Worldbuilding Journal - Intro

Do any of these sound familiar?

• I want to play (insert Table Top Role-Playing Game here), but none of my friends know how to, or want to, run the game. I'd love to give it a try, but don't know where to start!
• I have run a few TTRPG sessions or even started a campaign, but find it difficult to connect to someone else's story and characters.  I want to build my own world and/or campaign but it seems too overwhelming.
• I'm an experienced game master but am feeling the itch to take my players into a new world, one that I created from scratch.  I've got the foundation built, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to have people start poking around in my world yet.

If so, you are in the right place, welcome! If not, no judgment, welcome all the same! Follow along here as I journal my creative process for worldbuilding and campaign creation.

I will be discussing most topics in the context of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but nearly all of the concepts I utilize are setting and system-neutral, so you can drag and drop them into whatever game you choose to play.  Even better, a majority of my world-building techniques can be used for novels, video games, TTRPGS, or whatever your heart desires. My goal is to help you craft intriguing worlds and tell engaging stories.

I do not consider myself an expert in just about any of the topics we will discuss here.  My name isn't Matt, I am not a professional voice actor or improv comedian. I'm just a regular guy with a regular job who has a gracious group of friends. And yet, we are coming up on 4 years of playing my homebrew D&D campaign in my homebrew world. If I can do it, you can too. 

So get your coffee, grab some dice, and let's do this thing.