Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

This chapter will cover worldbuilding in a more detailed way.

Earlier in this book I covered worldbuilding pet peeves and gave a basic rundown of what I dislike in worldbuilding. Now I'd like to expand on it and give some worldbuilding advice, starting with...

1) Info Dumping

I mentioned in my pet peeves chapter that you shouldn't drop a bunch of information in the audience's lap all at once.

Obviously, every story needs exposition (in most cases, especially in genre fic). Every story does telling over showing in certain areas and that's fine as long as it isn't overused or dropped on the audience all at once.

Typically, depending on the story, I start to notice exposition when there are multiple paragraphs in a row of just exposition and nothing else. I'm fine with a paragraph or two of exposition, or maybe even a little more depending on the story. However, when it starts to get to five, six, seven, or even more, it becomes hard to follow, especially if it's early in the story and/or done in long paragraphs.

I don't like reading walls of text. I took a 20th century Korean literature class. Korean writing is relatively new, and back in the 20th century they were just figuring out how to write, and they had the added obstacle of being colonized by an oppressive Japan that forced them to write in a way that wouldn't put down the government. Korean writers had to get creative and hide anti-government messages behind stories and fancy wording. I bring that up because back then, a lot of Korean writing was walls of text and descriptions. It was like taking two pages to describe a sunset.

I took an entire semester of that. While the stories ended up being fine and very educational about the time period Korea was living in, I would still recommend not using walls of text, whether it be for description or exposition.

I don't mind long paragraphs (standard paragraphs in the US are 5-8 sentences long, so when I say long paragraphs, I'm talking 10+ sentences or 8-10 long sentences), but overusing them can become hard to read.

The reason is because us readers don't have the longest of attention spans. That's why blurbs are typically short and to the point so readers can decide if they're interested as quickly as possible. There's nothing wrong with long sentences/paragraphs and exposition, but overusing them can wear on a reader's attention span and make them want to drop the story.

Now, let's move into exposition early in the story.

Early in the story, you want to hook the reader in. You don't want to give them a gazillion paragraphs of exposition. The reason is because readers will absolutely leave your story if the first chapter doesn't grip them. If you're spending too much time explaining things, readers will get bored and leave. Give them what's necessary to understand the first chapter, but otherwise, I would recommend saving the rest for later.

Even later in the story you don't want to bore your readers by including a crap ton of exposition. Try using different methods to get exposition across instead of just info dumping. For example, try spacing it out more. Ask yourself if the exposition you're writing is necessary for the readers to understand what's going on in that moment. If not, consider cutting it and using it later. You can also give exposition through dialogue (I'll talk more about this later). Lastly, you can try giving exposition in bite-sized chunks. By that I mean, give exposition in a few short sentences, then cut back to what's going on, then give a little bit more exposition. That way it feels like the plot is still moving while you're explaining what's going on.

Obviously, not all of those methods are going to work for you depending on the story you're writing and your writing style. However, trying new things with how you give exposition could diversify your writing and help you get a stronger grasp on how to give exposition in an understandable way.

2) Not Just Sci-Fi + Fantasy Need A World

When people think of worldbuilding, one of their first thoughts is probably going to be about sci fi and fantasy stories as they are the ones with the most unique worlds (in general). However, you still need a world even if you're writing something else, like a romcom.

I wrote a short story called Delivered, 5:56 p.m. that takes place solely over text. There is no physical world to interact with, yet I still take the time to establish where both of the main characters are. Their world may be less physical than most stories, but it still matters and is actually the entire reason the story happens to begin with: they're best friends separated by distance.

Even my text-based story has a world. So no, it's not just sci fi and fantasy. The reason is because a world can drastically change how a character is. Where they grow up can impact how your characters are. If your character grows up in sunny California, it's gonna be different than someone who grew up in Buffalo, New York (which is known for its snow). Even those small details, like what weather characters are used to, matter to what you're writing (in most cases).

Worlds are essential pieces of storytelling because they ground the reader in the story. Can you imagine how confusing it'd get if the characters are in a high school but you don't know where or what it looks like? It'd be hard to imagine what's going on if you don't have a world, right? That's why worlds are so important.

Even if you're writing a genre that isn't sci fi or fantasy, consider including a world the audience can get attached to. It'll greatly help the readers visualize your story and it will help them get attached to other elements of your narrative, like the characters.

3) Detail Matters

Even if you're writing a short story, details matter. A common misconception when I say "you could use more specific details" to writers is I'm telling them to write more. I'm not saying that at all. You don't need to write paragraphs upon paragraphs of description or add a gazillion details. No. You can do this with just one sentence.

I am a big believer that one sentence that focuses on small details is miles better than big paragraphs describing general details. I'd rather have an author tell me something really specific about a characters teeth than get a paragraph saying "her eyes were blue, her hair was black, her skin was pale, her height was small." There are a million people I know who can fit that description. But if you are super specific, the image I have of the character becomes more unique.

When it comes to writing a world, consider what descriptions you're including. Are your descriptions very general (listing the basics about something like its colors, height, etc.), or do you have specific details? The details matter. The details are what elevate a world from interesting to great.

So, for example, if you're describing a restaurant, maybe focus on the sound of the place and how there's a specific song playing that reflects the time period. Or maybe there's a specific smell that reminds your protagonist of home or a nice memory. Or maybe there's a crowd so the protagonist is bumping into people and feeling claustrophobic.

I gave three examples, and what did I do with all three of them? I related them to something else. This is what I mean when I say the goal of creative writing is to do as much as you can with as little words as possible. Let me break it down.

So for sounds, I said to have a specific song playing. That song will flesh out the world and give readers a great sense of how the scene sounds. You're not only establishing the time period, but you're setting the vibe of the restaurant and giving readers a sound to attach themselves to. You're doing multiple things just by saying which song is playing.

For smell, you're setting up what kind of food the restaurant sells while also fleshing out the protagonist by giving a piece of their history. You're describing the protagonist and the restaurant just by mentioning a smell.

For the crowd, you're establishing the restaurant is busy and maybe hinting at it being a popular spot, and also setting up a fear that your protagonist is claustrophobic. I did something similar with Starfield in the most recent chapter where I describe the crowds in a ballroom, then Hoseok gets hesitant because he's scared of crowds.

Do you see how these details have so much potential because you can describe worlds at the same time as you're describing other things? You don't have to relate the details to the characters or anything like that, but it is an idea to keep in mind.

Specific details help readers imagine scenes more. Instead of saying the restaurant is Italian and has a red color scheme, consider describing the decorations. Are there fake vines? What's the pattern of the floors? Are the walls rough/rocky like the walls at many American schools? These specific details go much farther than "the walls were red." Not that there's anything wrong with describing color since that's important too, but when writing details, consider if there is any way you can make them more specific.

That was just a long way of saying try to make details more specific instead of giving general descriptions all the time. The more specific you are, the better an image the reader will get. You don't need to go crazy or anything, but consider adding more specific details that make your scenes stand out. You can also do this without going insane with the word count. All it takes is one sentence and a handful of words to take a general description and shift it into a specific description.

4) General Worldbuilding Tips

As a sci fi writer, I do a lot of worldbuilding. A lot. 

Here are some general tips that I will explain in detail:

- Don't rely on expository dialogue

- Don't be scared to use descriptions

- Don't treat your audience like children

Expository dialogue refers to dialogue that gives exposition. You may be confused since I said to try giving exposition through dialogue instead of dumping it on readers in walls of text. I recommend that because sometimes exposition can be more natural when given in dialogue. Then there are other times when it isn't.

Here's an example of unnatural expository dialogue: "Hey younger sister, how's our mother, Samantha, doing today?"

I've seen things like this quite frequently, and that's an example of unnatural expository dialogue.

Starfield readers may not know this, but one of the main reasons Y/n is from the UC and Jimin is from the Freestar (other than the whole enemies to lovers thing) is so exposition can be introduced through dialogue in a natural way. For Starfield, exposition is a must, but to make it more enjoyable, I present much of it through characters. So, for example, when Jimin is in the UC, he has no idea what's going on. Y/n explains it for him and it's believable because why would Jimin know anything about the UC? And vice versa. Y/n knows nothing about the Freestar, so when Jimin explains things about the Freestar to her, it makes sense. It's not like these characters are giving each other information they already know, making it more natural.

That's where overly expository dialogue comes in. The example I gave about "Hey younger sister" is an example of dialogue that is very obviously only for the reader's benefit. The younger sister knows she's the speaker's younger sister, and she knows their mother's name. There's no reason for the speaker to repeat this information other than to let the audience know those details. That's why I say don't rely on expository dialogue. It can make the dialogue unnatural. Use it if you can do it in a natural way, but try not to force it, if that makes sense.

Descriptions are important to any story. Most of our communication is nonverbal, so description is important to give readers that nonverbal communication that helps us attach ourselves to characters. You can do worldbuilding through description and also by showing a character's reaction to certain things. You can tell a lot about a world based on someone's reaction to it.

Starfield readers know Neon is an absolute shit hole, but how Y/n and Jimin react to it shows what kind of people they are and says a lot about Neon. Jimin lights up and sees it as home while Y/n is horrified by all the danger lurking around every corner. Their reactions tell their tales while also fleshing out the world and showing how non-native Neon citizens view it. So that's what I mean when I say that by describing a character's reaction to a world, you can get a lot of characterization and also worldbuilding.

And, of course, description is important for worldbuilding since you're giving the world life. If you're writing a story in New York City, you can make it feel alive by mentioning the giant rats, the street food, the beggars, the locals walking like they're going to die if they don't get to work in the next five minutes, the subways smelling like smoke and vomit, etc. You can bring your world to life by focusing on specific details (like I mentioned earlier) and also incorporating the five senses. 

The reason I tend to recommend the five senses is because by appealing to more senses, you're giving the reader more to work with. Just seeing the location is cool, but if you appeal to most if not all of the senses, you're giving the reader the most to work with. They can fully immerse themselves in the world if you give them all five senses, or at least most of them.

Unless you're specifically writing for a child audience, don't treat your audience like they're children. You don't need to spoon feed them every little detail. An example is that new Percy Jackson show (sorry PJO fans). While I have not watched it as I never really read the books or knew much about the PJO universe, I watched my boy Friendly Space Ninja's video on it, and he made excellent points about how the writers felt the need to explain everything that was happening instead of letting the audience process it on their own.

If you're explaining everything to your audience and not giving them the chance to figure it out, it's like you're talking down on their intelligence and treating them like children. Yes, some things need to be explained, but that's where show don't tell comes in. Try to show that information instead of telling it.

The more you blatantly tell your audience things, the harder it becomes to connect with the story. That's why I strongly recommend practicing showing over telling and not doing any info dumping like I talked about in the first section. I have an entire chapter on showing over telling if you'd like to know more about that.

~End~

Remember to vote and follow for more, and if you have any questions or would like me to cover any specific topics, please let me know.

I'm a character writer so yes, eventually I will cover characters, it'll just take a lot out of me since it's the thing I'm most passionate about. So if you're waiting for a character chapter, it's coming, but it may be a bit.