When you’re writing a novel that doesn’t take place in our current reality, like a a science-fiction space opera or a fantasy dragon series, there are extra responsibilities that come along with the usual character building and plot groundwork. Namely, much time and care needs to be put into building the world in which the novel’s events take place. Constructing a brand new world—from societies to geographical features to rules and beyond—may seem daunting at first, but it’s more than manageable when you keep a few pointers in mind.

Add variations within the world
Your alternate universe should obviously be different than the one in which we live, but it’s also important to create differences within that universe. Just like someone living in New York City experiences everyday life in a completely different way than someone living in, say, small-town Iowa, so should your characters go through life in ways that make sense according to their geographical locations.

And this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to create locations that are oceans or even galaxies away from each other. In the same way that people of varying socioeconomic or racial backgrounds can live life dramatically differently within the same city, so should your characters experience life in a way that makes sense to their individual backstories.

Research, research, research 
You may feel like you can skip this step if you’re creating an entirely new world from scratch, but believe me: every “new” literary world is based (at least a little) on a preexisting point in real-life human history. While the most popular choice for fantasy novels seems to be the medieval period, there are countless other histories that can inform choices both big and small.

This requires researching the time period your new world most closely resembles in order to pick and choose what elements you want to re-create for your readers. Even if your world is largely invented, peppering in recognizable (and factual) elements can help readers feel grounded in brand-new territory. This creates a sense of familiarity that will stabilize and guide your audience along the way, even if your story is completely unique.

Think about the physical environment
Before you decide on the ins and outs of your characters’ personalities, take a while to think about the physical world in which they’ll live:

• Is it mostly rainy or sunny?
• Do the people live in fear of the weather or natural disasters that threaten their lives and livelihoods, or do they work in harmony with the geography around them?
• Does the city’s or town’s main source of income come from an agricultural product or a manufactured one?

All of these are questions that can help shape the physicality of the world around your characters and can be used to help develop either their personalities or further plot points (or both).

Create a culture
Once you’ve established the physical realm in which your characters will live, think about how they live. Societies can be dizzyingly intricate and vary greatly from city to city and country to country. Your job as an author is to make the big decisions—essentially starting from the beginning. Here are a few things to consider:

• How do the characters believe that the universe in which they live began in the first place?
• Does religion play a part in daily life?
• If so, what does the religion (or religions) tell its followers?
• If not, what do your characters place meaning in?
• What kind of social gatherings are valued?
• What would a social faux pas look like?

Taking the time to decide how your characters will interact with others—friends, acquaintances, and strangers—will help your protagonists move and act more authentically throughout the book.

Avoid getting too detailed . . .
Once you get going, it can be ridiculously fun to create a world in which you make up all the rules and features. That being said, make sure you’re not going into too much unnecessary detail and including bits and pieces that have absolutely no relevance to your story.

There’s a big difference between adding in a few atmospheric details to create context and a sense of realness and bogging readers down with every little fun element that popped into your head. You’ve got a big job ahead of you: creating a new world, fleshing out characters, and moving the plot forward. Avoid getting lost in the weeds by focusing on the details that really matter.

. . . but don’t forget the small things
OK, stay with me here. While this suggestion may seem to directly contradict the last point, I promise that it doesn’t—the key here is balance. While you certainly don’t want to get bogged down by the nitty-gritty details of your world that don’t ultimately matter one way or another to your characters or plot, adding small touches here and there can help readers feel connected to the people and places that you create.

The great thing is that you can often subtly work in these details without hitting your audience over the head with them. For example, describing what someone is wearing can inadvertently tell readers a bit about both the climate and how characters get their clothes. (Are they local sheep farmers who make it themselves? Are they rich merchants who import expensive materials?) Describing meals is another great way to work in authentic details, as is pointing out different accents or cultures from place to place.

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.