To be honest with you, many fictional worlds feel fabricated. (I do know it’s fabricated). You roll your eyes as you turn the page and think, “That would never happen.”
Even if you are creating a fictional story, readers need it to feel somewhat realistic, especially if you’re creating a fictional world. That’s why good worldbuilding isn’t an option, but a necessity to write a believable story.
Good worldbuilding makes your fictional world feel natural. Worldbuilding makes your fictional world feel logical in its own way. Your worldbuilding, geography, culture, and magic, and all of those things make your story feel realistic (even though there isn’t anything realistic about it), but there’s one thing you’re forgetting. Worldbuilding a fictional government.
Just think of your own life. Whether you like it or not, you abide by the law (I hope). The government creates a structure that society organizes itself in. It affects who your characters are and how they live. By creating a fictional government, you not only write a more realistic world, but you also write more realistic characters.
Worldbuilding a fictional government isn’t witchcraft. With a simple approach, you will know a technique to create a fictional government from scratch by the end of this post.
Where to Get Ideas for Your Fictional Government
Before you do anything, you should know what kinds of governments exist. Furthermore, you need to know what kind of power they have and how they use it.
It’s wise to draw inspiration from real-life governments to create a more realistic fictional government. Not only do you make the worldbuilding process easier for yourself, but it’s also easier for your readers to digest the worldbuilding if it’s familiar.
Monarchy
A single ruler often inherits power from a family line. It can be a king, queen, or emperor who rules the nation.
There are two main types of monarchy: absolute monarchy, where the leader has full control, and symbolic monarchy, where the leaders don’t have any power.
You often see a monarchical government in fantasy or fairy-tale stories.
Democracy
Democracy is when the people hold the power. They vote for who they think is the best fit to rule their nation. Democracy focuses on the interests of the citizens.
This works well in modern or futuristic settings.
Communism
It’s the idea of having a classless society. The government has absolute control over the nation’s resources and distributes them equally to its citizens. The main goal is to eliminate private property.
Communism is ideal if you want to explore what equality means and personal freedom.
Socialism
Socialism is a system in which fundamental resources are controlled and distributed by the government. However, individual citizens are allowed to own their own property and have personal freedom.
You could have this kind of government in a character-driven story. You could also turn this into a story that asks what is fair and what is earned.
Choose Your Fictional Government
The examples above are just a small collection of different kinds of government you can choose from. On that note, there are many nuances, and some countries can have a combination of different types of governments.
Here is a well-summarised YouTube video of different types of governments you can choose from. Keep in mind that if your story revolves around politics, the type of regime you choose will shape your story.
Domestic Policy in Fictional Governments
Domestic policy refers to a government’s operations within its own borders. This means the laws, policies, and programs a government implements for its own citizens.
This will most likely affect your character’s life. In the same way your nation’s infrastructure, laws, policies, and programs affect you, they will affect your characters.
Central vs. Local government
To simplify the process, we can categorize the government into two different sections: the central and local governments.
Central: is the head state government. They hold most power and make large-scale decisions. They often control laws, resources, and national systems such as education.
Local: Have limited power. Although they may control some things, they’re still subject to the central government. Local power is responsible for community-level management, and much of that depends on it.
Foreign Policy
Now, we need to figure out how your fictional government interacts with other governments. Nearly every nation depends on other nations to function, especially economically.
This can give you a clue about what kind of jobs exist in your story and other important aspects, such as traveling.
Global power dynamics
Some nations struggle, some nations thrive. It all depends on what you can offer.
- Natural resources (oil, food, rare materials)
- Military strength
- Technology or knowledge
- Strategic location (trade routes, access to oceans, etc.)
Foreign Policy in 3 Parts
Here are 3 things you need to map out to create a foreign policy for your fictional government.
Borders and Control: Borders reflect control. Strict borders suggest fear or protection. Open borders suggest trust or vulnerability.
Cooperation and Competition: Nations may collaborate in science or trade while still competing for power and resources.
War and Aggression: Some governments avoid conflict. Others rely on it. This choice shapes the tone and stakes of your world.
Creating Social Hierarchy
The government plays an important role in creating and maintaining social hierarchy. Although social hierarchy naturally forms in any society, the state acts as an architect who creates the ladder and decides who has the legal and economic means to climb the social ladder.
The Inner Circle: Power Holders
These are the people who are closest to power. This group includes political leaders, wealthy individuals, and senior officers who help the government operate.
The state can categorize people by assigning labels, such as permanent citizens and temporary workers.
What all of these people have in common is that they benefit from the system the most.
The Middle Class
This group maintains society. They follow the rules, do the labor, and keep everything functioning. They may support the system or feel trapped by it. Either way, they’re not at the top, but more comfortable than the outcasts.
The Outcasts
In this group, you’ll find minorities, rebels, or poor people. They’re the ones who are pushed aside and perceived as lesser than everyone. They are often overlooked or deliberately excluded, making them powerful sources of conflict.
Pitfalls to Avoid
There are many ways to create a fictional government. However, there are a few things that can ruin all your hard work and make your story suck. You don’t want that, and I certainly don’t want that to happen.
So here are some pitfalls you should avoid at all costs:
Overcomplicating the system: Focus on what matters in your story, and I can tell you it’s not writing about how the tax system works in detail. Create a simple system that will support your story: Don’t worry about stuff you won’t include in your story.
Forgetting the characters: The whole point of creating a fictional government is to show how it affects the characters and how it shapes the story. If you end up creating a bunch of structures and systems that aren’t relevant to your characters, then you need to reevaluate what you focus on.
Lack of conflict: Use the flaws and inequity of your fictional government in your plot. It’s a natural source of conflict in your story. Fictional government isn’t an excellent way to make the story realistic, but to maintain momentum.
Building a Realistic Fictional Government
Everything you learned today can help you write a realistic fictional government. It wasn’t so bad, right?
Sit down and use this approach, and you have already finished an important aspect of your worldbuilding. Once you’re done with that, you can begin on the fun part, creating a fictional legal system for your fictional government.
