World building where it doesn't fit?

[Aosto]

I've noticed that my piece lacks any world building in the first couple of chapters. I am struggling to add it in to where it doesn't feel forced. So, my question is this. Is it better to not info dump just to add in some world building. Or should I find a way to write it in within the first couple of chapters?
This comes from a comment made on my first chapter I submitted in the Showcase. It was mentioned that it lacked any real world building. So, how to my fellow scribes do it?

 

[Chilari]

I include setting by giving my characters a moment to pause to look at the landscape, or have them agree to meet back at the statue of some hero, or sometimes just describing what kind of buildings or features they are passing on their way somewhere.

As far as society goes, some elements are embedded in the story, while others are introduced in the way characters talk and what they say. For example, there's an ethnic group in my WIP called the Brud who are almost exclusively of the peasant class and within than looked down upon; they arrived in the country where the story is set some four generations previously as a result of their own country becoming flooded; almost every country in the area has a Brud population. This is inserted into scenes in a variety of ways. One character reports that his good-for-nothing predecessor ran off with "some half-Brud woman", at which my main character is scandalised. At another point two accomplices, one Brud and the other not, are prosecuted for the same crime but recieve different penalties.

Regarding history, that comes in where it's needed. My character, a magistrate, is at one point researching a 40 year old change to a whole set of laws. She starts by asking her Dad about it, since he was alive at the time, and so I've got a basic basis for telling both my character and the reader a little bit of background. But I don't like using that too heavily and I wanted to establish that he's old, frail and not very well, so I had him forget what they were talking about and change the subject. Not sure it's worked brilliantly, but it's only first draft so I can tighten it up later.

But in general, don't info dump. Trickle it in. Something a character says, something they see. One nice way of doing it I like (both reading and writing) is when a character notices something out of the ordinary, thus enabling you to establish what is ordinary. Like if a character asks "Odd, there are guards on the gate. Has something happened?" this establishes that security is generally low and thus probably not needed at the same time as setting up a question to be answered and thus some action. Or if they notice that a town they're passing through on the Emperor's birthday isn't celebrating this momentus occasion much, you've established that the country is ruled by an emperor, that his birthday is widely celebrated and thus that he might be hero-worshipped or very controlling, and that here is a town that doesn't conform. You can then build on that in the way the characters react to this difference from the norm to further establish facts of the world. Like if these characters are just confused then the birthday celebrations are not enforced, but if they're afraid that soldiers will come along and burn the town down and want to move on right away, you've established some of the society.

Don't force it, and don't info dump. Use a variety of ways to build up a picture. That perhaps might need to be heavier in the first chapter than later on as you're starting with a blank canvas, and once you've got the gist down it'll be easier to add little details more gradually later without leaving readers scratching their heads.

Good luck.

 

[Steerpike]

I wouldn't force it in. Many authors provide far more information than the reader actually needs, as it is. If the information flows naturally into the story, then fine, but if you find yourself going back to actually change what you've written for the sole purpose of adding world-building details, chances are those details weren't necessary in the first place.

 

[Ravana]

Definitely don't info-dump. Work the info in as the reader needs it to navigate through the story; even then, if the PoV character doesn't know something, let the reader discover it as the character does.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I always say "sprinkle it in" as needed. In reality, you will only use a small percentage of your total word building.

I'm a minimalist at heart, preferring to let the reader fill in a lot of setting & descriptive details themselves. I feel it can enhance their connection to the story if their own experiences and ideas are used to fill in the blanks.

That being said, I make a strong effort to fatten the setting & characterization during the first revision, adding the details which make the world and it's inhabitants feel real. These additions should feel natural. If you think you may be info-dumping, you probably are.

 

[Penpilot]

My approach is this. Characters interact with the world they live in. Characters take notice of the things that interest and matter to them most. So when you're writing from a certain POV, those things come into play.

A character polishing his sword, (ahem..lets keep this G rated) and it's fair to have him thinking about its history a little or his father who gave it to him and where he fought.

Maybe a character is walking through a market, inquiring about trinkets that come from all over the land, and notices one in particular that's shaped like a bear. Here you can drop a little world info about where the land where bear came from and who made or you can drop some personal info about how the character used to hunt bears with his grandfather. Maybe as the character moves though the market he notices the various peoples from all over the world and can make a quick comments about one or two.

Just put yourself in the character's head and think what do they notice and what do they interact with? This is where you drop in the background elements..

 

[shangrila]

If it's important to the story then it should be included. But don't, as people have said, info-dump. That's a quick and easy way to turn readers off your work.

Honestly, you're unlikely to use all of the material you do for worldbuilding anyway. Brandon Sanderson created 16 metals for his magic system in Mistborn but throughout the trilogy you only really see about 12-13. The Malazan series has an entire world history that's only touched on, even during the 10 book series. Personally, I've designed entire races and cultures that don't appear in the story I'm working on.

World building is there to enhance the story, not distract from it. I guess that's the best way I could put it.

 

[Aosto]

Thank you all for your help. I have slipped in a few paragraphs of world building that don't feel forced.