# Worldbuilding template

From AxiomStory (https://axiomstory.com/blog/worldbuilding-template).
Fill in what your first chapters touch. Leave a box blank until a scene needs it.
Write the chapter next to every answer so you can check the page later.

## 1. The pitch

The world in one sentence:

What makes it different from other worlds in your genre:

## 2. Places

Ask: What does it smell and sound like? Who is not allowed in?
How long does it take to get to the next place in the story?

| Place | What it is like | Who controls it | Travel time to other places | First chapter | Scene it changes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 3. Power

Ask: Who can say no to the main character, and why do people obey?
What happens to someone who breaks the law, and who decides?

| Who holds power | How they keep it | Who wants it | What happens to rule breakers | First chapter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |

## 4. Groups and belief

Families, guilds, faiths, crews, nations.
Ask: What does this group think everyone else gets wrong?
What do they celebrate, and what do they refuse to talk about?

| Group | What they want | What they fear | What they take for granted | First chapter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |

## 5. Rules

Magic, technology, or anything that breaks our world's rules.
Ask: What can it not do? What does it cost? What would go wrong if everyone could use it?
If you do not know the cost yet, write "not known yet" and add it to Open questions.

| Rule | What it does | Limit | Cost | Who can use it | First chapter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 6. Daily life

Fill this in only for places your characters live in, eat in or travel through.

| Place | Money and prices | Food and water | Work | How news travels | What people worry about |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 7. History that still matters

Only the past events someone in the story still talks about, argues over or suffers from.

| Event | When | Who won, who lost | Who still cares, and why | First chapter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |

## Open questions

Facts you have not decided yet, so they do not get decided by accident.

- 

## Check the world

- Does every rule have a limit and a cost?
- Do travel times stay the same from chapter to chapter?
- Does each group want something that clashes with another group?
- Does anyone in the story know why the people in power are obeyed?
- Does every piece of history touch a character's choice?
- Could a rule the reader learns late have stopped the villain earlier?