With some world building done, it seems fitting to add some plants and animals. But they can’t simply be pine trees and bears. Where’s the fun in that? The main reason I love world building is because of the environments and indigenous life. The trouble comes when there’s birds thriving in blizzards or green plants prospering in dry heat. While a world is what you make it, believe-ability is key for grabbing readers. So, here’s a couple tricks I’ve used and developed for creating realistic landscapes with fictional creatures of my design, in order from simple to complex.
Research
While it’s fun to create something new, something on Earth might do the trick too. If I’m going to be specific about plant life, I’ll do research in order to find the plant that makes the most sense. For example, I built a mechanical world, meaning no plant life. But how is there oxygen? To remedy this plot hole, I looked up plants that create the most oxygen, preferably small plants. I came up with snake plants and Chinese evergreens. Same goes for animals.
Colors can change. Habits can vary. Something can be added to make sense for your world. Research is there for descriptive words so the reader understands the environment and what everything looks like. I suggest having the main area be similar to Earth and then adding variations on top.
Make it Bigger
Once you’ve done some research, it’s easy to resize and scale plant life and animals. I love Journey to the Center of the Earth featuring Brendan Fraser. The plant life was similar to the surface yet massive in scale. The Venus Fly Traps are probably the best example, large enough that they chase after people rather than flies. Resizing opens opportunities for new habits and possibilities (trees big enough to hold a home inside).
A trick I enjoy when making animals bigger is imagining what they would look like if mutated. Not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but say a rabbit becomes big enough to ride. I actually did this in my first story; my “mutated” rabbit had large tusks like a saber tooth and a long tail. Thinking “mutation” starts the process of creating a whole new creature.
Combination Creation
Perhaps my favorite way to create new species, I take two animals and literally mash them together. Never tried it with plant life, but anything’s possible.
Back to animals. I try to choose animals that have some kind of similarity, whether it be build or habit. For example, my first ever mashup was between a deer and a cheetah because both are fast. Deer move quickly to avoid danger, cheetah’s are the fastest animal. It’s also possible to mix creatures that have little in common like a monkey and a fruit fly. Depends on the purpose of the creature.
Next, I go half and half on the animals, meshing them together into a cohesive piece. With my previous example, I used the hooves, thin legs, and body of a deer and paired it with the tail, head, and coat of a cheetah. I now have a speedy creature who’s a little more timid than a natural hunter, but maintains an omnivore diet. Very important: research the two creatures that were combined and figure out what traits get added to the mashup. Some new ones can be conjured, but it’s smart to borrow a few from the originals.
From the Ground-Up
In some cases, what’s needed doesn’t exist except in your imagination. For this final level of creation, I suggest making a fact sheet. Like the world built last week, you need to know this creature or plant inside and out. Pull up the fact sheets on plants and animals and see what information they include. Write down the same headers and develop your creation.
When solidifying this plant or creature, think about the environment they’ll inhabit. What’s the terrain like? What food sources are available? Doing research on what and how animals thrive in those conditions can help with developing the look and reasoning. Anatomy is a big part of why certain animals thrive in the forest and not the desert. Consider these aspects and your plant or creature will be that much more believable.