Your imagination and willingness to live in your own world is all you need to start writing a novel.

I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that question, yet fantastical, fictional worlds are created everyday in our minds, on computers,even on napkins at the restaurant down the street.The truth is your imagination and a willingness to, figuratively,live in your own world are all you need to get started writing a novel.I didn't dream up Hogwarts or the Star Wars' Cantina,but I have written some science thrillers for kids and young adults.Here are some questions and methods I've used to help build the worlds in which those books take place.I start with a basic place and time.Whether that's a fantasy world or a futuristic setting in the real world,it's important to know where you are and whether you're working in the past,present, or future.I like to create a timeline showing how the world came to be.