In another one of my little Craft posts, I thought I would bring up the topic of world building. It is much discussed among authors and readers alike, but why?

See the question of why comes about because world building isn’t story. It has little to do with the characters directly, it can influence the plot but its not the narrative. In contemporary fiction world building is entirely neglected because its common knowledge. The author doesn’t need to describe what a phone is, everyone already knows.

But in fantasy, especially secondary world fantasy, which takes place in an entirely fictional world rather than something like Harry potter or The Dresden Files, which is the modern world just altered, it is vital to set the stage.

There are many writers that spend years designing their world, they have world builder’s syndrome. Some spend that time dealing with obscure history or geography because it feels like progress. It is playing with a fictional world,  but it isn’t a story. Who wants to read about the geography of Mordor? Well, I do, but only if there is a story there.

Others are like me. I built my world around my story. As I was writing, I thought about things that would be relevant to my characters. What sort of structures would be around, the organisations, customs and history. The whys.

Both approaches have pros and cons.

The builders have rich detailed backstory to draw on, but because they have so much, the tendency is to overshare on the cool thing they have built, to the detriment of the story. It gets bogged down in irrelevance.

The Me’s, too often have a world that can seem superficial. Lacking depth and history. Sometimes it can be nonsensical as different ideas clash and get lost in the mess.

Some people have an attitude that if it doesn’t serve the story it should be cut. And sometimes they are right. But fantasy readers, I’m generalising, don’t read just for the story. They read for the immersion in another world. The little asides the don’t go anywhere but are interesting. I’m not saying they want the whole story to read like an encyclopaedia, that would be horrible, but they want there to be more than just the story.

This is my opinion on it.

Feel free to comment, correct me, or shout out your own views.