This is one of the articles based on the free templates from my book, “Writing Fantasy (The Ultimate Guide and Complete Reference Book)” (US link). You can get the link to download the entire set of twelve templates in the Book Samples section.
Will you be showing the underworld in your novel or just showing a monster or two that has escaped from it? You might get ideas for it from mythologies from around the world or you might want to think of something unique of your own.
The list below gives you an idea of what information to think of to develop your underworld.
- What the underworld looks like
- Who the ruler(s) is, their personality, species and how they got to be there
- Who the ruler(s) relies on to help with the running the underworld
- Any creatures that reside in the underworld, such as hell hounds
- What the inhabitants think of those in charge
- What crimes and/or sins the inhabitants committed to be sent there
- What happens to them in the underworld and how does this affect how they think and look?
- What the underworld culture is like in terms of where souls live, what they eat, etc.
- Whether there are various regions within the underworld where souls reside depending on the severity of their mortal crimes
- Whether underworld inhabitants ever leave/escape and go to the mortal world
- If they do escape, who hunts them down from the underworld
- Whether inhabitants regularly visit the mortal world to perform a particular job, such as collecting dead souls
- Whether inhabitants often visit the mortal world at a specific time of the year
- How mortals can kill, destroy or banish underworld beings
- What folklore there is in the mortal world about the underworld and its inhabitants
- Whether underworld inhabitants feature in myths, such as a myth about how the world will be destroyed
- Whether or not mortals have an accurate idea of the underworld and who inhabits it
You might also want to read my articles on creating a celestial world and creating deities.
If you want more information to help you create fantasy worlds and write a fantasy novel, find out more about my book, “Writing Fantasy (The Ultimate Guide and Complete Reference Book)” (US link).
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