In world design, or world building, there are a multitude of approaches. Some writers begin in a very small area, like a village or town, and work from there. Other writers create the world starting with the design of the continents, or perhaps even the solar system which the planet inhabits. Most times, a reader cannot distinguish a work that has been micro-created--designing small parts of the world until all the world has been created--or macro-created--designing an entire world, maybe even a solar system or more.

The micro-created world may seem like less work, since there seems to be less to create. However, micro-creation does not mean designing a smaller amount. The main difference between micro and macro-creation, for the purposes of this article, is that one begins at a small point and one begins with the whole world/setting. Therefore, the amount of work done is the same, the only change is the starting point. Shall you begin by designing a single room in the house or the entire house and then move on to design the rooms.

Each method had its advantages. Micro-creation allows one to work with a very manageable area, like a village, and then grow out from that to design the duchy, then the kingdom, then the continent, and so on. For many writers, this seems an easier task. It is like taking a small step before embarking on a cross-country hike. Creating a village or town certainly doesn't seem as intimidating as designing a world.

The great advantage of micro-creation comes in a work that focuses primarily on a single area. If your novel is set entirely in a single city, designing the continents on the other side of the world, which the characters in the novel have no knowledge of, is not of any applicable value until, perhaps, a later work in the same setting. Also, the writer may be able to concentrate on that single area and give it more depth, a real sense of history and place.

The disadvantage is the other side of the coin from this. Because there is a great amount of focus on the details, that area may seem to exist in a vacuum. The kingdoms and cultures surrounding it may not gain the same amount of depth. There may be one area that is fully fleshed-out, and the contrast with the areas that received less attention may strain the believability of the reader. Also, some cultures may seem hackneyed if not given proper attention.

This is not to say that using the micro-creation method will always result in areas of the setting lacking the depth and sense of place as others. The great disadvantage of this method is that without proper care and attention, this could easily happen. An author with the desire and intention to manufacture a fully-realized setting can easily avoid this pitfall.

Macro-creation allows for the kind of grand scale and scope that many epic fantasies necessitate. For a space opera or other galactic-spanning work of fiction, the macro-creation method may seem like the only viable alternative. This method usually results in a world with great variety yet a cohesive character. The sprawling epic or a story that spans many nations, continents or worlds truly profits from the large yet unified scale of the macro-creation method.

This technique, however, can tempt the writer into spending so much time on world-building that the actual story is never broached. Also, a setting that has the a multitude of cultures, nations, languages, etc may lure the writer into attempting to introduce all these elements, even though they may not be necessary or even germane.

For a work that already has a well-developed plot, that the writer has a real sense of direction and well sculpted characters, macro-creation can lead to a cohesive setting that allows for grandiose adventures while not overloading some areas or locales with details and leaving others scant.

The fact is that no matter which method the writer uses, the details of a setting are terribly important. None should be overlooked. The method that a writer uses in world-building is most likely dictated by that writer's temperament. As noted above, though, some works may be better suited to a particular method of world-building. If the writer has no particular leanings or habits, a work with a story focused in a certain area might be better served by micro-creation while the epic may require macro-creation.