How in-depth is your worldbuilding?

[thedarknessrising]

I don't focus on the sciency and mathy parts of the world building. I can't. I don't have the mind nor experience for it. Where I do focus is on legal systems, governments, and certain social structures. But that is because those are in my wheel houses. Even my magic systems are pretty middling so far as detail goes. Except for my one magic system based on property law, but that's a different story.

However, whenever I do focus on an element of world building it will have a direct impact on the story or characters. I ignore anything other than that because it's a waste of time and I prefer to write stories and interesting characters doing interesting things.

Everything that was said here is exactly how I approach world building.The scientific aspects aren't important to me, because it's a fantasy realm. I can do whatever I want in that regard. I just choose not to focus on it. I care more about the sociological aspect of world building. Languages, the lands, history, government, all that fun stuff.

 

[Chessie]

You guys, what about magic systems? How in depth do others go in that? I never explain anything. Things just happen. I typically have no idea what kind of magic will go into a story when I start writing it, although I stick close to the mythology inspiring the WIP.

 

[Nimue]

Magic is one of the few areas that I think about in detail before I start writing, just because I like it so much. I try to know what it can or can't do, how people practice it, and where they believe that it comes from. (Attempts at scientifically explaining magic never ring true for me, either reading or writing.) Most important for me, though, is knowing how the magic feels and what kind of imagery I want to use to describe it. That's really necessary to begin writing about it.

 

[thedarknessrising]

You guys, what about magic systems? How in depth do others go in that? I never explain anything. Things just happen. I typically have no idea what kind of magic will go into a story when I start writing it, although I stick close to the mythology inspiring the WIP.

Good question. I actually have to explain my magic system for my book, because it's about an elf who comes in contact with a magical artifact and gains a magical ability from it. But I don't think it'll be necessary to go into intimate detail. I'll just cover what the reader absolutely has to know.

 

[Trick]

You guys, what about magic systems? How in depth do others go in that?

Magic systems are often the inspiration for stories, in my case. I'll idly imagine some cool kind of magic and then a character using said magic and voila! A story is born. So, it's quite integral but its development beyond that is more like my world building. It takes a back seat but I try to keep it logical and explained within the context of the story. I can get into trouble if I like the magic system too much because I'll start info dumping. Whenever that happens I will step away and take notes on the magic only, for a bit, usually during related research. That helps cleanse my pallet enough to get back to writing.

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

Magic system creation depends for me. I usually have quite a bit of detail, but then the magic is almost a character in the story and can cause problems and solve them too. One example of this would be my property law world I am working on. However, if I don't want that I have simple magic systems that do simple things (like the ability to manipulate motion and gravity) and never explain why it works, just how.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I've created a magic system. It's not particularly deep, but it's well enough developed that it puts limitations on what is and what isn't practically possible to do for a wielder. In theory anything is possible.
I don't go into detail about it in the stories - not that there's been much magic happening - but I know how to deal with it once I need it.

 

[zizban]

For world building, it depends. If its taking place in a small area I generally don't spend a lot of time world building. For more encompassing works, I do enough world building to make things consistent. It really depends. For my assassin series I did some basic stuff then went writing since it's such a large single entity that's been pretty static for a few thousands years. My epic fantasy is much more detailed since it has so many cultures and a very long, complex history.

My magic systems are always detailed with set rules, limitations and who can use it and when.

 

[skip.knox]

Making this a dichotomy--world-building versus story-telling--feels too easy to me. In the I-make-it-up-as-I-go [IMIUAIG] crowd, you admit to spending time making things up. So, technically, that's time spent world-building, not writing. And let us not overlook time spent editing, as in fixing all the consistency issues because IMIUAIG. So, more time.

On the other side, the world-builders [WB -- a much simpler acronym!] still have to write stuff. They write words down. Sometimes those words even find their way into stories.

I believe the argument here ... no real argument, just discussion ... centers on *wasted* time. It's the words that never make it into story that is the issue, though I also see an argument that the mere distraction of WB can undercut story-telling efficiency.

But let me offer a via media. In keeping with a current fad, let us call it Mindful world-building. That is, I don't necessarily invent dwarves whole cloth, spending weeks or years in laying out all the details, as if I were prepping to DM a game. But when I get into a story that appears to require a dwarf, I take some time to sketch out details about appearance, culture, habits, idiosyncracies, relations with other races, etc. I do this in order to understand my dwarf. And that sketching can take, well, weeks. Not years.

The only criticism I would level at the WBs is if they built a world ... and _never_ wrote. I hereby reference my sig file.

 

[TheKillerBs]

As deep as it needs to be. I tend to focus mostly on history and culture, since both these things affect the characters and their worldviews. Geography is something else I focus on because of its effect on history, culture, as well as keeping the timing of events in a story consistent. Magic is something I only focus on to the extent that I can limit it from being overpowered.

 

[Drakevarg]

As for magic, I don't really have a magic "system" really in that as far as my world is concerned magic is just part of how the natural laws work. There's no "mana" or what have you, the idea that magic is a separate thing from the scientific method would just be considered a nonsense sentiment in this world. That said, it's a world where on a bad day something as basic as spatial reasoning can be as temperamental as psychology in localized areas.

That said, I do have a few basic hard rules in place as to what magic can't do, ever, in any circumstance. They're kind of the in-universe equivalent of the Laws of Thermodynamics. They exist partially to keep me from using magic as plot hole-filling fairy dust, and partially just because you need some ground rules in place or everything can fall apart because it turns out the entire world around your story was secretly a game of Calvinball.

 

[NerdyCavegirl]

Ben (phone won't let me quote)- An MCs village, where the story begins, is known for two things: the woolly goats that climb on the huts to eat the grass from the rooftops, and the soft warm animal hats woven from the wool. That MC's best friend is from a tropical kingdom that cultivates coca leaves as a major export.

 

[Nimue]

In those details, you could literally be describing areas in South and Mesoamerica. Where does starting with plate tectonics and climactic cycles get you that beginning with Mesoamerican cultures as a base doesn't?

To be clear, I think it could be good practice to be highly familiar with the details of the real geography and culture that you're using as a starting point. I don't entirely understand trying to reinvent the wheel as far as biomes or basic civilizations go. Or am I misinterpreting your work process?

 

[CrystalCHTriple]

I aim to be accurate with mundane matters, save for exceptional things, of course. Sudano-Sahelianesque architecture will not be found in my tropical or temperate regions unless someone had more money than sense of utility. No one will be domesticating large carnivorous animals or growing dates in pseudo-Scandinavia without explicit magical intervention. I also want to be accurate with my astrobiology, all things considered... still haven't mastered that advanced planetary science book yet.

 

[Ben]

Ben (phone won't let me quote)- An MCs village, where the story begins, is known for two things: the woolly goats that climb on the huts to eat the grass from the rooftops, and the soft warm animal hats woven from the wool. That MC's best friend is from a tropical kingdom that cultivates coca leaves as a major export.

That sounds great

 

[AndrewLowe]

I generally just take notes as I write so I have ideas to expand upon later. For example, I introduce a character in the first page of my current manuscript. I've alluded to him a couple of times so far, but I already have plans to make him a main character in subsequent works. When I introduced a coven of hedge-mages (who happen to be the only real magical entities mentioned so far), I started taking notes on how their system works. It's all based around the lunar calendar--spells are either waxing or waning and only work during their respective part of the lunar cycle. The new moon is referred to as the 'black night', where no spells work. Following along my research into pagan/wiccan practices, I've created a somewhat realistic ritual for this somber night. Once upon a time, there was a 'Grimoire of the New Moon', but it's long faded into legend.

I planned none of these things while I was writing. I just expanded on them for reference in future chapters. Right now I'm thinking about maybe introducing a rival coven of witches that learns of the aforementioned coven's inability to cast spells on the day of the New Moon. Perhaps all of them except for a vengeful young girl who just joined the coven will be slaughtered?? As my story takes place in the modern world, the girl is kept in by her parents and misses the ceremony, believing that it isn't important enough to defy her family. And here I go worldbuilding in this thread. D*mmit, Andrew!

 

[AndrewLowe]

I also want to be accurate with my astrobiology, all things considered... still haven't mastered that advanced planetary science book yet.

Right! I do that all the time with research. I get all these really complex books trying to add elements to my stories, but then just end up getting bewildered as I'm not entirely certain how to fit quantum astrophysics or fractal biochemics into my magic system!

 

[Jim Aikin]

There was a period in SF (probably inspired by Dune) where a lot of authors wrote about "planets" that were all one type of region -- a desert world, a jungle world, a world of endless grass plains. A friend of mine (naming no names, but he was a pro, now departed) once presented a draft to a critique group that dealt with a world that was apparently all glacial moraine. Oh, and in another critique group a fellow presented a story about a planet that was cubical rather than spherical. This guy was into the hard sciences, but I don't think he had ever considered how atmospheric dynamics would work on a cube, or gravity either.

The only world we know much about is a very complex place! Modeling a world in fiction is not a slam-dunk. Right now I'm working on a fantasy series that's not set on Earth, and I've had to confront (or, frankly, dodge) the question of axial tilt. Are there seasons? If so, there's axial tilt. Either that or an elliptical orbit, and trying to introduce orbital dynamics into a world with elves and dragons might be a poor fit.

 

[AndrewLowe]

The only world we know much about is a very complex place! Modeling a world in fiction is not a slam-dunk. Right now I'm working on a fantasy series that's not set on Earth, and I've had to confront (or, frankly, dodge) the question of axial tilt. Are there seasons? If so, there's axial tilt. Either that or an elliptical orbit, and trying to introduce orbital dynamics into a world with elves and dragons might be a poor fit.

Nobody did it better than Frank though! Anyways, in fantasy I find it a bit more lenient. If you're making any effort to make a plausible world, you're doing more than most already. Of course, there's the whole 'Science Fantasy' genre a-la-Gene Wolfe. I find those sorts of novels extremely interesting even though they are certainly too stretched to be considered hard sci-fi. Still, I find Gene Wolfe (alongside Frank Herbert and George R.R. Martin) to be among the most adept world builders of the last 50 years.

 

[AndrewLowe]

Also, welcome to the forum!
I've found it super helpful since I joined. I'm working on my second manuscript right now, and this at least seems like a more productive way to waste time. I hope you enjoy