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No matter how much work you put into creating a world (worldbuilding), it won’t necessarily feel authentic to the reader if you’re not aware of when and how you’re integrating that world into the story. That’s why writing worldbuilding is so important.
I attended the National Writers’ Conference as part of the Emerging Writers’ Festival this year, held at the State Library Victoria Conference Centre. The program covered a broad range of topics and included many interesting and insightful events. One such event, Creating a World, was a discussion between Isobelle Carmody, C.S. Pacat and Marlee Jane Ward. They spoke about integrating details of worldbuilding into your writing without pulling the reader out of the story, which inspired this post. Here are 10 tips for integrating worldbuilding into your writing to immerse the reader in the story and your imagined world.
1. Don’t forget the small details
Small details are important because they set different places/objects/people apart. If every building is made of bricks, how does the character differentiate their house from the rest? Small details should encourage the reader to wonder while also creating an image of the setting. Include the imperfections. If there are scratch marks on a door, the reader will wonder how they got there. Perhaps the door once contained a beast, or it’s the front door to a house someone vandalised, or the character themselves created the marks.
2. Include what grabs the character’s attention
This is especially necessary for first person narratives, and allows you to describe the setting while also revealing information about the character. What distracts them? What do they immediately look for when they walk into a room, and what does this say about them? If they notice people, perhaps they’re very social – or the opposite. If they notice windows, perhaps they long to go outside. Details beyond what the character notices often don’t need to be included unless they’re relevant to the plot. Sometimes what isn’t included or what the character disregards has the most importance.
3. Be aware of the mood you’re creating
The details you choose to include or omit change the mood of a scene. This can be directly related to the characters’ emotions, as their fear heightens their awareness or drowsiness desensitises them to their surroundings. Senses and atmospheric descriptions also greatly influence mood.
4. Mention places/objects/people in relation to each other
Describing one thing in relation to another also describes relationships. If the reader knows the Hogshead is in Hogsmeade, they immediately know what its surroundings are like. If the dog is at the top of the stairs, they know that stairs must exist. And if Bellatrix is Dobby’s murderer, they’re encouraged to dislike her.
5. Name places/objects/people descriptively
If names of places/objects/people are considered carefully, less description is needed to introduce them. The Mines of Moria are obviously underground mines and the Forbidden Forest is clearly forbidden (at least, it’s supposed to be). An invisibility cloak makes the wearer invisible and a glass slipper is made of, well, glass. There are endless examples of this in fairytales… Snow White, Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty, Sea Witch. These names require little to no explanation to grasp the main idea.
6. Don’t visit all the places on the map
… if it’s not realistic. If you’re writing a 70,000 word novel and your characters are visiting 20 completely different locations it’s unlikely you’ll be able to convey the necessary amount of exposition required to keep the reader immersed in the setting. There’s a reason why fantasy and science fiction novels usually run longer than other genres, and it’s worldbuilding.
7. Have places reoccur
For the places your characters do visit, have them reoccur, either by characters revisiting the location or thinking/speaking about it. Mention the place before they arrive, or refer to it after they’ve left. It gives more structure and realism to the world, because places don’t just suddenly exist and then disappear. And even if they do, characters are likely to wonder why, and so the place would still be in their thoughts.
8. Remember the rules of your world
Rules are rules. If you don’t abide by them your story isn’t going to make sense and the reader won’t be immersed in the world. Some details can be vague, such as where magic comes from, but if your magic system has a set of rules for how it’s used, you can’t decide to suddenly double someone’s magical power just to win a battle. The reader needs to be able to theorise how the character is going to win the battle, and they can’t do this is you’re breaking your own rules.
9. Use exposition at the right moments
Don’t info dump, but if you need to be descriptive be aware of when you include exposition. The reader will be most accepting of exposition at the moment of encounter. At the start of a scene or in a new setting they’re eager to know what’s going on, and descriptive text can heighten suspense and create mood.
10. Trust your audience
I’ve seen this piece of advice frequently, but it’s difficult to measure. Not too much, not too little, but somewhere in between. Try to make sure you’re not describing the same details in the same way over and over again, unless it’s a brief mention that signals something specific to the reader and allows them to make a connection. This could be something that indicates where the character is without you having to describe the whole setting. Having someone read over your work with an objective eye is helpful too. Keep in mind that sometimes a light touch is all that’s needed.
Worldbuilding writing tips
No list of writing tips is ever exhausted, so if you know of any others comment below and let me know!
Fiction writing tips
Check out these posts for some more fiction writing tips:
- How to Vary Story Pacing
- How to Set the Mood
- Questions to Ask Your Protagonist
- 5 Ways to Create Tension in Your Story
- 7 Things I Do to Think of Story Ideas