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And I think if you have some little detail you want to show, say for instance, that the pancakes in this world are blue, and the blue comes from the butterflies that lay their eggs in a certain type of wheat…yeah, that’s a really intricate detail. So my advice? If it’s not necessary that you say it, leave it out. Unless your antagonist is allergic to blue and you need the reader to know how the MC can defeat him with a blue pancake, then leave out that detail. If there’s no point just leave it out. Your reader only needs to know the parts of your setting that set a tone, mood, etc. and the parts that contribute to story. The fact that this is Middle-Ages type fantasy and not actual Middle Ages is important for your reader to know. The fact that the characters here all wear purple rainboots does not. So when I mention “contributing to setting”, I mean the parts of setting the reader NEEDS to know. If it doesn’t contribute to character, plot, or relevant setting, CUT IT. I would go so far as to say if it only contributes to one, cut it. Try to make everything contribute to at least two of them. But that’s hard so don’t sweat it…Hehe I can’t even do that well

Of course there are some caveats, for example when writing a Milieu story like Eragon or Lord of the Rings, in which the story is just a vehicle to get the awesome world to people. Milieu stories focus on the world more than story or character, so the authors can get away with heavy descriptions and stuff. Sort of. They write more about characters doing things in an awesome world than characters doing awesome things in a cool world. So you may be able to slap “The pancakes she was eating were blue, because the caterpillars lay their eggs in the roots and the pigment seeps up the stalk.” I personally don’t like Milieu stories, they’re just a lot to read, but some people like them. *cough* Eragon was awful *cough*

BUUUUUT what if you do have a detail that you want to show the reader, that may or may not be important? For example the fact the pancakes are blue and why they are that color?

Well what you can do is embed it in characterization, conflict, or a scene in general. Show, don’t tell, and this applies to this to. For example, the pancakes are blue. You want to explain that. Not only is that an opportunity to worldbuild but to do other things at the same time, which is a wordmeister’s job.

So let’s say you wanted to capitalize on a character’s tone and demeanor. You could do that, say, as they eat the pancakes.

“Why’s mah pancakers blue? I don’t wants da blue pancakers!” said Ingrateful Child

“What do you mean? Mine are blue too…” said Bakery Lady, confused.

“But I want da normal pancakers from home! These isn’t normal pancakers!”

“They’re all like that, honey…See?” Bakery Lady picked up a stack of the rich cobalt pancakes.

“W-well…I don’t like ’em that way! They’s looks like…like…Flattened blueberrels!”

Bakery Lady snickered. “Well I can’t help that, honey…Maybe take it up with the caterpillars.” She put the pancakes back in their basket.

Ingrateful Child cocked his head. “Catapillas?”

Bakery Lady nodded. “The ones that lay their eggs in the roots, y’know? Haven’t you been to the fields?

That kind of got into maid and butler dialogue at the end but you get the idea. You could also use that to demonstrate banter between two characters, or whatever really.

You could also do it in a scene. You could show characters in the field, planting seeds…

Planter Boy stared at the small sapphire sac with curiosity as the other planters passed him. Mentor approached, looked at the sac, and crushed it under his heel.

“You gotta squash ’em,” Mentor said. “You see one, squash it. They’ll get their little blue eggs in there and make our wheat all blue and stuff. People doesn’t like blue pancakes.”

Something to that effect.

To use Brandon Sanderson’s example, what if a settlement lives in the cliffs and there are monsters above them that will eat them and the people eat the monster eggs for food? Rather than saying that outright, you could make a whole scene with a girl climbing the cliff, sneaking into a monster nest and snatching an egg, then rappelling down the side of the cliff just in time as the monster chased her. Then she brings the egg back to her family and mom cooks it for the kids. Boom. Now the reader knows “Oh, so there are monsters up there, and the people eat their eggs for food.” Not a WORD of narrative necessary there.

Well that’s my two cents. 🙂