Activity

I would handle the problem by having the character interact with the world as they see it. Sights, sounds, smells – all the senses. In this way we get the details of everyday life but don’t slip into infodumping – if done right, that is. Or have a character who’s sheltered and naive – that way someone is going to have to explain political theory to them. As for a magic system, just a simple sentence explanation could do sometimes, or have a character demonstrate and teach someone else how to do a specific thing.

I think alpha readers are great for catching these little details, or beta readers if it’s a more polished draft. A lot of the time I do see that I lack explanation, but I don’t add it in yet if I’m writing my first draft. I think it’s better to go back later when editing to insert more detail.

Authors that I think do worldbuilding really well:

– Maggie Stiefvater, The Scorpio Races : I absolutely loved the little island that she built in that book. It felt real, as if it could actually be a place on the map.

– S. E. Grove, the Mapmakers trilogy: In this trilogy the author divides the world into sort of places in time (e.g. Dark Ages, 1800s, Ice Age, Future) and I think she did the worldbuilding really well. The idea and concept was unique, the different times and people explored, and so much attention given to new detail and other ideas. She even invented different religions.