Note: I will be calling a collection of your characters or made-up creatures "citizens" because not all characters are humans and therefore "people". I probably did this in other topics already.
One aspect of fantasy world-building I enjoy is trying to figure out what the city, town, village, or hamlet that the character lives in looks like.
A good way to see it, and help your audience see it, is to imagine you are walking into it. I have done this and I call it "the beginning of the movie".
This is an exercise. Try it.
Imagine you are walking into the area where your character lives.
You are looking down at your feet (don't look up yet). What is the path or road like? (If there is no path or road, continue to the next one.)
Then, you look up. Are there many around or very few? Is it deserted? Imagine you are invisible and no one will react to you. If there are citizens, what are most of them doing?
Your eyes travel around the sides of the road or path. What kinds of buildings are there? Or, are there any buildings at all?
When you look up ahead, are there buildings taller than others? If so, what do they look like? What are they for?
Sniff the air. What do you smell? Start from the most prominent scent.
Listen, do you hear anything? If so, what do you hear? Start from the loudest, nearest sound.
Sight. At night, if you stood at the entrance just where we started, how much of what you just described, would you be able to see? Are there lights to guide you or none? If there are lights, what makes the light? Lanterns? Torches? Neon signs? What lights the way?
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Worldsmiths | Fantasy World-Building Resource Book
RandomThis is the ultimate fantasy world-building resource book. There are many topics for you to think about for your world! Climate, fashion, laws, even etiquette. Use this book to organize your information, think about topics you haven't thought of bef...
