Worldbuilding, Part 1
So, I finally finished that stupid outline. And now I'm ready to start world building! To that end, I started looking over the outline, and that I started making a list of questions that I think will need to be answered when I write. This is the first part of the list, at least as far as I got before I decided to post a chunk of questions so that didn't get too overwhelming, and some other questions have already been asked and answered when I posted the first part of the outline.
(The outline is up on my journal, for those of you who want to see.)
Is there anything you think I've missed in the category of things already addressed? I probably should have addressed 'Gender Roles' in part two or something, since it looks like the second part is going to be mostly the social/human behavior aspects. Still, this is as it occurred to me? Thoughts, questions, comments, observations, etc?
Gender Roles
Since this story is told the point of view of a woman, what is it like for her as a mercenary? Does she face discrimination? Is the discrimination less because she works in an auxiliary position?
What are five roles that women may commonly have in this society? Is it different between [Kingdom 1] and [Kingdom 2]? These may be mother, housewife, queen, factory worker, artisan, merchant, musician, noble woman, et cetera.
Morgwyn comes from the plains; what are five roles that women may commonly have in her society? The sequel novel features the mountains; what are five roles that women may commonly have in that society?
What are five roles that men may commonly have in all four societies? See previous question for examples of roles that man may have.
Technology
What level of technology exists in this world? Since we are going to be spending most of our time between the two kingdoms, what level of technology exists in them?
What kind of weapons do the two kingdoms have? What kind of weapons do they have on the plains, what would Morgwyn be familiar with when she joins the mercenary company?
What kind of brewing and food technology do they have? What kind of food storage technology do they have?
What kind of transportation technology do they have? Do they have the usual sorts of animals, i.e. horses, cows, sheep, pigs, etc.? Or do they have different pack animals? What kinds of pack animals would live in temperate to cold temperate climates? What kind of domestication processes have these animals gone through? What about pets?
Since one of the key plot elements is a book, what kind of printing technology do they have?
What kind of metalworking technology are they up to?
Plants, Animals, Etc.
[Kingdom 1] is north of [Kingdom 2], and both are fairly temperate. What kind of terrain is in each Kingdom? Is it rocky? Is it fertile? Are there vast forests, or is it mostly grassland or something else like that.
Or, given that the orientation seems to be off, figure out north, south, east, and west, in relation to the mountains, the plains, and the kingdoms.
What kind of animals are in each region? What kind of wild animals? What kind of pets would people have? What kind of dangerous animals are there?
What is the average number of people per acre? How big are these countries, how far apart are the people in the farmland, and how many cities are there? How big are the cities? Are there cities in the plains?
What kind of fruits and vegetables are there? What does the average person's diet look like? What does the average rich person's diet look like?
What other weather patterns like? Are there definitive seasons other than winter, spring, summer, fall? What is the average rainfall or the snowfall?