✅ Worldbuilding Article Checklist

Have you ever been reminded of an excellent writing tip and you're like "Damn, I keep forgetting to do that."? Yeah, same - so over the years I've made myself a list to just have a quick glance over when I'm worldbuilding to see if I can add a little something ✨extra✨ to my world and make it more connected!

I'm sharing them here with you in case you find it helpful, but don't feel like you need to do every-single-thing, every-single-time - just use it as a reminder! 🥰

I've broken the list down into sections because I like to check for different things at each stage of my creative process. Feel free to share this around!

Planning:

• Is there a prompt on WorldAnvil or in my #400Prompts that will suit this article?
• What are 3 other articles in my world that can be connected to this?
• Are there any articles with little to no connections that this can be linked to?

Writing:

• What's the intended emotion for this article?
• Does it reflect the recurring themes, genre, and mood of my world?
• What senses does it cover? (Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, etc)
• Does it answer the prompt? If not, can I twist the prompt to suit my needs?
• Have I made use of the 6 questions method? (Who, what, when, where, why, how?)

Content:

• Does it have a cover image that conveys what the article is about?
• Does it contain at least one image to help illustrate the concept?
• If there's a location mentioned, is there a map so you can see where it is?
• If there's an event mentioned, is there a timeline (or chronicle) you can explore?
• Does the article icon add context to the topic? (This is more World Anvil specific.)
• If they're not of solely my own creation, do I have the rights or licence to use the images in this article, and have I added proper credits to them?

Revising:

• Is the article title intriguing? Is it pronounceable?
• Does the subheading and/or excerpt give context and a hook to what it's about?
• Are the headings interesting and informative? Do they add to the theme of this setting?
• Could someone skim read this and get a good understanding of what's going on?
• Are there any spelling/grammar errors?
• Have I used too much passive voice?
• What's the incentive to interact / comment?
• Where do I want people go after this and have I made it clear?

Publishing:

• Are the correct tags set?
• Is it in the correct category?
• Is the url/slug set?

Sharing:

• Have notifications been pushed? If not, has a reminder been made to do so later?
• Have I shared/scheduled posts on socials?