Is too much worldbuilding bad ?

[Flash_Nuke]

I got a story where the MC learn of the creation of the world but I feel like I may have writed too much on the world building part. (I LOVE sorting the how of most thing XD )

 

[SailusGebel]

Too much infodump in one go is bad.

 

[vaurwyn]

I don't think there is a thing as too much world-building, but it takes a lot of effort to show all of your worldbuilding organically. However, even if you don't tell everything to your readers, if you build your story with an intricate world, it will show and give a much appreciated depth to the story.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

I got a story where the MC learn of the creation of the world but I feel like I may have writed too much on the world building part. (I LOVE sorting the how of most thing XD )

World building is always a walk on a tightrope between too much, and not enough, between satisfactory, and overwhelming.

Too little and you stumble around in the dark. Too much and you get lost like a wanderer in a sea of fog.

 

[Flash_Nuke]

Too much infodump in one go is bad.

No it's more like I go so in depth in the creation of the elf race that I have the entire genealogical tree of their race XD
I won't explain all in one go but this may be a little too much...right ?

 

[SailusGebel]

No it's more like I go so in depth in the creation of the elf race that I have the entire genealogical tree of their race XD
I won't explain all in one go but this may be a little too much...right ?

No.

 

[Flash_Nuke]

Well, it suit me then. I may be obsessional but I find it annoying to have most thing just dumped out from the sky without explanation

 

[Ritz]

depends, depends, and depends. Just be aware of the time and don't present too much lore at once, and you should do ok, but that depends :c

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

I got a story where the MC learn of the creation of the world but I feel like I may have writed too much on the world building part. (I LOVE sorting the how of most thing XD )

Depends on how you present it.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Read Tolkien. That's the definition of 'too much world-building'. But it's also one of the most popular stories around. I loved digging through the genealogies and the timelines and the history of the world laid out in those books. It's not exactly light reading though, so you're gonna need to prepare your reader.
Something like

Spoiler: SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE WORLDBUILDING

Appendix C: Calendars

If you clearly label your worldbuilding as such, you might be able to get away with a literal info dump. But don't just dump it in the middle of your story, and make sure it's clear that it can be skipped without losing anything.

The stuff that CAN'T be skipped is what you should lay out 'organically'. Everything else should be left in your notes, glossary, or a dedicated Appendix chapter.

 

[LunaSoltaer]

YOU want to worldbuild the hell out of everything, especially if you're doing a long running novel or series. In short, you want to be able to define starting conditions, because you're going to have to track a lot, especially if you're pulling a shounen adventure multi arc back to back.

Your READERS are there for a story. They will have varying taste in lore (see: the Dark Souls player who just plays for mechanics vs the one who reads and theorizes over every single item in the game). One way to generally satisfy is, give players readers the lore they need and NO MORE. (side note this is also why a lot of protags are the idiot children who don't know any better, and why isekai can function at all.

Also for plot twists, like "huzzah you use this mechanic to solve the day!" make sure they know exactly what the mechanic you're about to exploit does (for example, if you have a spell that swaps two objects' positions, make sure your character uses it in the chapters (maybe chapTER) leading up to your Boom chapter. Don't use it to attack enemies, but maybe for party tricks, and to solve a puzzle. THen your WHAM chapter comes in, you have a boss that reflects all magic cast at it, and it throws a giant fuckoff javelin at you.

Then you, without explaining anything, say, "I looked at that pebble behind them, and cast Transposition."

Which is just a fancy way of saying make sure audience world knowledge is current. Really hard to when you have am use on hyperdrive but cest la vie

:3

 

[Ai-chan]

There is no such thing as too much worldbuilding. It's a world, there is always something to describe about the world. The problem that you should care about is too much description. Make descriptions for things that matter, not the things that you feel like adding.

For example, your character is in the town called Maremare. Talk about Maremare, explain what he sees, who he meets, how the town is arranged. Who lives there, what amenities are present, what things are interesting to him. What is the political system of the town like, if it's significant to the plot. If your character is just passing through, nobody cares about the background of the baron who rules the town unless it specifically matters as you describe how the town came into being.

That being said, you don't need to describe every single mob and pets in Maremare. You can describe a couple of them, but not more than that. Why? Because nobody cares. You're giving too many details of elements that will only appear in that one chapter or even that one scene. Put too many details that don't matter and you piss off your readers because they don't want to waste time reading things that don't matter.

 

[AliceShiki]

Well, it's hard to answer if something is too little or too much, but as a rule of thumb, just ask yourself one question before you start worldbuilding:

"Does it matter?"

If the answer is no, then you don't do it.

If it matters for you, but not for the readers, then you can create the background lore, but don't write it.

And if it matters to the readers, but doesn't matter to the main character... You still don't write it. Unless you find a way of making it matter to the main character, which is probably a bad idea in all honesty, since lore that doesn't matter to the main character probably doesn't matter to the readers either.


But once you get the "Does it matter?" question out of the way, how much worldbuilding you should be doing is really subjective... My personal opinion is that you should always do as little as necessary, because it's more fun to see the story than the world.

 

[Sabruness]

No it's more like I go so in depth in the creation of the elf race that I have the entire genealogical tree of their race XD
I won't explain all in one go but this may be a little too much...right ?

depends. would all they be very key and central to the story? if yes, find ways to work it in organically. if no, trim the fat and only add what's relevant to the plot.

 

[Maldon]

Personally I think that too much worldbuilding can eventually turn into procrastination, however, since at the end of the day this is a hobby, just do what you find fun.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Yes. I've lost count of how many manuscripts I've rejected just because the infodump at the beginning was too long. It is absolutely essential to find creative ways of weaving your worldbuilding into the action.

 

[CheertheDead]

I got a story where the MC learn of the creation of the world but I feel like I may have writed too much on the world building part. (I LOVE sorting the how of most thing XD )

As many have said, if you put everything on the table at once, it would make your audiences bored with all the descriptions and expositions.

You need to pace out the info. I myself had to pace the magic system explanation to multiple chapters. Each gives a little info that is relevant to the current action / discussion scene.

And that’s from me who has the wikipedia writing style.

 

[SakeVision]

I like world building, a lot of people don't. You do you.

 

[doravg]

Give it to the readers in bite sized installments. World building is always good. It is the execution that matters.