A way with worlds: 43 - TMI

"LOOK, DETAIL!"
You've fleshed out your world. The readers can give you credit for that.

Don't engage in long pointless descriptions, toss around terms extraneously, or in general show off just how much you've created. Any good story will tell it. Any good writer can make sure the important details are communicated.

On the other hand going overboard in describing things can confuse the reader and break the illusion of seeing a world - and make them aware they're reading a story. It's like suddenly having a good arcade game's pixels become very obvious.

This is a fine line that takes practice to walk properly - how much detail, when to show it, and how to show it. All I can say is practice - and get good beta readers.

"LOOK, I BUILT A WORLD!"
Cousin to showing too much detail is reminding your reader they're reading a story in a constructed environment. Reminding them to check the maps in your web page, having a lot of asides, and trying to be too helpful in helping them understand your creation is a case of TMI.

It can also seem like bragging. Don't make the readers dislike you, it's not conductive to their enjoyment.

"DESCRIPTION-O-RAMA"
You have a world. You want to describe it - but do you have to?

Make sure your readers know enough to understand what is going on, but do not describe things just because you designed them. This ventures into "Look-I-built-a-world" territory as well as affecting your writing negatively by throwing in too much.

SUMMARY:
TMI is a condition that affects some writers - probably it'd be nice if it affected more. However, it's a still a way to affect your writing and ruin the experience of reading about your world for your readers. Seek balance and don't loose site of the goal - communication.

A Way with Worlds is hosted at:

• fanfiction.net

• lit.org

• sffworld.com

The complete works are archived at the Way With Worlds archive.
A German translation is in the works at Christian Spliess's Page