Worldbuilding Secrets from Crestwick: Bringing Your Fictional Town to Life

Create a story setting so vivid your readers feel like they’ve lived there—fog, charm, secrets and all.

Have you ever read a book where the setting felt like a character? Where the town had moods, mysteries, and history so real you could swear it existed somewhere off the map?

That was always the dream for Crestwick—to create a place readers could escape to, one magical page at a time.

Whether you’re working on a fantasy novel, a cozy mystery, or even a spooky children’s tale, crafting a fictional town takes more than naming streets and sketching maps. It’s about building layers: mood, rules, traditions, hidden corners.

Here are some of the worldbuilding secrets I used when conjuring up Crestwick—and how you can bring your own setting to life.

Mood First, Then Map

Before you dive into details like where the bakery sits or what kind of cobblestones line the alleys, ask yourself:

• What does your town feel like?

• If it had a smell, a season, or a color, what would it be?

Crestwick’s mood came to me before anything else. It’s fog-laced, slightly gothic, full of whimsy and danger. I pictured flickering gas lamps, ivy-covered dormitories, and rain that whispered secrets. That mood shaped every decision after. Your setting doesn’t need to be realistic—but it should be emotionally consistent.

Create Local Legends and Rules

Real places have folklore. Made-up places need it even more. In Crestwick, the town is full of whispered legends: the menacing Gorgon lurking in the shadows, the mysterious location of the school. All these add to the legends of place creating layers.

Try inventing:

• A spooky tale older residents believe.

• A strange rule everyone follows without question.

• A phrase or idiom locals use that outsiders don’t understand.

These tiny touches build atmosphere and deepen your story’s mystery.

Name with Intention

Don’t underestimate the power of a well-named place.

“Crestwick” felt old-fashioned and mysterious with links to the moon and candle. It has a weight to it, a slightly eerie echo.

Ask yourself:

• What do I want my readers to feel when they hear this name?

• Is the name rooted in a specific culture, pun, or metaphor?

The best names offer a whisper of the story before the reader even opens the book.

Anchor Your Magic in the Mundane

Even magical towns need grounding details.

Crestwick has enchanted weather patterns, mythical creatures, and potion classes—but students still get detention, sneak into kitchens, and grumble about homework. This blend of everyday life and enchantment is what makes the town feel real.

Let your fictional setting breathe. Show the everyday routines, frustrations, and joys that exist alongside the extraordinary.

Build the Town Backwards

One of my favourite tricks: don’t start with a blank map. Start with your plot.

Ask:

• Where does my character need to run into danger?

• What hidden places do I want to reveal later?

• What part of the town reflects the character’s fears or dreams?

Then build the town around those moments. This ensures your world supports the story rather than distracting from it.

Bonus Spell: Let It Evolve

Like your characters, your town might surprise you.

Crestwick started with a single location—a school perched in a tree—but over time, it grew tunnels, secret places, haunted branches, and entire lost histories I hadn’t planned. Let your fictional town evolve as the story grows. You don’t need to know everything on day one—just enough to open the door.

Anaya Deen is a British-born writer conjuring up novels for her YA Fantasy Series, Secrets of Crestwick. She is happiest when she’s dreaming up new spells and daring escapades for readers to lose themselves.
If this article helped you, please consider subscribing to her Batmail Newsletter. Get insider writing tips, sneak peeks at her novel, brilliant AI hacks for writers, and real talk on self-publishing—ideal for new writers craving straightforward advice.