New Civilizations got you down?

When writing a fantasy novel, I personally find that the hardest part is writing the civilizations. What exactly IS a civilization, after all?
Fear not, fellow fantasy and sci-fi writers, I found the answer!!

Check this PDF out. I didn't create it, the creator "lives" here. Tomorrow I'm going down to the library to print a few copies of this off (yes, we do have a printer but no ink) so that I can start filling them out.

Another helpful tool is brain mapping. It's really easy to do, both on the computer and on your own. Think of it as sub-plotting... or maybe like drawing a tree. You start with the roots, which is the main topic you wish to cover. So draw a circle in the middle of your paper and label it with the main topic - for example, "humans". Then "branching" out from that would be your sub topics - Biology, Family, Religion, ect. So write those words down (or whatever words you chose) encircling your main topic. Then draw lines, connecting them to your main topic, almost like floating ballons. Then you have your sub-sub-topics. Outside of the circle, "religion" for example, list several religions, then draw lines connecting them to your sub-topic of religion. Continue on until you feel as though you are complete.
Another easy way to do this is through free computer softwear such as XMind (just skip all the paid versions).

Coming soon: The snowflake method... or not. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself!

Cheers!