Any fictional story relies on a series of “What If” questions. What If there was a Magic Ring that nations fought over for power? What If there was a princess with hair so long it could reach the ground from the top floor of a tower? What if a tornado could whisk up a house and drop it in another realm, where witches and wizards and tin people were a thing?

Outside fiction, What If scenarios can enable real-life World Building, where our imaginations lead the way into a better, more just world. What If everyone had access to food and shelter? What If War was a thing of the past.

When we allow our imaginations to step out of our present reality, we actualize the “Impossible.” We build rich worlds where limits are only self-imposed. 

World Building is one of the core elements of storytelling and of our lives. Exercising that muscle can be light and silly, intellectually stimulating, or life-changing. There’s no right way to do it. What would you like to build today?

Start Scribbling

Think about a topic you love.

e.g. travel, film, politics, gardening

Write down some realities about that world.

e.g. If you chose “travel,” you might say:

“Humans use [these modes of transport]” or,

“[These] are some common barriers to travel.”

Get as broad or as specific as you want.

Choose one reality that you wrote down, and replace it with a new “What If” reality.

e.g. If you chose “Humans can travel via plane, train, boat, scooter, etc.,” you might say:

“What If: Boats were never invented,” or

“What If: Humans could travel via Broomstick.”

Think of all the consequences of that new reality — good, bad, or neutral.

Consider the physical and social laws that come with it.

How is life different as a result?

Bonus Scribble:

Write a story

(long or short)

that takes place in this world.

Happy Scribbling!