Hello, new to this forum, and I am writing a high fantasy war epic with a variety of countries. Some are patriarchal, some matriarchal, they all have different government systems, and different fantasy elements across each nation. It can be a lot to take in for some of the readers, and essentially, I don’t know what order to present the information in. For instance, is it better to fully explain the reason behind the war at the beginning? As my story is now, it is explained around the middle of the book due to a twist with one of the characters. I was just wondering if withholding such information was okay for the exposition. I do not wish to seem as if I am making the story up as I go along, since I have carefully outlined everything. Also, there is a character who I reference as being an exceptional general in the military. Should I say why from the get go, or is it more interesting to make the readers wonder? Knowing what order to present information has been my main problem since I began writing this in February, so any help is much appreciated!
Never withhold information if there's a simple explanation or if it will take more work to keep it concealed. The reader will feel cheated and confused. Or even let down. And hiding peoples talents and skills can backfire as they can become too conveniently placed. What are the thrusts of your stories - what is keeping the reader reading, if it's simply to discover information that can be dangerous as it can become very narrow and without nuance. Let's say your story starts with a war and tribes A and B think they're fighting it because of ... lets say, water rights and down the line you reveal nope, they're really fighting it because tribe A leader wants revenge on the leader of tribe B. Well, the trouble with that is the only tension you have is the war itself. But if you reveal secretly and only to the reader the real reason, then there are two tensions for the reader; the war and when will the leader of Tribe A be caught. Think about your conflict and tension.
Reveal what is necessary to tell the story to the readers. Add more information and details as needed as the story/plot progresses. Giving information about people and nations and situations without any connection or anchor to the reader will not be as relevant, remembered or even cared about. Read/reread some of your favorite authors who have a complex story similar to yours, possibly even in the same POV. Take notes and observe how and when they introduce the elements you are concerned about. Then, using that knowledge, apply what you have learned to your own world, story and characters. Don't worry about readers thinking that you're just making it up as you go along. As long as you are consistent and clear, it's nothing to be concerned about--unless, of course, some unmentioned element of magic or cultural custom comes out of left field, and condemns or saves a character. Now, it can work, especially if the POV character is the one inexperienced and surprised. But if it happens often...it can become a problem.
Some times the information is known to the characters at a different time (usually earlier) to the reader. Then briefly discussed or hinted at rather than a long info dump. One chapter explaining to another character what happened can be very long and tedious to the reader, think about what/how much MUST be included by a certain point or points (this could be at the end of each chapter or before or after key events). Think of it a bit like instructions, I cannot complete step 5 if I have not been told to do steps 1-4 and how to do them. But told in step 4 what I needed to do in step 2 doesn't work and that is the same with your story. What order do you NEED to know the information and which characters know it? There are many tools to give this information and use as many as you can.
Tell the reader what they need to know, when they need to know it. Most of the background you've come up with, the reader will never care about. That's for you. Don't bore the reader with it, just because you came up with it. The only thing that matters is keeping the story moving forward and not bogging it down with needless details.
I think there is a great difference between world-building and storytelling. Take a look at Lord of the Rings, for example. Tolkien worked for years doing his worldbuilding, and much of it can be found in the appendices to the books, as well as the Silmarillion. But he went into storytelling mode when he wrote the actual story, and only pulled in tidbits from his worldbuilding as needed. It makes sense to start with what your readers will already know ...if your character is riding a horse, for example, you don't need to go into huge explanations for where horses came from, their societal value, their habits, etc. As long as a 'horse' is a horse, that's all we need to know to start with. Ditto grass, trees, flowers, other recognisable animals, sky, rain, wind, hail, sleet snow...and etc. Start small, with a focus on a character, or small group of characters. Let us in on what they are doing at the time the story starts ... a little bit about what concerns them (not what concerns the entire world.) Just start small. You'll have your worldbuilding done, so your details will be consistent. Focus on telling the story instead—characters and plot—not on what your world contains. Let the details about your world into the story as/when they are needed. Many of them will not actually be needed at all.
