What do I need to know before I begin worldbuilding?

Howdy, my fellow worldbuilders! I've been worldbuilding for many years. I've been building my world for over a decade and I've encountered many challenges. I've learned how to overcome or avoid them in the past. From my experience, I've made a list of things you should know before you start creating. <br><br>Think about who you are and why you are worldbuilding. You have to know whether you're making worldbuilding as your career or just do it as a hobby. If you're planning to worldbuild for a career in writing and others, how much do you know about the topic? Are you taking courses in the field of industry you're going to enter? Or do you just wing it and research on the way? If you want worldbuilding as a career, it's better to go back to school to take classes in the field you want than wing it.<br><br>If you want to worldbuild as a hobby, are you doing this as a way to escape reality or cope with your mental health? I've fallen into both traps myself. I can tell you from experience that in both cases, worldbuilding has failed me. In fact, my mental health has declined and it prevents me from being productive.<br><br>Know your limitations. Worldbuilding can be so much fun and you can create anything. Unfortunately, being a human, you have limitations. Even as a stay at home parent or someone who doesn't have a career, it's hard to continue creating content. On the other hand, you might be too overwhelmed with work or other commitments. We live in a capitalistic society, we all have responsibilities to survive and commitments we have to attend to. You may be a lonely stay at home parent with young children or someone who doesn't have a job and hiding your creative hobby. You may be in a toxic relationship where you can't go out and have a life so you hide behind your hobby.<br><br>If you're a solo parent like me who's forced to stay home with young children, you have no time to create content. That was my mistake, I spent years thinking I can worldbuild while being a stay at home parent with young children. That was a lie. I didn't even get to touch my worldbuilding projects. It's pretty much how I felt. Even if you have help, do you even have time to attend to your needs and get enough sleep? <br><br>If you have a career, do you have time to create content? Like many of us in this subreddit, I've seen people completely drop projects or quit after a while. It's not uncommon to shift hobbies or drop a hobby when you are too overwhelmed. I've done that so many times and I'm aware. Nobody blames you for not having time or vibes to create. We've been there. If you love worldbuilding, try to come back and create in your own time. It's also not uncommon for people to drop a hobby due to a busy schedule or uncertainty in life.<br><br>When I'm too stressed or overwhelmed in real life, I completely drop worldbuilding. The reason is that my mental health isn't well and I'm too overwhelmed to focus and create. I don't force myself to create and push my limits whether it's a hobby or career.<br><br>I know we all get excited about creating a world from scratch. We all want to create a new world with fantasy creatures, magic, and more. Sometimes we get too excited and we don't know where to begin or what we want to include and how much we want to put all the things. I know we all love fantasy, magic, vampires, werewolves, and dragons, and want to include them in our world. They are popular as they are commonly found in folklore and fairy tales. We've been conditioned to like them. However, why are you so interested in them? Why do you like them so much?<br><br>I'm not saying you shouldn't include these things in your world. If they are a part of your world, how do you plan on including them? What are their roles in your world? We all know how overpowered dragons are. I think they are just too overpowered to be included in a story. That's my opinion, but what about you? You might have your reasons. You might be a fan of fantasy like me and love dragons and how powerful they can be. But how do you plan to include dragons in your story? What kind of powers do they have? Why do you want them to have those powers? <br><br>Take vampires as another example. How do you plan on including vampires? How do they live? What powers do they have? Why are they important to your story? <br><br>Don't get too excited to include too many things you like into your world. Not everything you like can be in your world. Sometimes you have to decide to leave some things behind. It's okay to let go of the things you want in your world. You can always include other things you like that you can be passionate about. If you don't, you might not stay committed and you might drop the project. If you decide to make worldbuilding as a career, you'll risk losing your revenue. In both cases, you'll feel like a failure, and might lose your confidence and enjoyment. You might feel discouraged and quit creating.<br><br>Lastly, know your motivation behind your project. What drives you to continue creating? Is it for fun, financial gain, or a combination of both? For me, it's a combination of both. Your motivation depends on whether you're doing it as a hobby or a job. If you're doing it as a hobby, is your motivation curiosity? It's okay to love your project so much you want to continue creating. However, is your motivation to escape reality? If you're doing it as a way to escape reality, you might not continue creating after you realize it doesn't meet your needs and expectations or has failed. You might get too busy with work or other commitments to continue your projects. You also risk burnout and dissatisfaction if you're too obsessed and put too many expectations into your project. This is especially true for us as creatives to put ourselves and our hearts into our projects.<br><br>If you're doing it for financial gain, what drives you? Is it a fear of losing a job or struggling to pay bills? Is it a way to prove to yourself or to others you're not a failure? Even if you're doing it as a career, do you love what you're doing? Are you doing it because you love it or because you are desperate to survive in a capitalistic society? And what if you fail? If you're doing it as a job, are you doing it because you love it or just to pay the bills? If you're doing it just to pay the bills, do you enjoy what you're doing? What if you fail? You may lose confidence in your ability to create. <br><br>In summary, don't jump into worldbuilding without thinking through these questions. If you do, your worldbuilding projects might fail. It's okay to leave things behind and ask yourself questions if you should continue and how you should continue. <br><br>What do you think, tippers? What should you know before you start worldbuilding?