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How to World Build Without Over Doing it?

lonelyvampire666
I used to write a lot back in the day. Often I was told to calm down the world building, which I admit, I did a lot of. However I feel like it's necessary in building and creating a story. Is there a way to kind of slow this down so the pacing isnt off?
redhawk
Fudge, I need help with this too q.q
momoichi
i suppose the world building should fit with the pace of the story like maybe start the story with a map to help the reader, but everything else should be discovered as the mc discovers them :3 you can add little details like instead of "He handed the merchant the money" it could be liek "He handed the merchant 3 silver doubloons and a gold coin, which were engraved with the sigil of the neighboring house." (ill admit, i have a problem with using too many commas xD)
yoyoitsnsfw
Draw a blob that's a country think about your characters and how they relate to eachother would they be in nearby countries or nearby villages? dont place their allies in a random spot on the other side of their enemy how is the nature around them? if they're north build their vegetation correspondingly this is what you mean by world building right?
burninghalo
IS it a problem with you overfocusing on the details? Do you flesh out completely unnecessary details that people wouldn't pay attention to? Do you create plot points in such a way where they need to be explained by another plot point that only exist to explain the first with no real significance to the world itself? do you find that in your writing you'll include details about the world that contradict other plot points? You often retcon older details that could have had simpler solutions? I'm just confused as to what about your writing you could tighten up? I mean for me I'd often give characters or events unnecessary details that really could have gone in the writer's notes. Things that held no significance only later to discover that the extra detail only confuses people because they hold onto it when they don't have to in order to understand the story or it's characters
lonelyvampire666
@Burning I think I did just this. I focused way too much on character details, scene details, etc. Some people didnt like it, others did.
momoichi
never too much of that! you want the reader to be able to picture things perfectly! a good book reads more like a movie then just words on a page! can we get a sample of your work, hitori-chan? (can i call you that??)
burninghalo
Well I think a common theme of what I was driving at was necessity. Some people go crazy for that "And the magistrate's glass was precariously placed facing on the left side of the table" level of detail while others will find it tedious. it's why I find it's best to include details that feed into the type of story that you're trying to tell. IF the lipstick on the second glass of the magistrate's table does not serve any purpose(like matching the shade of his maid's lips) then just kind of skip that detail ya know? But if you're going to include it...have it serve a purpose
burninghalo
Like maybe that the maid and the magistrate are intimate or maybe the magistrate was killed by a poison in the cup but the maid wasn't so she is a suspect because they drank from the same cups
momoichi
true burning, it is more of a writing style preference personally i like the (stealing your example) "And the magistrate's glass was precariously placed facing on the left side of the table" as it helps better paint the scene, which is the job of the author personally i dislike when they lack description of the scene so i have to use my imagination just for them then describe it mid story so now i have two combating images :s
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