In my story the two main characters are traveling in search of something and get sidetracked a lot. They visit places that are very different from each other and also move quickly sometimes. I'll be doing my best not to overload the reader with locations and cultures though.
What do you think is a primary aspect of the setting that makes it feel real or believable? And what aspects do the opposite and make it feel fake or cheaply done?
For one thing, all of these locations have to be connected somehow. Otherwise, it'll just feel like a slideshow.
"And here is where we helped that widowed baker! And here is where we returned the Countess's lost ring! And here is where we fought that one antihero that showed up a few slides back!"
If there's a reason why they are in certain places that helps keep a continuing thread throughout the story. Because most books are about journeys, some of which are even through physical space. This is where you have to refine your plot and make sure that each setting has a real reason for being in the timeline, and it's not because hey this location is super cool and I'd love to write about it (which is fantastic and a hard cut to make I know). Perhaps instead of describing each place in extreme detail, have the characters make comparisons? Because I think that's kind of what real people do when they travel, and sometimes they will get confused if they've been traveling to different locations each week for a few weeks straight. So they'll be like "Oh this is just x place but with fish. Got it." "No it's totally like y." "You're confusing x with y, x was where we did this thing, and y was where you almost fell into the governor's pond." "Oh yeah!" Cue forehead smack and a little recap of the events that happened in your story, which is helpful especially for serialized stories that you write chapter by chapter and post that way (such as on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own). Make sure you insert a little description of the place you're making the comparison to though, so the reader can remember which place that was if it wasn't just mentioned last chapter.
Thank you both! That's very good advice!