Use the Material template to write about any type of resource that something else is made out of. That can be a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. This includes pure or impure materials and living or non-living matter!
Contents
What should I use this template for?
Material has some overlap with the Item template. For example, a potato is an item, but it can also be described as a material (as part of a recipe). To decide if something is a Material or an Item, think about its role in the world: how do people think about it? If people don't think about it as an individual item, it's a Material. In the real world, for instance, the element "gold" is a Material, but a gold ingot would be an Item.
Here are some example of Materials!
Natural materials
Natural materials are substances that can be found in nature and have not been artificially processed. Many naturally occurring substances such as chalk, sand, wood, and iron, can be used to construct structures, vehicles or weapons and armor. Is there a unique natural material that is used for construction or craftmanship in your world? It could have special properties and traits fundamental to your story! Mythril, a metal from The Lord of the Rings, or crem, a type of sediment from the Stormlight Archive, are examples of this.
Biological materials
Biological materials can either be produced by a biological system, derived from nature or synthesized using a variety of chemical approaches. They are often used for medical purposes. This includes human or animal products like tissues, cells and blood, plants, insects, and genetically-modified organisms. A material like that could cause mutations in your world, manifest unique powers, or cause a zombie apocalypse!
Template walkthrough
Remember that all template prompts are optional! In fact some prompts might not be relevant to you. As always, there's a free-writing section at the top (which we call vignette) and the prompts are under the Expand prompts & connections button. The prompts are organized into four tabs:
- Properties
Use this tab to write about the basic characteristics about the material, including the color, the odor and the origin. - Usage
What is the history of the material and what is it used for? The fields in this tab will help you define this. - Distribution
Here you can describe more about the storage conditions and the trade of the material. - Relations
This tab is full of dropdowns in which you can link the material to other articles you've written, such as the Geographical location that it can be found in and the Item that is primarily used for.
Step-by-step guide to writing a material
Here are some steps you can follow to write a material article:
- What is the material used for?
What is it mainly used for and what are some unique things that it can be utilized for? The properties and capabilities of a material, can result in advancements in fields like medicine, biotechnology or engineering. Think about its impact on a large scale that affects many aspects of your world. - What does it say about the world?
A material can affect the entire world, so figure out how it fits within the rest of your project. Is it a revolutionary resource? What relation does it have with the world's story? How can you link it to other parts of your worldbuilding? - Who wants to acquire it?
A valuable material can result in profit through trade or unique capabilities or possibilities for the ones that have it. Is this a material that's sought after? How can it be acquired and who wants it? The answers to these questions will help create conflict between different species or individuals in your setting.
Community examples for inspiration
Need some inspiration? Here are some material articles written by our amazing community!
- Osmerite, by C. B. Ash
- Oortite, by Annie Stein
- Ichor, by Stormbril
- Cleaver Seeds, by LexiCon (WordiGirl)
- Galdyr / Galdrvyr, by Fall
