Writing 101 - World Building

So todays topic, my experience of world building, cue the dramatic music ... dumdumdum!

Now J.R.R.Tolkien I am not, Fantasy is a bitch to write, it is even a bigger bitch to write competently.

I've read plenty before I even attempted to pick up a pen myself and one of the best urban fantasy world builders I've come across is Ilona Andrews, their stuff is AMAZING and they are on my automatic but list. However I've also read one book when it was hideous, some weird mix about coming back from the dead, werewolves and something about Greek or Roman gods, little to say at the end of it I did not have A CLUE what was going on and let me tell you that takes some doing.

Ahem, I digress, my latest series that has been submitted to the publisher, The Bride of Fire has two opposing cultures in what I would describe as a 'light' fantasy setting and was my first attempt at world building.

That got me thinking, so what is a culture? Starting with a complete blank page what sort of things would you put down? You have a whole wide world to draw from.

So to start off here are just a few of the things to get you started:

- A style of dress? Better yet what causes these differences in culture, the climate? One culture