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How to Write a Compelling Story in a Pre-Built World

When I worldbuild, I typically begin with a top-down approach. I begin by thinking about the big picture of the world, and work my way down to specific locations and characters. While this sometimes makes it difficult to limit the amount of world shown to the reader so they aren’t overwhelmed and bored by facts, it ensures that the large-scale narrative throughout the universe remains consistent.

Finding a Story within a World

The best tip I have heard on how to write a story set in a world you already built is to first pick the coolest or most peculiar thing about your world. This feature could be your world’s history, magic, culture or society, or anything else that makes your world unique. How will your character interact with that feature? What kind of interesting conflict can you center on or around it?

For instance, within my universe there is an alliance of nations called Coralle (pronounced ‘Cor-ale-luh’) that helps keep the peace among its members. The interesting part is that Coralle is very secretive and confidential, to the point that none of the other nations know it exists. When a small rebellious movement pops up, my characters need to stop it before word gets out and the organization’s cover is blown.

As I continue to develop the story line with the larger-scale world in mind, more connections form throughout my world, deepening the plot and involving more characters. All I needed was that spark of political opposition to build a premise for the story.

A Word of Caution

When beginning with the top-down approach and finding a story within a pre-built world, it is easy to clutter up the story with too much detail. Of course, as worldbuilders, our instinct to convey as much as possible about your amazing world to the reader. But remember, stories are portals. They are a single point of entrance into your world, allowing the reader to explore your world in a natural way.

Think of it this way. When you go on a tour, the tour guide doesn’t give you all of the information right away. That would be boring and overwhelming. Instead, they give you the information piece-by-piece as you move along.

In the same way, worldbuilding for the sake of worldbuilding within your story will overwhelm and disengage the reader. To have an impact, you must showcase your world in bits and pieces as the story calls for it. The mystery of an unexplored world is what piques interest, not a textbook full of world facts.

Conclusion

My favorite way to worldbuild is top-down, which can make it difficult to find compelling stories and characters without info-dumping on the readers. To make this easier, it is often helpful to choose a single unique aspect of your world and center the story and conflict around that feature. Limiting the perspective of the reader will increase the mystery and wonder of the world.

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