Comments on What information about a fictional world is unnecessary?
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What information about a fictional world is unnecessary?
I was able to gain some insight already thanks to How much detail is too much?, but I still need a more precise answer, because my details aren't bound to a particular scene.
I was searching for some information on tidally locked planets (my setting for the story) and while looking at the questions over at World Building SE I noticed that people had chosen specifical temperatures, days per year, etc, whereas I never even thought about building the world so precisely. I did think about the key elements of such a place (wind, no day-night, temperature), but I didn't choose a year cicle being 33 days long or something.
My story is a fantasy, with magic and weird creatures, so it doesn't have to be completely scientific, but I still want a world that is believable. I thought it didn't really add anything of value to the story if a place is -25°C or -30°C, it should be clear that it's pretty cold, that's it.
Am I mistaking? Is it better to explain a setting meticulously or stick to the main elements to make the setting more believable?
First off, I basically agree with Chris Sunami's answer; the worldbuilding is primarily for you as the author or storyte …
4y ago
You have made a common mistake about world-building: believing that it all has to go on the page. World-building is for …
6y ago
To solve questions of this kind, you have to understand the role of setting in a story. Stories do not exist to describe …
4y ago
(As @ChrisSunami said, the author should know more than the reader does. I am writing about what to include in the text) …
6y ago
Only add details that are relevant. If the temperature point of -25c will play a factor for later when it warms up to sa …
6y ago
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30724. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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To solve questions of this kind, you have to understand the role of setting in a story. Stories do not exist to describe settings. Settings exist as a place to stage stories. Settings contribute to a number of aspects of a story.
They contribute to the plot, obviously, when the material circumstances affect the action.
They contribute to the mood. Fog and rain enhance a mood of misery or dread. Sunshine and blue skies enhance a mood of joy and peace.
They contribute to characterization. How the characters react to the setting, whether they react to it or not, what they notice or do not notice about it, whether they love it, hate it, or are indifferent to is, all speak to their character. (For example, is your character one who makes a distinction between -25 and -30 or one who would just think of both of them as bloody cold.)
They can contribute to style and voice.
So when you are considering whether to include a detail of setting or not, or which words to use to describe it, ask yourself what affect your choice to include it, and your choice of how to express it, affects all of these aspects of the story.
Think of a story like iron filings around the tip of a magnet. They align along the lines of magnetic force. That is what every detail, every element of your story, setting included, needs to do, line up along the lines of magnetic force in your story.
Ultimate, determining whether the details you choose and the way you express them line up with the lines of magnetic force in your story is a matter for your own aesthetic sense to determine. There is no paint-by-numbers rule for it. So think through all of the elements of your story and ask of every detail, does it contribute, and does it align.
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