365 days of writing prompts

10 World-building prompts to set the scene

Welcome to Day 2 of your 365 days of writing challenge! Yesterday, you focused on creating characters that feel real. Today, we’re turning our attention to the worlds they live in. Every story needs a setting that breathes life into the narrative, shapes emotion, and deepens meaning.

Do you want to create places your readers can feel? Where they become so immersed in what you’ve written, they forget where they actually are. Your scene could take place in a cozy cafe. It might unfold in a misty forest. Or on a bustling city street. Regardless of the setting, it should feel authentic.

One way to do this is to use all five senses to show your world. Here is an excellent article. It talks about using your five senses to describe your world. The author, Kellie McGann, poses a question that writers should ask before adding a description. Go on over and read it to find out the question you should ask.

1. The First Glimpse
   Describe the very first image of your story’s world. What sights, sounds, or scents instantly define it?
2. The Mood of the Air
   Is the atmosphere in your setting heavy, light, hopeful, or tense? Show that mood through sensory details rather than direct description.
3. The Place That Remembers
   Describe a location that holds memories: a room, street, or field. This place has seen something important. Let the setting “speak” through its details.
4. Time of Day, Heart of Story
   Choose one moment (dawn, dusk, midnight, etc.) and describe your setting during that time. How does the lighting or temperature show your character’s emotions?
5. A Hidden Corner
   Every place has secrets. Write about a tucked-away spot that only one or two characters know about, and why it matters to them.
6. Weather as Emotion
   Create a scene where the weather mirrors the character’s internal state. Don’t say how they feel; let the environment show it.
7. Through a Stranger’s Eyes
   Describe your main setting as if seen by someone visiting for the first time. What details would stand out most to them?
8. The Setting That Shapes You
   Show how your character’s surroundings have influenced who they are. Consider their habits, fears, and dreams. Think about their resilience.
9. When Everything Changes
   Take a familiar setting from your story and transform it. A sunny place becomes stormy. A safe home is now abandoned. How does the change affect the tone?
10. One Object, One World
    Focus on a single object. It can be a cup, a photograph, or a window. Choose something that reveals something deep about your world. Let that object anchor the entire scene.

A powerful setting doesn’t just hold your story; it shapes it. Today, as you write, remember that everything seen, touched, tasted, smelled and heard can echo emotion and deepen meaning. Build worlds so vivid that your readers will wish to stay a little longer.

Try writing one of these suggested prompts using at least three of the five senses. Bonus to you if you can use all five. Feel free to share which one you used and which of the five senses you chose.