Don't over-think

[Miles Lacey]

Fantasy and science fiction are unique in that worldbuilding is an essential part of both genres. It's a major reason why people like me read them. The world(s) created by the writer is an integral part of the story and is just as important as the characters.

The problem is that too much of the worldbuilding in fantasy is so generic that anything more than brief descriptions can seem like info-dumping. Many fantasy writers also forget that there is such a thing as too much (or too little) information and that the world (or the part of the world the characters live in) also needs to change and develop over the course of the story. In short, they need to treat their world as if it's a major character in the story.

Too many beginning or amateur writers forget that the rich, unforgettable worlds created by the pioneers of high fantasy like Tolkien were created at a time when most people didn't (or couldn't) travel much so reading was often their only way to travel to somewhere exotic, visual media like films didn't depict such things (the technology to do so didn't exist back then) and elves, orcs, hobbits and other such creatures were new and exciting. Thanks to movies, television and the Internet there's no need to go into the sort of lavish descriptive worldbuilding used by Tolkien because these things are now so commonplace.

There is also another factor with reading in general that is often overlooked: those of us doing minimum wage jobs to pay the bills simply don't have the luxury of time to read through lavish descriptions of a place that is so generic that it's interchangeable with a hundred other fantasy worlds created by other writers. About 90% of my reading is done while sitting on the toilet as the time spent there is usually the only time I have available to read. I don't want to spend that precious time on reading about the political history of your world unless it has a direct impact upon the character's values, actions or community.

 

[Fettju]

I don’t want to read about a generic quasi-medieval world where there is a tavern, a castle, a dragon and a quest

And where magic needs energy, so it all becomes sci fi or a medieval star wars clone

 

[Rexenm]

I don't want to spend that precious time on reading about the political history of your world unless it has a direct impact upon the character's values, actions or community.

It’s all about bird’s eye view. If there is conflict in the world, one must decide if that is good or bad. If it is terrible, then maybe the character will dominate. If it is a vast world, then maybe the good or bad, excludes the character.

 

[Ban]

It all depends on what someone's goal is. For many people, both writers and readers, worldbuilding is the main attraction. There are plenty of folks who have used the internet to make blogs, youtube channels, etcetera dedicated first and foremost to worldbuilding, conlanging and related fields that would otherwise be ancillary. In regards to books, there are quite a number of successful works of speculative fiction which heavily prioritise worldbuilding over storytelling. Dougal Dixon's Man after Man anyone? That work would have been just as iconic as it is now if it had dropped its shallow narrative altogether. Same for All Tomorrows and similar works that do feature a narrative, but whose main pull factor is the worldbuilding.

 

[FatCat]

While I agree I don't think it's particularly helpful to just point it out and not offer up any strategies for dealing with the inclination.

Pointing out the desire to build a world instead of a story seems helpful in the most direct way. I don't think I need to offer a strategy other than pointing out this problem, as I know it the idea to get caught up in world building instead of narrative isn't fun to read. As for the inclination? Who knows I'd imagine that what differentiates published vs amateur authors.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Who knows I'd imagine that what differentiates published vs amateur authors.

Tolkien spent 25 years worldbuilding before releasing Lord of the Rings (though he did a lot of his worldbuilding in story form...). I'm sure there are other examples of writers who first spent a lot of time creating the world before writing their first published story.

And that's of course assuming that everyone wants to be a professional writer. Some people just want to have fun with their world and characters. That's equally as valid as writing a story to get published.

 

[D. Gray Warrior]

I agree, OP. People fret too much over original settings when execution is far more important. There are a lot of cliches you can get away with if your writing and storytelling are good enough. That isn't to say I don't appreciate originality and creativity in a story instead of copy-and-pasting the same trite setting we've all seen before.

For me to be interested in a setting, though, I need to be invested in the story and characters. Worldbuilding without context doesn't interest me.

For a lot of my free write and practice sessions, I default to a standard medieval setting just so I can actually get something written down. I still try to be creative with it where I can be.

 

[roserosered]

A big problem I see in the amateur writing community is the attempt to make a world instead of a story. Massive amounts of world building with a story being secondary. It's like there is a fixation on how a world exists but neglect story. Just daydreaming

I've gotta agree! I do this on purpose though, as I'm more a worldbuilder 'cus I like to express myself through it creatively rather than make a story per se... but of course if you're intending to write a story, neglecting the "plot" part might not be optimal as you said.

 

[FatCat]

I've gotta agree! I do this on purpose though, as I'm more a worldbuilder 'cus I like to express myself through it creatively rather than make a story per se... but of course if you're intending to write a story, neglecting the "plot" part might not be optimal as you said.

Thats a difficult path, imo. What plot can others agree to if your story is simply ego-driven

 

[LittleOwlbear]

Luckily, while I don't do this, I feel like there is pressure in doing it, because there are people on the internet, who are extremely nitpicky and pedantic.
I've seen nitpicking about things like currency in fantasy settings like Baldur's Gate etc...

The craziest thing I've seen had been a player interrupting the DM for like 15 minutes to lecture them about "getting the sewage system right in a medieval city" and no one cared while playing DnD and being in an emotional arc. The DM said they didn't care, yet he just vented on...

I can imagine how people get pressured into overthinking every detail, because they lose sight of what's important and what's not, but in reality the details that matter are very closely tied to the story and its characters.
If the currency or a city's sewage system doesn't play a more important role in my story, which they don't, I won't overthink it.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Luckily, while I don't do this, I feel like there is pressure in doing it, because there are people on the internet, who are extremely nitpicky and pedantic.
I've seen nitpicking about things like currency in fantasy settings like Baldur's Gate etc...

I could see the point about other topics, but money is one thing I'm like 'maybe they do have a point'
Why do we need 100 different words for gold/money in video game, although some cases it makes sense to name it differently.
If you're going to give a fancy name to gold / silver etc but it's otherwise the same, at least have a lore reason for it being called that.

The craziest thing I've seen had been a player interrupting the DM for like 15 minutes to lecture them about "getting the sewage system right in a medieval city" and no one cared while playing DnD and being in an emotional arc. The DM said they didn't care, yet he just vented on...

This one amuses me, there are jokes in the DND crowd about this kind of player for a reason. (I'm sure those more familiar with DND have a better take) Don't let these types be the DM or you'll never finish the campaign. They even made a self aware Jab at this in the Dungeons and Dragons movie.

I can imagine how people get pressured into overthinking every detail, because they lose sight of what's important and what's not, but in reality the details that matter are very closely tied to the story and its characters.
If the currency or a city's sewage system doesn't play a more important role in my story, which they don't, I won't overthink it.

I tend to over think details because the 'little' stuff is like a drug to me.
I love fantasy food and I love learning about it, in video games or otherwise.

A while ago I made a topic questioning if literal Pizza pies (as in the real world item, not a fantasy variant with a 'cool/fantasy' name) should be acceptable in my fantasy world. I was met with a resounding 'yes' with the excuse being that if the ingredients and talent are there, someone would come up with it eventually. We had a lot of things 'similar' enough to Pizza in medieval times that it'd be passable, same with hamburgers, just meat and veggies on a bun, not that hard.

 

[Gurkhal]

I guess I'm part of my overthinking crowd. Its not seldom that I start with, due to my interest in history and the humanities, that I start with a world and as I think about it I wonder how people are living in it. And from that stories grow.