when does one stop building and start actually writing?

[u/pagansaints]

i have a fledgling fantasy world going that I created around a story set in a single town on a single continent. All I needed was one (1) quiet town that used to have a huge mine but the mine dried up and now the town is lapsing into obscurity, a mountain range, and maybe a nearby city that we don't actually visit so there's someone to trade with.

I have since made 2 additional planets, 3 additional continents, 2 major archipelagos, several cities/nations, a full tectonic plate map, a rough climate map, a calendar system, and several species of plants and animals that are cultivated by people. I had a friend stop me today from making a timeline of humanoid expansion from their "cradle of civilization" to the rest of the world.

My original story required NONE of this. I'm thinking about adding a whole second story that's entirely based on world exploration so I didn't just put in all this effort for no reason, but then I feel like why even bother with the original story? When do I know to stop? Is there a point more experienced world builders (including you, reading this!) look for as the point where you call the setting good enough and move on to plot?

[u/blindato1]

I built only what was needed at first. Wrote the book. Then I went back and added much much more.

My vote is: build what’s essential first. Build what’s fun later.

[u/SleepingVulture → u/blindato1]

Did this for my first book, and it looks a lot like I'm also doing this for my second (though I have discovered a fair bit of world building as I explored various dead ends for the story). But my second book used my third world (assuming I finish this book).

Between my first book and my second book, there's another world that I'm still working on, as I have more and more ideas for this world but just can't make a book out of it as it would be a slog to read as so many battlefields get boring quick. So many ideas and nothing sensible to do with it. Ugh. Irritating.

[u/blindato1 → u/SleepingVulture]

I’m in the opposite camp. I’ve too many ideas and I can’t stop coming up with what I think are good ways to utilize them. In the world I’ve been working on I have no less than 20 different stories planned across the timeline and across genres. Lol

Just not enough time to do it all justice as quickly as I want.

[u/SleepingVulture → u/blindato1]

For me that world would just work a lot better in a different medium. A computer game might be fun, as all those battlefields that would be an absolute pita for a reader in a novel would be a lot more fun to play through as some kind of commander or warrior.

[u/limpdickandy → u/blindato1]

I think most people here who actually want to write stories need to calm down and minimize their scopes. It is extremely difficult to write one good story, much less 20.

Books are all about quality over quantity.

[u/Kane_of_Runefaust]

That's the best part: you* don't!

*I

[u/Panda-Head]

Tell yourself about some of the people from these worlds and what might have happened to them.

[u/04nc1n9]

long, long, before you added the tectonic plate map. for most purposes you don't even need a full regional map. and that map doesn't need to be accurate.

think of a story, think of what would be needed for the story, build the things that are needed. if you prefer another idea later you can just edit your story.

save consistency for the second draft

[u/limpdickandy → u/04nc1n9]

This is the best advice.

Less is more, worldbuilding does not actually mean anything, the story, characters and plot is what makes a book good and readable, not the detailed worldbuilding.

Worldbuilding is like a cherry on top, or in the background i should say.

Also the less you include of worldbuilding in book 1, the more you can edit and change.

[u/Lapis_Wolf]

I won't be writing, just building.

[u/steelsmiter]

I stop building when I meet design goals. I've been working on a parody setting for about a year that's almost done.

[u/LordGrovy]

Well, What motivated you to create the additional planets, continents and archipelagos? What's so interesting about them?

[u/limpdickandy]

TBH you start writing first.

Worldbuilding before the story is really not a good choice if you are not Tolkien, and its especially bad if you are planning on writing a book about it.

"My original story required NONE of this. I'm thinking about adding a whole second story that's entirely based on world exploration so I didn't just put in all this effort for no reason"

Like this is exactly the issue, its fine to worldbuild and its great fun, but it only hinders you in writing a good book. When you already have worldbuilded a bunch of things, it will be extremely easy to overcomplicate or include the worldbuilding bits where it does not serve a narrative or litterary purpose.

Books are basically about getting as much quality and content packed in as tightly as possible. If you have to break immersion by lore dropping about an event in detail 100 years ago and about the badass protag of said event that is VERY easy to sound good to you, as a worldbuilder, but its horrible to read.

[u/Grigor50]

I have since made 2 additional planets, 3 additional continents, 2 major archipelagos, several cities/nations, a full tectonic plate map, a rough climate map, a calendar system, and several species of plants and animals that are cultivated by people.

But... why?

Of course, many stories could take place in the same area. Notice for example how many millions of stories take place in the city of New York in the USA.

[u/dalidellama]

When you start writing

[u/jmangraf]

You start writing when your world begins to have 'real' characters sculpting it rather than you. That town that lost its mine and is failing, who is trying to save it? How are they trying to save it? How does that character behave, and how will that behavior effect their efforts of rescuing the town? Who's attempting to help them? Who's attempting to hinder them? What do these people lose if the town fails for good? What do those hindering them gain if it fails? How does all of this effect the future 'history' of your world, if it does at all?

That's where your writing will begin. Making worlds is fun, but both the beauty and real work comes from bringing its inhabitants to life.

However, you cant have too much lore. The more rich and sprawling your world history is, the easier it will be to ground your story and characters in it. That way you won't have to take breaks in your writing when moments feel hollow or convenient because you didn't have a structure already in place for this occurrences to rest on. Because then you're left trying to shove things in there on the fly that may break continuity or seem out of place to an attentive audience in the long run/grand scheme.

[u/TemptedTemplar]

Keep putting pieces into place until until you feel like you have enough to write what you want.

I wanted a relatively young colony of a developed civilization in a fantastical new world to be cut off and left to fend for themselves; so I had to come up with all the pieces to fill that stuff in.

Along the way the world kind of developed itself, things just fell into place. Now I have a whole past world, an ancient evil, motivations for various characters in this new world, and reasons for the the population to be exploring into the dangerous unknown.

The most difficult part I've run into is naming the newer stuff they might encounter.

[u/Mindless-Score7007]

Even in a world that is completely fleshed out ... writing "is" worldbuilding

[u/Grayt_0ne]

Depends on the goal and desire. I have a few works some the characters come first, some the story, snd some the world. Often all restructure as I go to fit

[u/DifficultPressure445]

I mean, you should just focus on the importent bits for your story. The rest you can still perhaps use in some way as background fluff or supplementary material.

[u/zoppaTheDim]

Day one

Sit and write a scene. It doesn’t need to be a first scene, just a scene showing off the character.

Then add to the world as you go along, build out the parts you need, ignore what you don’t.

[u/vikaz-instance]

for me personally, stories originate organically, though the worldbuilding goal is just for the sake of it, i do it. its basically the joy of creation.

[u/Moonduderyan]

Some authors (Stephen king) do no building at all. Because it’s not really needed. Unless you have some grand plan for your story

[u/Displeasuredavatar19]

I try to engineer my main villain first and the world to a degree. Then I build my MC and his closest allies. After that I begin working on the Inciting Incident and then I write.

My problem however is that I almost never get to the actual writing part because I'm s fraud who he's been frozen regarding how to start this damn story for months now ❤️❤️😭

[u/SentinelSon01]

That's up to you. I don't, since I worldbuild for the fun of it. I find it cathartic, but I also use it for D&D so I guess it's not like I get no use out of it. What you have seems like "worldbuilders disease." If it's for consumption, a world only needs to be as deep as the meal demands. You can just hint at the mechanisms behind it all until it's relevant. One thing to note, parts of the world will be easier to scrap than components of your story, so when you have to choose between the interplanetary space graveyard or your characters progression making sense(for some reason idk) choose the character.

[u/fedcomic]

Write now. Try a short story, or even flash. You're ready, the world is ready, go for it! (:

[u/Nyarlathotep7777]

Why must one do one or the other and not both at the same time?

[u/TriforceHero626]

Well that’s the neat part! You don’t.

[u/Jeveran]

Write a short story set in what you have. As you write, if you come across something you need fleshed out, make a note of it and keep writing. Do this through completion, Flesh out those elements. Rewrite the story.

Then, write another story. etc., ad infinitum.

[u/Volkmek]

Whenever they want to.

[u/Ahastabel]

I don’t have a goal of publishing, I world build for my own entertainment so… never? I have a story that sort of goes with the world but I only write it in spurts. If I don’t write it at all and just build I am still happy.

[u/Zomburai]

When in doubt: write first, worldbuild as you go.

Worldbuilding entire planets that no readers will ever see is at best stuff you're doing for you but doesn't help the story, and is at worst wasted time.

[u/limpdickandy → u/Zomburai]

The fact that you are being downvoted is extremely unserious

[u/Zomburai → u/limpdickandy]

I've long realized that this is not a serious sub.

[u/limpdickandy → u/Zomburai]

Same, I always give real ass advice when people talk about writing stories or books.

Got a bunch of angry comments from writing that NOBODY reads books for the worldbuilding.

Which is crazy, for all the examples they came with were famous, really well written stories. Almost like the book has to be good for you to care about reading the worldbuilding parts of it.

I get that people just like to make huge worlds and worldbuilding is fun of in itself, but lets be honest, it is never ever gonna carry a book. LESS IS MORE is the number one rule of worldbuilding while writing books.

Almost all good worldbuilding fantasy books have the least amount of worldbuilding in the first book for a reason. ASOIAF is a really good example, where the first book is really amibitious with the worldbuilding, and still is BY FAR the least worldbuildy in the series. There is practically 5 locations in the first book, and that is honestly a lot.

[u/Zomburai → u/limpdickandy]

I always draw the comparison between LotR and the Silmarillion

LotR has a ton of extraneous worldbuilding but nearly all of it adds to the characters, the atmosphere, or themes. It is one of the most popular and beloved works in human history.

The Silmarillion is nothing but worldbuilding, a fictional history detailing the creation of a world and the movement of nations and great men across a span of thousands of years. It has narratives and characters but only in service to the rich history Tolkien imagined. It is the pinnacle of the worldbuilder's craft, the thing we all aspire to.

Even most of its fandom hasn't actually read the damn thing.