I love worldbuilding and designing new universes to write for. It's a really great way to tackle social issues and even just cultural differences from a fresh and unique perspective. Sometimes it's just tweaking some aspects of history a little, but other times I just completely throw away everything I ever learned about the world and start anew. But lately I've found a lot of my worlds feeling…the same. Yes, I have a premise for each, I know what is changed and what remains generally consistent with Earth. But I almost feel like they're only that—different renditions of the planet Earth, the same world in sunglasses…if that makes sense to you.
My point is, what might I be doing wrong that makes my worlds feel dead and artificial? What can I do to define them in a way that makes them fresh and interesting?