: Re: How can I strike a balance between setting and plot? I'm not a fan of Tolkien's work, but it's relevant to my question, so take it as a reference point. I love linguistics, culture, and worldbuilding,

@Dunderdale623

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The same problem applies to writers who wear their research on their sleeve. Did you ever read a novel and realize that half of it could have been pared away, that half the book was unnecessary scenes were the writer just wanted the reader to know all this cool stuff thei found out? (Cough Neal Stephenson cough)

World-building is similar to research in one way: It's hard throw away backstory you worked hard on, whether you dug it up or invented it.

It's easy to say that, when writing, you need to keep in mind that every word you write has to be in the service of the story. It's also easy to say that you should ask yourself if the characters would really do these things you describe.

A lot of it comes down to experience, but a lot of it is learning how to edit your work later on. Put the work aside for a few days and then re-read it, deleting anything at all that says "Look at me, I did research!" "No, look at me, I invented a whole world! It's so detailed!"

Delete viciously. Does a paragraph or a word not help advance the story? Delete it. Are there a hundred pages that are clever and fun but don't advance the plot? Get rid of them. Maybe they can be another book later on, but they don't belong in this one.

Eventually, you may develop a little voice that lets you get it right on the first draft. Until that point: write, edit, repeat until you abandon the work. Next story!

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