Hey folks, Happy New Year!

In the course of storytelling, a myriad of components must be able to function harmoniously with one another to drive forward a narrative. Pacing, character, plot structure… you see where I’m going with this. The number of plates an author needs to keep spinning at any given moment is enough to drive them mad or, worse, to take shortcuts. Does a plot without structure even matter? What purpose can a character claim to have had if they never developed? Pacing, should I care? Questions like these help a story grow, and give it form. I have one more for you, dear reader:

What about Worldbuilding?

This post will serve as my meager contribution on the subject, and I hope some of you find it helpful. Yes, this post will frequently have a strong lean toward Fantasy, with occasional forays into Science-Fiction, but I hope that those of you with no interest in those realms can find it informative in some way or, at the very least, entertaining.

So… What are we going to talk about today?

Planning and Over-Planning; When to Seek Help.

You’ve created a world. Congratulations!

Now you’ve gone and littered it with lore, love-interests, and lord knows what else. Interesting cuisine, timeless wonders, mysterious lands, and dangerous beasts. Suffice to say, you’re sure it is vibrant and special, but is it done?

Odds are, it never will be.

There’s this old saying about art: that it can never be completed, only abandoned. That sentiment echoes true for every artistic endeavor, and the worlds you craft are no exception. And, sadly, sometimes you need an intervention.

Let this be it, my fellow obsessives.

There comes a point where we must accept that every corner of the map doesn’t need something interesting to occupy it, and it’s okay to say that you’re at your world’s edge and none but devils lay beyond. Hell, it’s okay to stop well short of that as well.

After a time, you have to completely stop planning the world or you’ll never write the story. And you have to acknowledge there are logistics at play within your own world that make it idiotic for you to try and set the story across several continents, no matter how grand the stakes. Eventually those characters need to come together in some way, and there needs to be some payoff or the audience will abandon you.

Furthermore, there may be a pressing need for you to know the entire history of your world, but unless that history acts in service to your story, it’s best to let it go at some point. And, really, it’s cool to outline the last couple of centuries and try to work them into the modern narrative in a way that is meaningful, but that history should not overshadow that same narrative. Like… unless you’ve got your readers obsessively interested, you won’t be able to make them read your history.

Really obsessive… I’m looking at you, Fire and Blood

But, I digress.

Stop digging your own grave

Please, just learn when to stop. Becoming so engrossed with worldbuilding that you neglect to write the book is one small part of the most common problem faced by folks trying to write long, complex stories. That, and the simple bargains we make with ourselves to put off writing.

Just one more episode of [insert random netflix show here]

Just ten more minutes on twitter

Just one more link on reddit

You see where this is going.

Just one more character bio.

One more random city along this coastline, and the customs, clothing, and culture to occupy it. All of this will help you someday, right? You’re doing this to further your goals, not to avoid writing the gosh darn story.

Right?

Here’s the problem, folks. The stricter your world design is, the narrower the path your narrative is forced to follow. If you have so many different historical and cultural details flooding any given exchange, then the actors are nothing more than caricatures playing out your worldbuilding. I suppose that’s fine for side characters, but is that really what you want from your main cast? There’s really no wrong or right way to go about your worldbuilding, but here’s a good rule of thumb for when you’re done.

There has to be some person you talk to about your story, someone who listens to all the stuff you ramble on about as a matter of your worldbuilding and they must have a breaking point.

For me, this came about when my best friend flat out told me that they wondered, with a kind of sneer, when the hell I was going to stop filling in the map and start writing the story. It hurt, but they were right.

So, this is my simple entreaty to you. If you don’t know when to stop, start talking out your worldbuilding with other and attempt to relate it to the story you’re trying to tell. At some point, they’ll tell you to stop or you’ll notice their interest waning. That’s the end... and when you should focus on writing.

That’s it for me, folks. Again, I wish you all a Happy New Year.

(I went dune buggying all afternoon, what did y’all do?)

Leave some comments and talk about your own issues in this area and where you think your writing will go in the coming year! Take care!

(Oh, here’s some important sub news, guys and gals)

13 Million Subscriber Contest

Yep! Another one. This one is all about superstition and other neat stuff, it’s a first chapter contest too. Really cool stuff. Check it out here

Best of WritingPrompts 2018

Who won? Who’s next? You- nope, not gonna plagiarize here. Look at the winners, congratulate them here

FFC Winners…

1. /u/starsexploding
2. /u/Dae314
3. /u/Xacktar

Honorable Mentions:

/u/teaforanxiety for Artistry

/u/HFSODN is living in an Amish Paradise

/u/Ford9863 thanks to Kevin