Writing - Fantasy Novel Basics

Writing a fantasy novel can be very challenging. Not only do you need to flesh out all of your characters, but also create the plot and now design the world they live in. Here are some key topics to consider and things to ask yourself when writing your fantasy novel.

1) Where does it take place?
Your fantasy novel can certainly take place here on Earth, but you can also create a new one world. Names of cities and countries needs to be considered. How long have people been living in that world? Have humans been living on it for only a couple hundred years, or is it an alter dimension?

After you have decided the simple things of your world such as the names and locations there is other things to consider. What countries are allies and enemies? Do certain cities only welcome certain races? Are there different languages that would cause your heroes to have difficulty communicating?

Languages - does everyone speak the same language. Does it change between race to race or between regions?
Foliage - what are the trees or the flowers like, or lack there of?
Terrain - flat, mountains, flooded
Sky - several moons in the sky, it's always cloudy, the sun never shines, etc.
Weather - cold, blizzards, floods, sunny, warm, foggy
Cities / Villages / Kingdoms - where are they located and what are they like. You could even draw out a map to help you with this.

Once everything here is hashed out, you may even form your own government. Depending on your novel it can be as simple as mentioning the chief or king. But you can get as complex as stating the rules and what are the punishments if rules are not followed. Who can be the leader? Is it blood only, or can you earn it?

2) How advanced is technology?
Perhaps you want everyone to still be traveling on foot or using horses? Well, why is that? Is the world so new they haven't advanced yet? Or perhaps technology is forbidden by the laws of the land. Perhaps technology once reigned, and after a massive war everyone went back to the basics.

3) What races and species are there?
It can be a lot of fun creating different intelligent species! To make your novel different and stand out, try to avoid the cliches. Orcs, elves,and minotaurs has been used many times. Here is a format you can use when building your race:
Description: skin color, eyes, fur, scales, or hair, short or tall
Mobility : walk on two feet or four, do they swim, how fast are they
Demeanor : are they friendly to strangers, wild or domesticated, aggressive or passive
Intelligence : can they think for themselves or do they only move as a group and listen to a leader
Religion : do they focus on nature, spirits, or gods, do they have no beliefs, what symbol do they worship
Food : how do they gather food, do they hunt or farm, are they cannibals, are they vegetarians or carnivores
Family : do they care about kinship or do they believe everyone is family in the village, are mothers or fathers dominant.
Special Abilities : can they perform special magic, know alternative medicines, fly, breathe underwater

You can go more in depth with your races if you wish as well.

4) Religion?
Depending on your novel you may have a need to in detail describe religion. Who do your heroes worship? Or perhaps, do your heroes worship no god or living being at all? Why do they believe what they do? Your characters may have been born into a religion, or came up with ideas of their own based on their adventures. This is another topic you can get really detailed with if you want.

Reading on many religions can help you come up with some ideas of your own.

5) How do people survive?
This is kind of an assembly of the technology, the location, and the detailed livelihood of a species. Especially if you are writing an adventure fantasy you will need to somewhat explain to some extent how do people live from day to day.
If it's always cold out, what do they wear?
If they are hunters, what do they hunt and do those animals migrate?
What kind of crops do they grow, and what might make those crops fail for the year?
What kind of money exchange do people use? Do people trade instead?

These are 5 basic things to consider when first laying out your novel beyond character and plot building. No one can lay out the exact formula your novel needs, that is something you need to decide on depending on the plot and what the reader needs to know. But explaining the world better not only will make your book more unique, but give your book more depth.