Okay so I've been working on the history of my world and its not completely unrelated to the plot but if I took it out it wouldn't give the story as much depth but I'm wondering how far should I go with it? Or I guess my question is from a reader perspective, how much depth should there be in the history? I'm the kind of person that likes deep history but if 99% of the readers agree that it makes it complicated and overwhelming then why bother?
Anyways I guess I'm asking for how much info I should give about my history or if it being a paragraph of context and I'm good to go.
I'm no expert but based on various stories I've read that mention their world's history, I'd suggest that when adding lore, make 80 or 90 percent of it directly relate to or affect the main cast's current situation (aka the story's plot), and the other 10 or 20 percent can be flavor. Either way, every piece of info should be brought up for a reason. With plot-relevant lore, that reason might be to explain why x kingdom hates y kingdom, or to help unravel a mystery about an ancient artefact. (For example.) With "flavor" lore, the reason is to create a mood. I read a book once where the characters discovered a giant, weird-shaped stone while passing through the desert. Their guide said it was a thousand-year-old prison for a trapped monster. It never got mentioned in the story again, but it served to make everyone uneasy and reminded them of the dangers of their journey.
In general, avoid too many loredumps that break up the flow of the story. Unless a character specifically asks about the world's history, try to sprinkle the lore in here and there (and yes, always add less than you want to, or even less than you think you need to for clarity. Believe me, a little goes a long way lol).
Different books have different styles of worldbuilding, so honestly my biggest tip is carefully read your favorite books and see how they do it. That can really help you get a feel for a good balance in your own story.
Hope that helps! ^^
Don’t infodump. That being said, sprinkle that world in, mostly through indirect exposition if you can. I would advise reading both LotR for good worldbuilding and also A Wizard of Earthsea which has a lot of worldbuilding in only ten chapters.
Ahhh thats perfect! Thank you so much! I suppose I'm always the kind of person that wants to know more about world's history or details that really make it come to life, I'm not gonna dive as deep as I think I originally was going to go but still gonna write probably a lil more then I should. And hey, if there so happens to be a future enjoyer of my story then I'll have some answers!
Tolkien consolidated modern fantasy, so he was writing before there were rules for "no frontloading the infodump", and the rule was made because fantasy writers inspired by Tolkien would imitate his frontloading infodump…which didn't always go as well. Even today, for whatever reason, Tolkien's first worldbuilding infodump is still considered interesting to know, whereas imitators of the same writing technique risk boring the reader. But sometimes, without that introduction to key aspects of how the world works, you risk confusing the reader or dragging the pacing out with showing-not-telling.
I think part of that is due to the overlap—or more the lack of overlap—between what the writer is interested in terms of having built the world, and what the reader is interested in terms of being introduced to the world.
If you start with a map of the world, for example, some readers are going to get put off by this obviously going to be another high fantasy book about walking. But other readers, your target audience, are going to see a map of the world and go "I can't wait to find out what that's like when the main characters walk there!"
For me, I think the introduction to the world is more than bearable if the writing style of that infodump is interesting, if the facts themselves are interesting, and especially if they'd have something to do with the story afterwards.
I don't need to know about that country's folk music traditions and textile exports in the beginning if the music will be in the background or the character is only going to adventure to another different country right away.
But if the musical tradition includes sagas about the lost heirs to the throne, and the country is suffering a trade embargo due to war and nobody has new clothes anymore, and the main character will meet that lost heir from the saga, or they study at and academy of magical music…then that all becomes interesting because the introduction to the world helps to build the story.
I'd say it depends on the reader, but good advice is to develop the history in the context of the story instead of wanton infodumping.
fantasy writers inspired by Tolkien would imitate his frontloading infodump…
When did Tolkien info dump. When.
Because. It’s not in the front. Cause that’s not an infodump
fantasy writers inspired by Tolkien would imitate his frontloading infodump…
When did Tolkien info dump. When.
The silmarillion or however the hell you spell it was literally a whole book of infodump.
Okay the Silmarillion was. But that wasn’t a story so it doesn’t count. It’s a Lore Book.
Lol whatever. We're entitled to our own opinions.
Personally I go pretty light on history stuff since worldbuilding is…not my strong suit, to put it lightly. Don't derail the story to share information about its history, but I'd make sure that you know about its founding; some important rulers (and other people, like heroes, generals, maybe even activists; think about historical figures that you're taught about and why); the economic, social, and political systems and if they've changed; the climates of different parts; major historical events that shaped the setting (usurpings, civil rights movements, major changes, etc.) and then add in what you think fits well. For the minor details that you like but can't fit in, save them for a lore book, an easter egg, or a little social media post for the readers to enjoy, or to answer if asked directly.
But also don't take my advice on worldbuilding lol I'm not so good at it compared to other people
Something interesting and relevant to this I caught today: https://youtu.be/nsy08f1oVvw
The movie Tangled is better without the first 5 minutes and 9 seconds.
I don't know that I agree with that—There's dramatic irony when the audience knows something that the character doesn't, and the movie isn't unbearable because of the first 5 minutes and 9 seconds giving away what could have been A Twist—But this is still a good argument for how most of the stuff explained in the beginning can be frittered out in the course of the story, and then there can be a bigger impact.
Like not showing the crime in a detective mystery novel…when the point of the story is to piece together what happened…Then that's a thing that high fantasy can sometimes adopt.
Follow your heart.
%20pngg.png)
