How do you write a believable world?

[PeacefulMyst]

like i wonder, what makes a fantasy world believable and immersive?

 

[Jailbreak571]

...
Have them pay taxes.

 

[Pujimaki]

Do we have a trend of "How do you..." There are dozen of posts like this, I swear.

 

[DarkeReises]

Do we have a trend of "How do you..." There are dozen of posts like this, I swear.

Do we have a trend of "Do we have a trend of 'How do you...' There are dozen posts like this, I swear." There are at least two posts like this, I swear.

 

[Pujimaki]

Do we have a trend of "Do we have a trend of 'How do you...' There are dozen posts like this, I swear." There are at least two posts like this, I swear.

Nope, look at the latest posts

 

[WingsOfPhantasy]

Have people argue, fight, and not get along because they like different foods.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Look what is IRL and superimpose into the fantasy world. For example, fantasy racism.

 

[Holder-of-the-metal-bat]

Add elements of everyday life to your world (food, entertainment, ...)

 

[Le_ther]

Have the world progress without the need for the protagonist to affect it. You can also add backstory in a place to further build more world knowledge or perhaps just describe the sceneries with details that isn't overwhelming but interesting.

 

[Merrikk]

Aside from the obvious stuff, Culture, History, Societal and Political Structures, and many, many more you can fiddle around.

I suggest you go back to what Mark Twain has said, Truth is Stranger than Fiction.

Fiction or world building in this case, is obliged to stick to possibilities, Truth on the other doesn't.

So in this sea of consistency after consistency, make a Rorke's Drift once in a while!

 

[PeacefulMyst]

Is stuff like extensive research on how kingdoms functioned and stuff important? I mean i saw some big words on youtube called 'social infrastructure' and some other shit and like is it possible to make a proper believable kingdom without any knowledge in that?



I mean i kind of hope just knowing the basics will be enough to make it seem not like its ruled by a retard but then again, i doubt its that easy

Fiction or world building in this case, is obliged to stick to possibilities, Truth on the other doesn't.

I totally understood everything.

 

[Shard]

Something I find important: things don't exist in a vacuum. Progress won't stop, though it might slow down at times. If you have magic, and/or monsters, consider how they would be used. If people can make fire from nothing, steam power will be really damn common. If you can cool things down with magic, you have refrigerators and AC. If you have large and idiotic monsters, someone will find a way to 'tame' them, even if it is only harnessing them to a mill with food hanging in front of them.

If you have people who can cut metal in half with a sword, there needs to be some kind of check on them, or one will eventually overthrow those in power just because they can. How do your people get food? How about medical care? How are messages between towns transmitted? If someone goes mad with power, how are they dealt with? Why are those in power actually in power?

You have to consider _everything_ and how it all works together.

 

[Domoviye]

Something I find important: things don't exist in a vacuum. Progress won't stop, though it might slow down at times. If you have magic, and/or monsters, consider how they would be used. If people can make fire from nothing, steam power will be really damn common. If you can cool things down with magic, you have refrigerators and AC. If you have large and idiotic monsters, someone will find a way to 'tame' them, even if it is only harnessing them to a mill with food hanging in front of them.

If you have people who can cut metal in half with a sword, there needs to be some kind of check on them, or one will eventually overthrow those in power just because they can. How do your people get food? How about medical care? How are messages between towns transmitted? If someone goes mad with power, how are they dealt with? Why are those in power actually in power?

You have to consider _everything_ and how it all works together.

Good advice here.
In my story Necromancer Unmanned, everyone is capable of doing at least some magic with proper training.
Women are seen as near equal and female leaders aren't seen as unique. While most people only learn one or two spells that are useful to their job or life, having an abused wife teaching herself how to create a small fireball or a telekenetic punch that can break bones helps ensure men largely behave.
Also despite being technologically around the later 19th, very early 20th century tech level, some technology hasn't been studied or is very niche and considered unimportant.
Radios aren't needed because spells let people talk telepathically potentially thousands of miles away. Sailing ships are the norm because wind spells are easy to use. Steam power while known isn't considered that useful because of magic doing many of the jobs that early steam engines did.

It all plays off of each other, and helps make the setting seem real.