Okay, so a quick story. When I was in color guard (it’s a team sport where you dance and throwing flags as visuals for the marching band), one season we wore costumes with glitter. And no matter how many times I washed it, glitter would get everywhere. It would dust the bus seats, freckle my hands, and pepper all my other clothes. Basically, it would cover everything it came into contact with. And for months, glitter became part of my world.
Which got me thinking how your fictional world should work in the same way. Worldbuilding should be everywhere in the story, to the point that your readers don’t even realize (because they are that immersed). To the point where the glitter is inside the characters themselves, messing with their point of view. Yes, their point of view should be glitterified.
Example: Say your fantasy world has red tress, that may or may not be important to the plot. Your characters should not notice that the trees are red and think that’s weird. To them it’s just glitter. They are always like that. Yes, describe them, but describe them as we would the green trees. Don’t beat us over the head with it. Don’t write: “and the trees are GREEN! Like really GREEN!”
Be subtle and consistent throughout. That’s how you immerse the reader.
What I also like about this comparison of worldbuilding techniques to glitter is the idea of sprinkling. You never dump a gob of glitter in one spot and expect the whole artwork to shine. One must plan out where exactly the bits and pieces should go to be most aesthetically pleasing. To avoid the dreadful info dump, you must sprinkle the worldbuilding in, bit by bit.
And you can do this through:
Dialogue – This might be the easiest way to get wrong because you have to make sure the characters are saying these elements in a natural way. They need to have motivation and reason to talk about the world and not just as a way for you to get the information across.
Details –Think about what the character would mention about the setting. The ‘how’ a character would describe something brings personality and life into the POV. It also should connect it to tone and the atmosphere of the piece.
Internal thoughts – What does this character feel about the world element they are describing? This can reveal character just as well as worldbuilding. This also ties into voice. Voice is one of the most difficult writing concepts to teach, but I think it starts with character’s perspective and showcasing the glitter of the world in a way that is authentic to the story. Instead of telling us their backstory, showcase it in little hints on how they look at their surroundings. What do they love? What do they hate? What do they want?
Parting note:
Portal fantasy is a little different, in that your character may be coming from our known world, and thus can be surprised when all the trees are red. We learn every new concept through their eyes so you can fixate on how different it is. But, if any of your characters live in the secondary or futuristic world, they will engage with the worldbuilding naturally. Because, after living for months in glitter, even I got used to it.
Happy Writing!