1. Andy_Megumi

    Andy_Megumi Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2017
    Messages:
    70
    Likes Received:
    90

    How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories?

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Andy_Megumi, Feb 18, 2019.

    How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories?
    How do you know when you have done enough worldbuilding?
    How do you know how much worldbuilding you need to do?
    How do you stop yourselves from becoming overwhelmed with worldbuilding?
    How do you balance worldbuilding and actually writing the story?

    Any tips or resources you can share or recommend?
     
  2. Thomas Larmore

    Thomas Larmore Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2019
    Messages:
    314
    Likes Received:
    233
    It depends on what kind of story you are writing. The optimum amount of world building is the minimum required to tell the story.
     
  3. Dracon

    Dracon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Messages:
    691
    Likes Received:
    939
    Location:
    England
    I think you are likely to get conflicting advice because different writers will go into different levels of detail with regards to worldbuilding. Some epic fantasy writers will have notes of hundreds of thousands of words of worldbuilding that you never actually see in their novels. Others do it on the fly. So unfortunately, I think the best answer is probably the one that is always the least helpful: "do whatever works for you."

    I have never been able to summon the motivation or the interest to worldbuild anything that I do not plan to include in a story somewhere. So although there might be elements that are 'unseen' in my WiP, they would likely be elements that I would explore in a sequel or other standalone novel in the same world.

    I have no interest in making family trees and discovering who the king's second cousin five times removed is - it just doesn't matter
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  4. Infel

    Infel Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2016
    Messages:
    571
    Likes Received:
    703
    Let me be the rays of sunshine on your cloudy day. Worldbuilding is what I love to do.

    Every question you asked depends on the scope of your story. The answer to "How do you know when you've done enough Worldbuilding?" is "When your story makes sense within the confines of itself." That's also the answer to #3. The truth of it is that 90% of worldbuilding is for yourself: it's so you have the information that you need to write your story. Some people love worldbuilding; some people sit and think up religions, and countries, and systems of government, and evolutionary history, and any number of things because that's fun for them. You don't need to do that to write a story. Some people spend so much time worldbuilding that they never actually get to the story. That's a pretty lousy way to write a story! Some people are so manic about it that they start from the birth of their universe, and can't even manage to write about the country their story is set in without writing about how the damn planet got there to begin with. That's me.

    There's a word that ought to be applied to worldbuilding: accretion. That's because you have to take it slow. It's like if you were not only building with Legos, but actually creating the individual bricks. You make a piece, and see if it fits with what you already have. Then you see if that piece takes the story in a direction you want it to go. Then you carefully insert it where it belongs.

    1) How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories?
    I approach it like I'm sailing a boat into unknown waters to explore uncharted lands. I log everything I see or think of, write it in a journal, and use whatever happens to be useful. If it isn't useful, I throw it out. Sometimes I want to make a thing from scratch, even if it doesn't belong. Nothing wrong with that. You approach worldbuilding in the way that works best for you, keeping accretion in mind. However, keep in mind that if you're sailing a boat around in your world exploring, then your story is your compass. You use the story to navigate, and prioritize what needs to be logged and created.

    2) + 3) "When your story makes sense within the confines of itself."

    4) How do you stop yourselves from becoming overwhelmed with worldbuilding?
    That's a tough one. I don't. I once spent two months vigorously mapping out a region down to the finest detail so that I could know exactly how many days, at a rate of 20 miles per day, my party would take to reach a capital city. I did that just so I could begin a few paragraphs with "Two days passed." Something that helps me feel not overwhelmed is treating it like an adventure. It's not something you 'have' to do, it's something you do if you like to.

    5) How do you balance worldbuilding and actually writing the story?
    That's got to be taken like a dance. Sometimes the story you want to write will, by necessity, force you to create some aspect of your world. That in turn will create ripples that require you to go through and re-balance other things. Then, other times, you'll REALLY want to add something to your world, but it will end up changing the story. During these times, remember that you're the author, and that the story comes first. Telling a good story is paramount to creating a good world, although they often go hand in hand and compliment eachother.

    I don't like that word optimum. It implies that there is a 'correct' amount of worldbuilding, or that it can be measured--especially if the optimum amount is the minimum required to tell the story. That makes it seem like if you have enough to tell the story, that's the 'best' scenario. But it's not. The more in-depth you know your world, the better story you can craft. Maybe a fantasy-religion isn't needed to tell your story, but maybe by its inclusion, your story becomes stronger and more immersive. Maybe your story has a dragon, and that dragon only needs to function as an antagonist. But maybe if you dive into why the dragon is there, and what it was doing, and where it came from, the story gets a little deeper, a little more believable. I'd argue that the more worldbuilding you do--the more you KNOW your world--the better story you're capable of crafting.

    This can of course be taken to an extreme, and cause you to never write a story at all, but within reason, the more you know your world, the better your position to tell your story.
     
  5. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2017
    Messages:
    1,223
    Likes Received:
    1,569
    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    For me, story dictates the amount of world building that I do.
    I wrote two short stories, one set in the early 80's and another set in an age of space travel. The world building were purely setting and not plot related. So, I researched enough to 'window dress' location, equipment, and dialogue.
    My WIP is a five book fantasy series called If Eternity should Fail. Now, the world building is plot related.
    So, I scribbled down as much of the story as I knew at the time. Then, I did some world building.
    Now, the world building is answering questions to certain plot elements,and creating more questions.
    So, I worked on the story.
    At some point, I had enough of the story primed to begin the first draft of the first book.
    Now, as I write (I've almost completed the first draft) I world build. The two really does go hand in hand. But, I try to let the story direct my world building so that I have an beginning and end point to my research.
    That said, most of my world building will remain 'between the lines' so to speak. But my characters, and settings are so much more fleshed out because it that I do not regret a single moment of it.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  6. 18-Till-I-Die

    18-Till-I-Die Banned

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2018
    Messages:
    406
    Likes Received:
    178
    Location:
    Detroit, MI
    I tend to do a lot of what I would call worldbuilding, usually prior to the actual story itself. The reason is I feel it helps create a functional continuity and canon, establish who the characters are, where they are, where they come from etc. This mainly because I write mostly Science-Fiction, heavily Space Opera/Cyberpunk stuff, and as a result it requires a lot of explanation and expansion on the setting to make it feel if not unique then at least immersive.

    And that's the big word there, IMMERSION, that's kind of the point--the other elements like how much you do or need, where it goes, what is the amount necessary for the story etc is all decided by IMMERSION.

    I think all fiction, but especially Fantasy or Science Fiction, require immersive worlds with lore and backstories to describe and establish the stetting or else they become stale. If you removed the backstory from most Science-Fiction or Fantasy, especially High Fantasy, it implodes.

    I think George Lucas did it brilliant. In literally like two or three paragraphs he establishes basically everything we need to know about this far future world, but also grants a massive, deep amount of immersion, and by just adding a few mentions here and there about the "Galactic Senate" and the "Clone Wars" and the "hokey religion" of the Force that turned out to be an ancient warrior art of psychic knights etc, he was able to create this incredibly expansive new universe out of nowhere. Terminator 2 also do this brilliantly, such that in TEN MINUTES they establish 90% of the backstory and lore and then manage to expand on it.

    I actually wish I could edit Tv Tropes, because I kinda had a name for that: "The First Fifteen". Where the great writers are able to establish things so quickly, and with such immersion, in fifteen minutes of a movie you're ready to bear their children afterwards--see The Empire Strikes Back, or more recently Avatar.

    This is all about IMMERSION, which is the real use of world building, setting up all the twists and turns and depth of the setting and the universe for yourself if no one else. Then use that immersion to expand on the setting for the viewer or reader and for yourself. There is no "correct" amount or maximum, just establish what you want in a setting from beginning to end, then build on it, and when it's finished go from there. Now this does't work with "Pantsing", like King, who kinda writes as he goes. Not exactly my style but hey, it works for him, and works brilliantly, so I can't say it's inefficient.
     
  7. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2016
    Messages:
    1,462
    Likes Received:
    1,432
    It seriously depends on your target audience. There are some stories that have very little world at all. Then there are stories like James Michners Alaska which are basically all world.

    I suspect the right balance is whatever the minim is to tell your story. The reader needs to understand the character’s place in the world, but not necessarily the world itself. It’s kind of how we live our lives.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  8. halisme

    halisme Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,772
    Likes Received:
    1,230
    Q1: Step 1: Have idea for a world.
    Step 2: Chose anywhere between two and three historical cultures, and start throwing them at each other until something fun comes out.
    Step 3: Profit?

    Q2: I world-build for fun. The only way to know if you've world-built enough is to finish a story, and then see if it's what you want in terms of world building. Some people will disagree on this.
    Q3: See the answer to 2
    Q4: Either start building from a small area, such as a village and then growing outwards, or top-down, where you put the heavy elements in place and build around them.
    Q5: Hahahaha, hahaha, ha, hahahahaha, haha ha.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  9. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2018
    Messages:
    863
    Likes Received:
    857
    Location:
    Norwich, UK
    To be honest, most world building is for you not everything needs to go into the book. Opinions on this will vary, but I happen to think it's far more important to spend extra time on plot and characters than the world. Of course, in Fantasy especially, the world will add to how believable the story/characters can be. But, I don't know many people who have out a book down due to an underdeveloped world.

    How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories? I look at my themes (religion, science, good vs evil) and see how I can fit them in. History of those things. I look at my characters 'normal world' and what it's built around. Magic? Then I like to add in some extra things, little quirks. I just look at what is important to plot and character.
    How do you know when you have done enough worldbuilding? You don't as far as I can see. It's only when you start writing that you realize what needs fleshing out.
    How do you know how much worldbuilding you need to do? You don't. I often find I over planned or under planned when I'm in the process of writing.
    How do you stop yourselves from becoming overwhelmed with worldbuilding? Keep it simple and don't feel you need to cram everything into your novel, it's okay to just keep some notes for yourself. Stick to what is relevant. If your characters are going to spend a night in an abandoned town we don't need the history of that town for the last 10,000 years and neither do you.
    How do you balance worldbuilding and actually writing the story? Again, I put plot, character and theme first. It helps me with building the world. I look at what is relevant then throw in a few random things and try to keep an equal blend between familiar and strange. Too much strange is too much world-building for me and I find it a bit tedious. I love characters and I think most would rather read a book with riveting characters and a basic world than vice vera.

    Any tips or resources you can share or recommend? Not especially because I don't tend to use help sheets. But Brandan Sanderson does lecturers on world-building that are available on youtube.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  10. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2015
    Messages:
    975
    Likes Received:
    995
    1. I write to themes not to worlds or characters. There's not a whole lot that I can do with any kind of world building, unless I know what it is I want to say! From there I can know what kind of characters I need and what kind of world would have shaped them.

    2. If the spectacle eclipses the story, then I have gone way too far. This means I'm spending more time explaining detail then I am explaining things that are relative. The world needs to be enough just to explain the characters. And quite frankly, I think it's more fun when the world maintains a level of mystery to it. It feels like it could be bigger, but you're never going to know just how big it actually is. This means you don't build bigger. No. It means the opposite. You do more with less.

    3. By listening to readers who read with a critical eye. It's also having an instinct for it.

    4. By making my setting smaller. World building is not "Bigger is better." In fact, as I mentioned earlier, more often then not, less is more. People feel they have to have this elaborate set peice the size of Middle Earth. Why?

    5. By writing the story first and building the world around it and not the other way around. I think the big problem with world building is that people look at the story as subservient to the world and not the other way around. The world needs to serve the story.
     
    J.D. Ray, Andy_Megumi and Dracon like this.
  11. JackL

    JackL Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2013
    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    26
    Location:
    West Madlands
    How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories?
    Avoid unnecessary repetition, and build with new content each time: look at it through a lens: focus on one thing, then gradually widen the lens until you get to the wider sociocultural elements etc.
    How do you know when you have done enough worldbuilding?
    The story doesn't bore me when I'm reading it.

    How do you know how much worldbuilding you need to do?
    It reads smooth, without a forced feel to it.
    How do you stop yourselves from becoming overwhelmed with world building?
    If it bore's you, good chance is it'll bore the reader. So trust your instinct and remove.
    How do you balance worldbuilding and actually writing the story?
    It's like with backstory: there's no such things as backstory if you get it right, only story, where even history/world-building helps forward that story. If any element drags that down and slows the pace, then take it out.

    Any tips or resources you can share or recommend?
    Avoid unnecessary repetition, and build with new content each time: look at it through a lens: focus on one thing, then gradually widen the lens until you get to the like of the wider sociocultural/character/plot/atmosphere elements etc. E.g., This is the opening from James Herbert's, Moon:


    The boy (1st focus of the lens: introduces character) had stopped crying. (audio focus: atmosphere, character, beginning of plot, tension)

    He lay on his narrow bed. (2nd focus of the lens: widens to play with world-building, tension, atmosphere etc), eyes closed (3rd focus of lens: world-building, tension, atmosphere, plot etc), his face an alabaster mask (colour: atmosphere etc) in the moonlight (4th focus of the lens: gradually moving outwards). Occasionally a tremour would run his body. (5th focus on the lens, building on tension, plot, character etc).
    He clutched the bedsheets (6th focus of the lens) pulling them tighter under his skin (7th: atmosphere, tension, character etc).

    Each image builds on the last but it blends tension, character building, plot, and world-building all in one natural flow.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  12. DarkPen14

    DarkPen14 Florida Man in Training Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2019
    Messages:
    632
    Likes Received:
    882
    Location:
    Florida, United States
    The way I personally do worldbuiling depends entirely on how and where it is different from the real world. If it's just the real world with magic, then figure out the mechanics behind the magic and the secret history of mages in the story. If it's an entirely different world with magic and dragons and tooth fairies, then find a unifying mechanic behind the magic and stuff. It's all about the mechanics and why this does that or why this hates that or why the tooth fairy took a dump on the MC's hairbrush. You're creating a world, you can make it up as you go along as long as it's consistent, or you can bring it all together beforehand and base your story on that.
     
    Andy_Megumi and J.D. Ray like this.
  13. J. J. Wilding

    J. J. Wilding Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2018
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    47
    Location:
    Lincoln, England
    There's no 'good' way to do world-building but the way I do it is to invent as I go along, since I can't draw nor afford someone to design a map of the world my stories take place in. I have a broad framework, I know roughly where everything is in relation to everything else and that's enough to allow me to tell my stories.

    In terms of social systems, magic systems, races and whatnot, I tried to go down a traditional route whilst avoiding all the red flags that put me off fantasy, such as:

    • People who are bad simply because they're bad
    • Rulers who lead with an iron fist and have no personality
    • Elves, dwarves and any other traditional race that's been written about far too much, though I still have mankind to work with and a race of winged men and women who are very similar in outward appearance to mankind but live, eat and use magic in entirely unique ways
    • Region of fire, region of ice, region of death, etc...
    • Waaaaaaaaay too many jobs for any one city or any one race, check out Brandon Sanderson if that's something that appeals!
    • Choosing to leave boring places and people as boring places and people, so I elaborate on each location, person and people to find interesting stories to tell, even if they only last the length of a chapter
    And that's basically how I go about it. When I have a new location, I mentally map out where it's likely to go, where in relation it is to other countries and cities and who lives their, what systems have they developed over 1000 years of isolation besides merchants (at least in the first book, merchants are among the few that can hop from country to country).

    As for animals, plants and cooking, I use many real-world creatures and ingrediants, sometimes introduce a sister version (blackberry and whiteberry, for example) and what's nice is in the context of my story, the variety of life is intentionally sparse and explained as to why, so I don't have to keep coming up with a new compendium of stuff when I go from one country to another.

    Inspiration would come from film and video games, from short experimental films on youtube and from poems whose imagery sets my imagination on fire. I'd be more than happy to send you a list of my top inspirations, in case you needed something fresh. Message me if so and if not, happy writing friend!
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  14. Robin Alexis

    Robin Alexis New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2019
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    A far flung Scottish Isle
    I write Fantasy. My approach has been to build my world through the lens of my characters. My setting is also almost like a character itself as well. I basically focused on what’s important to my characters. My MMC places a lot of emphasis on religion and history. My FMC is more focused on the domestic side. The way I think of it, a maid isn’t going to care about agricultural unless her family has that background. A solider isn’t going to know the process involved in washing clothes. There’s no right way to do it though
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  15. Dracon

    Dracon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Messages:
    691
    Likes Received:
    939
    Location:
    England
    This was quite an important epiphany that I came to too when I was writing my WiP that I have carried over to my second.

    What is most important to your characters? What are their interests, where do their values lie? What is most relevant to the plot of the story? That should be the main focus of your attention, or at least the first place that you look.

    For example, the main setting in my WiP revolves around a city that overlooks a strategically important strait in my world. Therefore, the economic implications of this, and the various conflicts arising from history as a result of this is a major focus for the worldbuilding that I portray, and something I have found very interesting to explore. And one of my MCs works for the institution charged with overseeing taxation there, so the economics is of particular interest to him. He also is an ex-naval officer, which made me consider doing some moderate worldbuilding that explored how piracy affected my setting.

    So I have found it very useful to worldbuild elements that are important to the narrative, and not try to build the world and lever it into the narrative. I don't really think it makes sense to be ticking off a checklist items of things to include: not all of it is going to be interesting or necessary to tell a good story. In my WiP, religion doesn't really come into the plot or affects my characters much, so I've never really given developing that too much thought. That's not to say it's not important to the world, or that it doesn't exist - it's just not particularly pertinent to the story I want to tell. On the other hand, for other writers religion plays a very important role, whilst economic factors don't have much relevance.
     
    Andy_Megumi and Stormburn like this.
  16. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2015
    Messages:
    975
    Likes Received:
    995
    And that's why writing to theme is so important because it serves as a good guide to what should and shouldn't be included and what should be developed more and what might work just as a brief brush over.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  17. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2018
    Messages:
    1,718
    Likes Received:
    1,929
    It should be noted that themes are subject to change during the course of planning—and sometimes during the course of writing—often as a result of worldbuilding.

    Using themes as a compass to guide you towards what "you want to say" with a story is a solid way to proceed. Far from the only way, but a solid way. But again, the very act of worldbuilding can spark new things "you want to say," in which case your themes might (should?) shift.
     
    Kalisto, Andy_Megumi and Stormburn like this.
  18. Stormburn

    Stormburn Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2017
    Messages:
    1,223
    Likes Received:
    1,569
    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    My own fantasy series is an example of this. The plot changed based upon world building. Originally, my series was set in the D&D 'Forgotten Realms' during the Time of Troubles. My intent was to transplant my plot into a world of my own making. But, as I built the world I realized that the premise for the Time of Troubles would not work.
    I'm a big believer in Hemingway's Iceberg Theory:

    Hemingway said that only the tip of the iceberg showed in fiction—your reader will see only what is above the water—but the knowledge that you have about your character that never makes it into the story acts as the bulk of the iceberg. And that is what gives your story weight and gravitas.

    In my WIP world building and writing goes hand in hand. I built enough of the world to create a plot and setting, and then started writing the 1st draft. Then I would world build and revise as I wrote the story.
    I should finish the 1st draft in the next day or so. Then, as I do my 2nd draft, a developmental draft, I will do World Building 2.0!
    One of my pet peeves about genre fiction is how often a character's background has no relevance to the character! This annoys me to no end. @Dracon is right about this; if a character is a merchant they should be thinking and doing merchant related things. But, to do this, you have to world build some kind of economy for them to be involved in.
    I guess you can sum everything up in one sentence: World build to write!
    Godspeed!
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2019
    Andy_Megumi and Bone2pick like this.
  19. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2015
    Messages:
    975
    Likes Received:
    995
    That is an excellent point! My themes had changed a lot too. But if you do change themes, sometimes you do have to go back to your world building and make sure that everything is still relevant. And then there's a lot to be said about the scope of a story. That's just where you find that your story could possibly say more without over burdening itself on useless details.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  20. Bone2pick

    Bone2pick Conspicuously Conventional Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2018
    Messages:
    1,718
    Likes Received:
    1,929
    @Stormburn I'm thinking you and I need to get a game of Dungeons and Dragons going. :evilsmile:
     
  21. Thorn Cylenchar

    Thorn Cylenchar Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2019
    Messages:
    319
    Likes Received:
    306
    Location:
    Posting here instead of actually writing
    For mine, I started at the end(the current place in time/story) and then worked backwards to explain why things are like they are. I tried to make the different parts meld/ make sense in relation to each other. It is balancing out my tendency to want to do an infodump on the readers explaining everything, and my personal dislike for when authors are not consistent in their world building (in one book they mention trolls as liking money, and extortion and working at banks, in another they say mention that a character is smart for a troll, he can actually talk). If I know what happened I can be consistent.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  22. Bobby Burrows

    Bobby Burrows Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2018
    Messages:
    1,079
    Likes Received:
    637
    Location:
    London
    Start from either the world I have, or the world I want to create.

    Go from there.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  23. Bobby Burrows

    Bobby Burrows Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2018
    Messages:
    1,079
    Likes Received:
    637
    Location:
    London
    If it's a world I create, I start with 'What I want' being written.
    Like convenience stores and taverns...
    It could be set in a fantasy magical forest and mountain system with caves populated by troll people and fairies with wild unicorns running around for all I care, convenience stores and taverns and stuff I'd want to be written into my world.

    Could have urban, suburban, rural, wilderness microcosm of a magical troll fairy wild unicorn world for all I care, and have downtown and the bad part of town and uptown and quiet idealic well kept little suburbs, because these trolls and fairies are little as are the tiny unicorn, and they all live out their tiny little lives for all I care; little convenience stores and taverns and everything.
     
  24. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2018
    Messages:
    2,641
    Likes Received:
    3,358
    1. I take real world and real life. I seek absurd things. I exaggerate them to absurd level but I try to keep things factual. Then I get my Factual Absurdistan. It's my storyworld if possible.

    2. I don't.

    3. I don't.

    4. I don't.

    5. I don't.

    2. - 5. Storyworld must go ovet the top. Too much is too little. But after going too far, everything must still be factual or near it.

    6. Your storyworld can have zero loony/impossible things, one loony/impossible thing or everything loony and impossiblle.

    Two is way too much. Hundred is not enough. Zero, one or everything.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.
  25. GH0ST

    GH0ST Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2017
    Messages:
    48
    Likes Received:
    9
    How do you approach worldbuilding for your stories?
    In the comic I write it's usually revealed through dialogue, characters are reffering to the stuff that is normal for them, and that's when the reader finds out specific parts of the presented world.

    How do you know when you have done enough worldbuilding?
    If the story makes sense without the need for additional information, then it's enough.

    How do you know how much worldbuilding you need to do?
    Answer above.

    How do you stop yourselves from becoming overwhelmed with worldbuilding?
    I had this problem with too much exposition dialogue. The reason for it was that I was inventing stuff DURING writing, so basically I was making exposition for myself. My advice: First plan out the world and then start writing.

    How do you balance worldbuilding and actually writing the story?

    I explain the rules behind the world only when it's neccessary for the plot, or when it develops the characters.
     
    Andy_Megumi likes this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice