Well im working on a novel called Terra and it's a fantasy genre. I plann on making it really big but not too big. Ive already made 4 maps and i gonna start on a 5th in a few days. Do you think that it will take a whole lifetime to develop a massive universe of characters and storylines? I already wrote a background story for a couple of supporting characters. I want to make alot more background stories so i can make my world believable and exciting. Im also working hard on the main plot as much as possible so i can have an original plot with a few twists. I want to make one of my languages a full language for everybody to speak, but it might take a decade or two to accomplish this task. Im only 14, and it seems like i got inspired by Paolini, but i didn't get inspired by him. I was inspired by Tolkien. I actually the basic idea from a dream. The world is supposed to be pretty large, and there's more then millions of each race, so i can have alot of warfare so it causes damage but they can handle more destruction. Im trying to balance Warfare, and Story at the same time.. it's alot to work on i know
It's a good thing to invest time and energy developing your world, and will definitely make it richer and realistic. But don't worry about making sure readers know every single mountain layout and lake and how to speak the language. In fact, steer clear of this, because it will lead to infodumps that take away from the story. I'm not saying to not mention the geography or language, but don't infodump about it or make the readers know EVERY detail. Focus on the story, characters and plot - this, after all, is what will keep readers reading. Try to avoid overly long descriptions and slip things in naturally...for example, if the mountains get more rugged after 100 miles' into the characters' quest, mention that that the terrain has gotten much rougher once you're at that point in the quest, but don't take great lengths to describe every bit of the geography before they start out. Also, if you know enough about the characters and plot to be able to tell your story, start writing. That's the hard part; developing a setting is the easier part (My story has its own world, too) Good luck!
I don't think the reader needs to know about every world and every person and every thing. You can mention a lot of planets and solar systems but you might not always need to delve into a whole lot of detail with them. But the ones that you are focusing on the most should have everything laid out so it's real to the reader. Wish I still had time to develop like that! Props kiddo, good luck. ;]
If you sit at your computer for an hour and write the entire history of a race, you've got the entire history of a race in one hour. If you spend a few hours writing the basis for your main plot, you'll have all sorts of leads to build up your world around. Did they pass through a city? When was that city built, and what sort of warfare has it seen? Have their been any "heroes" in this city? When were they born and when did/will they die? Just build. It doesn't take a lifetime, and it doesn't have to be believable. You just have to like it. If you want the world to be believable, write it and let your subconscious be a part of it.
I was recently in a very similar place, where I've been working on detailing a large world for a long time. I was detailing the races, the countries, their histories, etc. I figured that when the time came to write the story, I'd be able to create a plot that weaved everything together. The problem was, with everything spelled out in such detail, I was having trouble developing a plot that felt interesting or useable. While I didn't necessarily start all over again, I did decide to take a much different approach. This is, after all, a story first and a fantasy world second. I'm focusing on developing a story instead, and when there are people and places that need to be fleshed out more, I take them aside and develop them further and piece together their history and sociology.
I have to agree with cruciFICTION on this one. You might spend days/months/years developing a rich a varied history of a race, know all the tiniest details of every city, but if your plot doesn't lead them to the race/city, it's all been in vain. Spend time on your plot, know exactly what will happen, where it will happen, when it will happen etc. Then, you can build your rich universe around that, knowing for certain that it will be linked into your story in a meaningful way.
