If you can't think of a way on how to do your world, or if you have an idea but need some more advice, this might help.
Creating your Own Perfect World
1. Use features from other places: If you really like Baldurs Gate and the Sword Coast, create a rugged untamed land with few towns, resembling the Sword Coast. Love certain mountain ranges or unique features, put em into your world, just change it around a bit.
2. Figure out a setting and time: Is your book going to be sci-fi, where spaceships are in the world, and there are guns and electricity. Or is it still medieval/fantasy setting, or prehistoric times. Then, your environment might be based on that. If you have a Sci-Fi setting, expect less forests, more pollution and more civilization. However, you could have a lucious world where everything is thriving in a Sci-Fi setting, but you it'd be good to include an explanation. If it is a medieval setting, you will have less pollution, and civilization is all bunched together, there probably won't be many loners out there. If it is prehistoric/bronze age, remember armor will be hard to find along with weapons, and hunting for animals is the main source for food, so people can expect to see lots of bones... Just an idea.
3. Amaze your readers: Every single book/ made up world has one claim to fame. You probably have something marvelous invisioned, but every world generally has one spectacular sight, such as a huge majestic mountain with beautiful marble ruins of an ancient civilization, a huge scorched barren plain, where in the center lava rivers flow, and a fortress of obsidian where demons lay is watching over the rivers.
4. Think of what is your paradise: You could make your world part of one of your dream locations, such as floating city, a huge sunny island where it is cool, and breezes are frequent, where waves are calm, or steady.
Creating a Story-Based World
I noticed you were discussing about if your story was in middle earth and your whole dilemma thing. Well, show the readers Middle Earth before Sauron came to power in the First War, or after that. I'm sure J.R.R. Tolkien didn't create tomes on what happened before and after, so show the readers what happened. That way, you can kind of control them, but put in a fear factor, people will most likely dwell on what happened, think it will happen again.
Another way, make a terrible event happen, that change peoples lives forever. Tell this one piece of history that hasn't been told, like your narrating, then you can shape the people how you want too.
One Last Thing
Luvian, go with whatever you want. If you already created your world and such, and are afraid that ideas might get stolen, don't post em. And if you want to implement other things in, go ahead, and when your writing, give little hints on the world and stuff, so readers get enticed and no one steals your idea, and if they try to, they will most likely F**k up
