Methodology in Ground-up design

[Mulletmanalive]

This is a question especially relevant to those who have published [paper or internet] on a project they didn't provide the kernal for:

How do you go about presenting it! Heck, how you you even start on a project like that?

For some reason, I'm completely stuck. I have material I have to work with and include and I have the map mostly sorted but I'm completely stuck on starting the writeup...

Should i start with key locations or maybe move across the map from left to right? Is it worth starting on something completely unimportant? How much detail do you need to a gazeteer of a location?

Or would it be better to establish relationships between the key players of the setting and work outwards? Create them, then their environs and then just fill in the blanks?

My previous projects have started with a campaign in mind and then grown outwards; this has to grow without such a set of assumptions and i'm lost. Help!

[Machinekng]

This is a question especially relevant to those who have published [paper or internet] on a project they didn't provide the kernal for:

How do you go about presenting it! Heck, how you you even start on a project like that?

For some reason, I'm completely stuck. I have material I have to work with and include and I have the map mostly sorted but I'm completely stuck on starting the writeup...

Should i start with key locations or maybe move across the map from left to right? Is it worth starting on something completely unimportant? How much detail do you need to a gazeteer of a location?

Or would it be better to establish relationships between the key players of the setting and work outwards? Create them, then their environs and then just fill in the blanks?

My previous projects have started with a campaign in mind and then grown outwards; this has to grow without such a set of assumptions and i'm lost. Help!

I'd start with the things most relavent to the players and then expand outwards.

1st Character Creation Options (everything needed to create a character for the campaign)
2nd Campaign Background (everything needed to make a decent RP)
3rd Starting Information (things the characters would know)
4th Everything the character don't know.

I would first figure out what they PCs should/would know. If they don't know something, they can figure it out or make a Knowledge check.

[Icedaemon]

I'd start with the most basic aspects:. First of all, determine the flavour you want people who go about in this world to notice.

Decide which creatures define the world - what are the most well-known monsters, what species (especially which playable sapients) are ubiquitous/numerous. At this point, you should also start to give all due consideration to how you plan to subvert, de- or reconstruct preconceptions regarding some of the species.

The climate of the principal region is important, this should be determined early on.

After the basics are down, decide who rule the most important nations/regions. What are those nations like? Then go for the secondary nations - not powerful enough to influence events far outside their borders, but still with regional importance. Minor nations need not all be named and constructed - simply leave some small patches of land between certain nations and build up the tiny nations if and when you get a good idea or some reason to.

[Yora]

I organize my work pretty much like other published campaign settings do it:
In Part 1, I describe the new races, classes, and feats, as well as notes on special features of races and classes from other sources.
In Part 2, I do the Atlas with Apendices stuff, that is describing the lands, general history, and planes.
In Part 3, there are the details: The power groups of the setting, new creatures, information on everyday life, and my notes on what types of adventures I plan to run in this world. (Not every world is for every type of campiagn.)

FRCS, Eberron CS, Midnight, Ravenloft, ... They all use the same basic layout, and I think it works quite well.