Questions you need to answer when creating a mythology for your world

brightstrangethings:

the-right-writing:

• How was the world or universe created?
• What happens to sentient beings before they are born?
• What happens to sentient beings after they die?
• If somebody wants help, are there unnatural ways they can get it?
• If somebody wants power, are there unnatural ways they can get it?
• What are the goals of the unnatural forces/gods/magical beings?
• Has death ever been reversed? Can it currently be reversed?
• Are some sentient beings more favored than others? Why?
• How many gods/unnatural forces/magical beings are there?
• How is the world/universe going to end?

This is a great list of world building questions to start with. Answering those first three questions — or variations on them — are a great way to build a foundation of the various belief systems and cultural identities of your world, too. Since your characters typically won’t know things like how the universe was created or what happens after they die, they’ll probably have some pretty complex and ancient cultural or religious answers to those questions, and they might accept or reject the teachings of their native culture or religion on the matter.

As far as all the questions about magic and the supernatural, here are a few more:

• What are the limitations of the magic or superpower you’re portraying?
• What are the costs of its use?
• How can those powers be abused, how can they be used to help people, how can they be monetized, and how do they figure in to people’s cultural and religious ideas?
• How do people who do not have magic/superpowers react to the presence of those who do? Are they feared, thought of as other, worshiped as gods?
• How do those who do have magic/superpowers treat those who don’t?

The podcast Writing Excuses has a few great episodes on these subjects that I’d like to point to as resources, as well; you can find all of their podcasts tagged with “World Building” right here, but I’d also like to particularly point to episode 14, “Magic Systems and Their Rules,” which has some fantastic discussion of why magic systems need clearly defined rules and how that helps your story.