A Worldbuilding Guide, 1

“Thread is one of the foundational inventions of people, for tying things, carrying things, making nets and fishing lines and etc etc, and turns into cloth fairly soon. What do people in your world spin? How is it gathered? Who does the work? Who profits? What does that imply about social structure?”

“in your pre-1700 tech level world, you should have all your characters have an awareness of and some experience with spinning. Everyone knew about spinning. Women spun a lot. Queens spun a LOT. Also sewing and embroidery. My goodness, the embroidery. It’s astounding how entirely central to life textiles are.”

“Herds and fields need tending, cloth and clothing need making and selling, all secondary and tertiary trades that show up around that core are the whole of your social structure.”

“Think about how people record stuff in your worldbuilding. Tiny clay tablets? Lead seals? Carved in bamboo? Wax poured in wooden trays?”

“In your world-building, whose words are kept? How is history held and passed down? Who does that? What is considered worth noting? What gets lost because whoever comes after dismisses some voices as “less important”, “less reliable”, or “less worthy?”

“What people wear shapes not only the surroundings through its manufacture, it shapes actions in that world. The cut of clothing, which must build from the woven cloth, dictates the action a body can take.”

“What we wear shapes how we move, how we carry ourselves, how we convey who we are in the world and if we want to blend in or stand out, if we follow trends or keep to classics or buy what we can afford. That’s true for fictional characters too.”