Lore and Worldbuilding

[Creativetides]

I have made many maps over the course of time with very shallow and surface level history and origin behind It. I’ve finally decided I want to create a dedicated lore with deep rich history and culture etc. I’ve tried creating worlds before but I always feel like I get tripped up and stuck or slowly start to narrow down my writing until I’m mot world building anymore and I’m just writing a storyline. I know this is slightly of the topic of maps but I feel as though it relates enough to bring here. Please if anyone can give me good places to start and tips or tricks to help me build a developed and complex world with deep lore and history, please respond any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Adfor]

I know how overwhelming this topic can be. I've been brewing on the same world for many years now, and it tends to comes in layers of lore. I started with a single, age defining event (like the death of Jesus Christ in our world), and went from there. The age defining event can vary greatly; mine was the death of a prominent civilization. Once you start adding things like that in place that are concrete, you start creating history. Honestly, what's wrong with writing it like a story? That's essentially what history is anyways; a string of events. Factions/kingdoms are another great way to give yourself something to work off of. You'll find the more you start adding permanently into the lore, the more complex it will become. Don't fret, one lore piece at a time!

I hope this help, cheers!

IR

[Creativetides]

Thank you this is actually quite helpful. I think i will try some of these techniques.

[science&creativity]

one angle that's interesting/fun to play with (or maybe you've already started with this) is looking at how the geography you've created will impact interactions of cultures and then build off of that. I'm thinking things like the difference between a civilization developing in an area with good natural barriers to invasion/attack (mountain ranges, large rivers, impassable desert etc.) vs. ones that have to more actively defend their borders; trade routes and what sort of goods might be moving along them - and what conflict might ensue over control of said trade routes; general access to desireable natural resources giving certain cultures an edge in trade and negotiation (but then also making them a target for invason) etc.
safe to assume that if there is a major trade route, or key natural resources that some civilizations have more of a lock on, there's been conflict over it - and it's safe to bet that the directly involved parties tried to bolster their respective positions by recruiting other allies, maybe even civilizations they had conflict with in the past. or maybe there are a few long-term, enduring alliances. Maybe some civilizations were conquered or effectively wiped out (again: looking at the terrain can help you decide who might have an edge in defense)
also, figuring out who can readily trade with whom can add complexity and depth by the cultural exchange that goes along with it.

anyway, just some somewhat disjointed thoughts - I'm rather sleep-deprived right now.

[Creativetides]

Interesting, i will take this into account

[Anvil]

Bit late to the party but I'll chime in. You ever see those fun visualizations of code bases as they develop? New projects coming to be, and connecting around, and being repackaged and reconnected? World-building is a lot like it, just as Adfor said. It's a great amorphous story; not the typical sort with their linear flows but more like a big web with many jumping-off points. You can choose to start wherever you want, with whatever strikes your fancy. Singular events are great if you have some in mind. I enjoy nations and geopolitics, myself, so I tend to start there. Then I'll move to conflicts, or trade, or key people within. Slowly you'll get a feel for how long you personally can spend in a given corner of your world before you need to move on, at which point you can flit among your ever-expanding web to keep it fresh to yourself. You may find that some new thing you've been building requires other parts to be redone, or better still, that the new part fits seamlessly into your web so well it's as though you'd always planned it to be there. Depending on how complex you want to make your world, and it does sound like you really want to get in there, you'll definitely want to keep notes in some way. I'm lazy, I use Notepad and Drive, but use whatever helps you plan and remember.

One last bit, and that's to say people get kind of tied up in the World vs. Story argument on this subject, right. But the fact is they go hand-in-hand, and must. A story is better for the world it plays in, and a world is at its most interesting when things are happening within it. If there's a story you want to tell, add the foundations of it to your world. If there's some aspect of your world you love and want to work on, stories will come to you in time. It's all about having fun in a sandbox only you truly know, and doing what feels right until it's time to move to a different part. Good luck!