My world building process starts out like a 2 yr old with a puzzle, an open container of honey, ketchup and soda.... After the huge mess is made I revert back to my adult self and clean it up.
I don't know what your genre is but it really depends on it. For the fantasy genre I find it both fun and inspiring to draw out a map myself, and work on that map. erase cut out, draw volcanos and forests, create islands. Then you can think about what the world needs for your plot. If you have warriors with a great marine force then get them on an island idk. If you have ice dragons than decide where the big mountain he lives on will be. For other genres that take place in advanced societies you could, but you might not need to draw a map but work out the social/political system. And these things are extremely long and hard to work. So find inspiration everywhere and good luck.
I'm in the process of world building/developing myself. In fact, yesterday I filled in the part of the map where the elves live along with other races. Now, this information comes a World Event Timeline doc, a World Creation doc and a Background and Plot doc. I said build and developing because now that I'm plotting the series, changes are occurring or details are being fleshed out that are story related; so, the world develops along with the story. In the story, one of the MC is an elf from Asuwa so I so I needed to build and develop his land and people as part of his background. The bottom islands belong to the Oni, an orc like race called the Vour. Their history and culture has been roughly outlined, but, I really don't need to go into any more detail other than establishing their relationship with Asuwa. So, this gives you an idea of the approach I'm taking to world building. Godspeed!
