Writing

Atmospheric Worldbuilding and the Charm of Fictional Settings

September 8, 2021

I’ve been thinking a lot about worldbuilding recently. What makes a fictional setting come to life? What makes a place so believable or charming that readers want to visit it? Here are some of my thoughts on that this week.

People

I think people are one of the key aspects that make a fictional place feel real.

When we get to see glimpses of what makes the people who they are, and when we see how each person has different wants and hopes and dreams, they become alive. It’s always such a pleasure to see how absolutely human the background characters can be. Maybe the shopkeeper who helps out the main characters is struggling to pay rent, or maybe the headmaster of the most popular school in town just wants to retire, or maybe a baker loves to put out new creations every month.

Of course, the background characters shouldn’t steal the spotlight. They are characters with their own lives — they don’t always necessarily line up with the protagonist’s journey. If given a throwaway line here and there, they can help to flesh out the main character’s world. For example, if the main character has grown up in a small town their whole life, they likely know everyone’s name. It’s all in the little details when it comes to the people of a setting.

Culture

Part of the charm of exploring a fictional setting is the culture. All the new sights and sounds are fun to walk through — provided that everywhere the protagonist goes adds to their internal journey.

Things like festivals and food are good places to start. Think November cakes from The Scorpio Races or the Shifting Revel from The Lies of Locke Lamora. Specialties that can only be found in that particular place, events that only happen there, customs that aren’t a thing anywhere else — these make the setting feel like its own.

To be fair, these little details are optional. No setting can ever be truly unique, so it’s also fine if a fictional setting shares aspects of real life.

History/Lore

Finally, a little bit of history or lore here and there can flesh out a place. Of course, it all depends on the context of the story, but it’s occasionally nice to have additional details about a setting. Sometimes that comes through mythology, hints about the history of a place, or a reason as to why the setting has been built this way. History and lore can be great as long as they add to the plot and/or characters.