A problem I frequently face when worldbuilding is not knowing where to go next. I want to make stories with characters and plots in my world, but I can never pin anything down. Could someone detail their plot-developing process?
Good points. When I write, I visualize the scene fully, even to the level of character a was standing to the right of character b and so on. After I finished my first draft of my first novel, I learned from various places that if the detail doesn’t contribute to the story or assist with the plot, don’t include it.Even when working with an existing world (e.g., later volumes in a series, or working an alternate Earth), you wind up inventing quite a bit--interiors, a new valley, and so on. At that more micro level, starting with the story is the way to go.
We enter a room. Who is here? Is there another doorway? Well, is there a need to have another exit? Does it have to be a doorway? If it's secret panel, where is it, how is it disguised, and how do our heroes find it and operate it? At that point, is it necessary to say what the rug looks like? Is it necessary to know how to cast the spell of Secret Panel Reveal? Does one of our characters know such a spell? If so, let there be a panel and have fun with it. If not, then I guess we're crawling out that window onto the roof.
Oh wait, there's a roof?
What's not needed is to architect the whole neighborhood and fill it with places no one visits.