe these will help you with whatever world you’re building too.
As an aside, world building, and storytelling more generally, does not have to be written down to count as a story. So, if you love creating but have trouble writing, whether that’s due to messy handwriting or dyslexia or something else, there are alternative ways to explain the world of your story.
For example:
- draw or paint your world (in one image, or numerous illustrations)
- create it as a graphic novel
- create a collage using pictures from magazines, newspapers or the internet.
- record your ideas on a phone or voice recorder
- dictate it to a parent, guardian or teacher
- create a model of it using lego, plasticine, clay, wood or any other material of choice
- build a diorama
- jot down ideas and points on index cards as you think of them
- any other way you can think of, including writing them down in detail!
Whatever your preferred creative form, consider the following to help you build the world of your story:
The Natural World
If it’s an island, how large is it? For example, is it the size of Rottnest Island, Kangaroo Island, Tasmania, New Zealand or Australia?
If it’s a country, what other countries are nearby? Is it surrounded by other countries or lands (i.e. landlocked) or is one or more of its borders edged by water?
Bodies of Water
What oceans, rivers and streams exist?
Day and Night
How many suns or moons does the land or planet have?
What are the days and nights like?
Climate
What seasons are there?
What is the weather like in each of the seasons?
How hot or cold does it get?
Are there any extreme weather or natural disasters?
Terrain
Is the land flat, hilly or mountainous, or a mixture of these? If so, where are the hills, mountains, valleys, plateaus and plains?
Vegetation
What vegetation grows? Consider trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, plants that provide food and anything else you can think of.
Are there forests? Deserts? Dense bush?
What can be eaten? What is poisonous? What can be used for medicine?
Animals and Wildlife
What animals, birds, fish or other creatures exist in the world of your story?
Are there any magical or mythological creatures?
Which of these are used for food, and how are they eaten?
Human Landscape
Buildings
What does your character’s house look like? What is it made of? How many rooms does it have? Who else lives with your character?
What other buildings are in the town or city in which your character lives? Consider things such as shops, schools, hospitals, law enforcement, other businesses.
What materials are these other buildings made of?
The Inhabitants
Who inhabits the towns and/or cities? What sorts of people and/or other creatures exist?
What does the clothing look like? What materials are used and how are they made?
How the Society Works
What money is there?
What schools or alternative ways of learning are there?
How do people receive medical help if they are sick or hurt?
What rulers or government exists?
What laws are there?
What are the consequences or punishment if the laws are broken?
What transport is there?
What leisure and sport activities are there?
What does work and holidays look like?
What is the history of this world? What has happened in the past to make it the way it is now?
Over to You
Jump right into creating the world of your story!
The questions in this post are just suggestions. Pick and choose which ones you wish to think about!
What other elements of a story world can you think of to add to the ideas above?
In coming months, I’ll add posts about developing characters and plotting stories.
What other resources would you like to see?
