Conworlding

Conworlding, short for constructed world-building, is the practice of creating a fictional world with its own geography, history, cultures, and systems of knowledge and belief. It is commonly used in speculative fiction, role-playing games, and thought experiments. A conworld is designed to be self-contained and internally coherent.

A typical conworld includes maps or spatial models, a chronology of major events, distinct cultures and languages, political structures, economic systems, technologies, religious or magical frameworks, and a consistent physics or cosmology. Conlangs (constructed languages) and calendars often accompany the setting to enhance immersion.

Practitioners plan scope, define core premises, and document rules to preserve consistency. Methods include worldbuilder notebooks, timelines, maps, glossaries, and sample narratives. Feedback from communities such as online forums and writing groups can refine plausibility and resolve contradictions.

The term and practice long precede the internet; notable examples include J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and various role-playing game settings such as Forgotten Realms. Modern conworlding communities organize around shared norms, guides, and encyclopedic wikis, and some participants publish elaborate, cross-referenced settings.

Conworlding ranges from compact settings to sprawling universes. Critics warn against scope creep and cultural insensitivity when drawing on real-world cultures. The aim is inventive storytelling and world immersion, achieved through careful logic, thorough documentation, and ongoing revision.