The topic has come up often enough that I thought it would be nice if we had a mini-guide that offered pointers to those wanting to fashion their own RP world. Each of us has their own approach to it. Some are inspired by current news or major events; some are inspired by pocket lint. Some outline their entire world whilst others make it up on the fly.
One of the most difficult things we can do is fashion a setting with no basis in the real world. Our minds conjure up fantastic lands and people but then we find that we can't seem to get things just right on paper. We then seem to go into overdrive, intent on fashioning details down to the last pebble or else, frustrated, we leave the thing completely vague and hope players catch our drift.
You need a basis for the story regardless of how much or little effort you want to put into it. Take
“One of my challenges [as a writer] is
to make sure that I'm giving the reader
details that the character cares about
rather than details that I care about.
I'd say that's key to world-building.”
― Jessica Andersen
Avatar worked because they never went too far on every detail (unless it was overreaching for that obnoxious political message). We never really saw the warrior's ranks defined. We didn't learn much about childbirth, children, weather, or which fungus tasted the best. It was a rich world that was passable for a story setting. Sometimes I believe budding worldbuilders want to put too much detail in and they get caught up on a myriad of nuances.
In truth, I'm not a worldbuilder. I'm a species builder. Evolution of that species, religion, social practices, culture, languages. The environment plays into it and, once I have a good concept going, the setting evolves to fit my concept for that species. Other people build the world and then work on the species to make them fit.
I'm curious to know how people approach worldbuilding. What techniques work for them. What details do they feel are the most important. More so, how much is too much? How deep should a person delve into the culture. Where do you start? What or who inspires you? If you were going to advise a newbie on how to begin worldbuilding, what would you tell him?