World-Building Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Whether you’re writing a novel, plunging into a screenplay, or working on your next tabletop adventure, you’ll find a lot of advice for world-building mistakes to avoid. Here, we’ll talk about what you can do to avoid info dumps – and how to streamline your world-building process.

1 Make it concise

You probably have heard that you should avoid info-dumping when world-building. But what does that mean and how can you prevent it? Think of world-building like salt in a meal you’re preparing. Without it, your meal will taste bland, or even unpleasant. But too much can hurt your palates. The salt needs to be mixed into the food. However, various meals need various amounts of salt. (My friends tell me that I use ridiculous amounts of salt in my cooking, and I love having a lot of world-building details.)

How to do that? Work your world-building into the story in details, instead of dedicating entire chapters to describing your world.

2 Make your rules consistent

Inconsistent rules in world-building can ruin immersion. How can you avoid this? Create a small “rule book” for your world-building to avoid scattered settings or languages. Make sure this is in your notes where you can always consult it when you’re unsure about your setting.

3 Avoid over-complicating

When it comes to how complicated and multi-faceted your world-building should be, opinions differ. I love complicated world-building that is bursting with details. But not everyone will have the attention span to ingest world-building details when the plot isn’t moving. As a rule, I’d say don’t overdo it with world-building at the beginning of your book, screenplay, or game. First, draw everyone into your story with your plot- then work into any details about the environment.

Also, remember that a small percentage of your crowd will enjoy it if you come up with yet another language- but a large portion of them might not become too invested in it.

4 Diversity and Originality

Don’t forget to try something new when world-building, instead of relying on the same tropes people have seen many times, and create fresh ideas with inclusive settings!

If you are starting out with world-building, maybe this guide will help you.

5 Focus on your characters

People connect with characters and their stories – not with maps. Let your characters experience your world and describe it from their point of view. Make sure you have a strong plot first, before diving into world-building.

What are things you have struggled with in your world-building? Let me know in the comments!

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