A Guide to Worlds Without Clutter
/When it comes to worldbuilding, some people make the mistake of believing that more details equate to a richer world. In reality, that’s not quite the case. It can dampen the reading experience by bloating the story with underdeveloped ideas. Plus, certain genres don’t require extensive worldbuilding.
Now, you might be wondering what exactly counts as unnecessary detail? Anything that doesn’t contribute to the world counts.
Cool Doesn’t Mean Cohesive
A story I once read had a magical, multicoloured flower introduced, but because of its lack of importance in the overall plot (it wasn't mentioned a second time), it felt unnecessary. There were already other elements to demonstrate that the story was magical. The flower itself brought no impact on the world.
It didn’t need to directly impact the plot, but what if the flower was part of the ecosystem meaningfully? What if its powers were used to sustain society, and its disappearance could cause consequences?
This is like referencing other media in your world, such as Greek mythology. Unless Greek mythos was always intended, adding random myths and lore from Greek mythologies comes off as uninspired.
For instance, adding Cerberus as a creature characters have to fight, despite being in a world where monsters barely exist.
Namesakes, on the other hand, can be interesting. A sci-fi robot with three heads can be called Cerberus or Hydra, and people’s knowledge of those names will help fill in the gaps.
Mind-Numbing Logistics
Contrived details are another type of clutter in worldbuilding. These can range from how the planet tilts on its axis, to the calendar, to the phases of the moon, and to the exact temperature certain regions may have.
These are neat details that, unless significant in how it shapes the world, are unnecessary. A lot of new writers make the mistake of adding things to their world because they find it fun and not because it fits.
This seems to come from these authors being really invested in their worlds. They fill every country with details, religions, cultures… But once it gets to the writing process, their attachment to those details prevents them from streamlining what the reader needs to know.
Learning what to prioritize is as essential as writing itself. You might think that, if everything’s consistent, then why not add more details to make sure others know about your extensive knowledge of the world? That’s because more often than not, no one’s going to care as much about this world as you.
This ties back to “kill your darlings,” a saying often heard on the internet. It doesn’t mean getting rid of everything, but it means you don’t need to show the skeleton of your story.
All those details you like about your world can be kept in a separate document, so if you ever want to make a second story set in the same world, you’ll have something to refer to.
Details Depend on Genre
That being said, the expansion of a world strongly depends on the genre. Fantasy, sci-fi, or even historical can get away with extensive worldbuilding, because that’s generally what a reader expects from those types of stories.
On the other hand, abundant details in other genres, such as romance or horror, feel pointless. In romance, the focus is the characters’ interactions, and the world serves as a backdrop rather than the focal point.
In horror, a bit of worldbuilding can be helpful to assert the mood, but too much detracts from the main point, which is to be scared. Knowing too much erases the ability to fill in the blanks yourself and makes you think about the technicalities, which isn’t what you want.
It’s for these reasons that you often see romance and horror taking place in the modern world, with a recurring “main” location.
It’s not just in horror where too much detail detracts from the experience. It depends on what type of story you’re trying to build, but even fantasy can feel less fantastical with too much elaboration.
What I’m ultimately trying to say is that there is no shame in having a small or simple world for a story. Everyone’s creative process is different, so there will never be a hard set of rules. However, the reader knows best. People know what they want to read, and it’s typically not unfocused ramblings.
There needs to be balance in everything. A story is meant to entertain, inspire, and that can’t be achieved without a clear purpose. Learning what to introduce is just one step towards reaching that purpose.
Marion Landry studies at Algonquin College in the Professional Writing program. She began writing personal stories for about six years and has developed a critical sense of storytelling. Her favourite genre is fantasy, as are most of her stories-all filled with in-depth worldbuilding and richly explored narratives.
