Religion is often a touchy subject for readers & writers, even when the religion's fictional. Learn how to make fictional religions add depth to your story without boring or offending your readers.
Fictional cultures must differ from Earth cultures, but be similar enough for readers to understand. Learn how to create compelling but identifiable ones that contribute to your story.
Nature & its denizens are crucial background elements in many genre stories. Learn how to subtly incorporate them into your story to make the reader's experience even more enjoyable.
Governments & their laws affect you every day—& your characters probably have the same experience. Learn how to work legal & governmental issues into your setting & story in an enjoyable way.
The monsters in your world can make or break a good story. Learn what makes monsters work in fiction & how you can make them work in your setting & story.
Kingdoms, nations, planetary empires, city-states -- they're a key part of your story's background. Learn how to create realistic ones & incorporate them into your story in compelling ways.
From alternate realities to lands beyond the veil, learn to use other planes & dimensions to enrich your story, rather than just as a source of weird monsters & villains.
Making non-humans convincingly different but easy for the reader to understand, is a difficult task. Learn how to overcome these challenges in ways that make your story even better.
The setting for a story often takes on a life of its own. Learn to create your own Arrakis or Middle Earth, where the world becomes a character in its own right.