World building is nothing new. Everybody does it all the time. We all live in our own worlds and constantly expand its ruleset as we try to make sense of our existence. To be conscious is to build worlds.

I build worlds to give my stories more interesting setting, but the act of world building itself is fun. These worlds are my mental playground. It’s where my stories live. A part of me lives there too, happily sifting through ideas like a kid in a sandpit.

I also encourage others to try world building. It’s fun, it’s free — and your world will always belong to you. You can use your worlds to tell your own internal stories, or keep your kids entertained. Or, you can simply build a world for yourself — a place that doesn’t need to make sense for anybody but you.