When is it the right moment in explaining your fantasy world in your story?

by David Castanho
31st January 2015

Hi There!

I have a question that I've been putting of until I figured this out myself but sadly that never happened, and so I find myself writing to my trusty writing friends on this website. When is it the right moment to explain or describe the fantasy world around your characters so that readers get a feel of where they are? I was thinking maybe in the first 25% of the story (first part) but I'm not entirely sure I'm right.

Any help would be great.

Thanks again.

Replies

Truly spoken Jeff thanks for the reply :)

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David
Castanho
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David Castanho
01/02/2015

From the off: if your character gets up, dresses and goes out of his house and gets into his car, that's natural exposition, If he gets up, buckles his sword on, goes down to the stable and saddles his horse, that's natural exposition. If she gets up, uses magic to summon breakfast from a middle realm and then teleports to the forest, that's natural exposition.

Whichever world it is, make it natural (even if it's unnatural) to the character - none of them will get up and go: "wow, I've got a sword and there's a stable down there and I could find a horse and ride off" etc. It's THEIR natural environment and the reader will accept it, because it's your worldbuilding and you're the storyteller.

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Jeff
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Jeff Richards
01/02/2015

thanks Adrian will check that out :)

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David
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David Castanho
31/01/2015