Assignment: Write an encouraging bit of poetry or prose to Matt Benedict (either directly to, or dedicated to) and we'll take a look at it at our next meeting, and put it together
The key question of world building is "what would it be like to live in a world where..." and "how does ... effect the way that I ..." the more ways that you can formulate that question and still get meaningful answers, the better your world building framework is, and the more real your story will seem.
The reason why it will seem more real is that you will be able to show how your world works by telling the What's, why's and how's of the way people live through events (interesting) instead of listing out facts and telling people the gears and fiddly bits behind the scenes.
Case in point: If you are world building a transportation system, don't tell us that it can go 250 miles per hour, show us how it feels to go 250 miles per hour, or take us on the journey twice, once with the "old way" and again with the new way, what are the consequences? Do new conflicts arise because people who normally didn't mingle now can travel about at ease? That way the pieces that are important to each of your characters get highlighted, the nature lover misses the scenic route, the up and coming businessman loves that he can rub shoulders with the best and brightest, the adrenaline junky loves looking over the back to watch the ground zip by, and no one has to mention the speed or how it goes that fast or even what it is to know that it's changed the way that your characters interact with the world in a meaningful way.
In novels this adds depth and life to the setting (and characters) of your story, in short stories, a single world building "block" can play a central roll, or be the focus of the entire story. A very useful tool, and a lot of fun to play with.
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