: Re: How to maximize reader comprehension if worldbuilding is complicated? Parts of my worldbuilding are critical to the plot. If readers don't understand the world, they won't understand the stakes

@Odierno164

So it seems to me that your problem has three causes which I’ll address separately.

Firstly, you seem to be falling foul of the show don’t tell rule. Summarising plot points like “oh, I see, so if I fail X I’m dead” is almost the definition of telling instead of showing. This is particularly evident with you bit about the magic course turning you into a sociopath. Instead of just telling your readers the magic users are sociopaths consider having your magic using characters act like sociopaths. And if you want your readers to pick up on it being more than a minor inconvenience, then have it be more than a minor inconvenience to your magic using characters. Having a character go through this process in the narrative and show the marked changes in their behaviour will also show readers this affect much better than just telling them.

(addition for clarification)

Argued dialogue can still be exposition if the argument itself is not what your trying to convey, but what the argument is about is what your trying to convey.
E.g. an argument about how becoming a Prime may get the MC killed will demonstrate that the character arguing with the MC cares about them and doesn’t want them to die, as that’s what’s being shown, instead of showing that the MC is willing to take risks for the sake of power, as that’s not being demonstrated its been told to the readers.

So if being a sociopath is why the MC is taking the risk to become a Prime then maybe have him take smaller risks to get little bits of power first and maybe show someone else trying to become a Prime and failing. So you show that he’ll take risks and you show the stakes.

You can still have it mentioned in the arguments to help drive the point home but demonstrating it will have a greater impact.

Now this isn’t to say you can’t ever tell anything, but if you can show it you should probable do so, as it will resonate with readers and be remembered much more often.

Secondly motivations for characters should be emotional, as building an emotional connection with readers is what makes people want to continue reading your story; in order to find out what happens to your characters. Having read your example though I can’t tell what your character’s emotional motivation is. It seems like by becoming a Prime they’ll get more power and influence but why do they want that? Your summarised bit of “oh, I see, so if I fail X I’m dead” tells us what will happen if he fails but if the motivation is, I don’t want to die, he could just not take the gamble.
So what bit of your world does your protagonist actually want?

Do they need the legal immunity because a load of dark criminal secrets are about to be revealed and destroy him? Then the readers will learn becoming a Prime gets you legal immunity.

Do they need the power because a rival family is undermining them to make the family destitute but becoming a Prime will make them untouchable? The readers will then remember the power a Prime gets.

Showing which bit of the world is actually part of your character’s emotional motivation will help determine which bits of the world your readers remember most.

The final part is slightly tangential to your question and ties in somewhat with the second bit on motivations.

It also may or may not relate to you specifically but is worth mentioning for others who have similar problems with worldbuilding exposition.

Namely people read stories for the exciting and emotional tales of the characters in them and it’s only after a reader gets emotionally invested in the story that they will then want to read about the world in general. As the author however you’re really interested in the world, you’ve created, in general and it can be easy to write loads of expositional worldbuilding that you find really cool, but that your readers won’t, because they don’t have the emotional investment in it that you do as the author.

This means that sometimes you need to bite the bullet and just cut worldbuilding exposition, or at least reduce it to passing mentions. This can be hard because you’ve put a lot into the worldbuilding and really care about it but for the good of the story it is sometimes necessary.

So ask yourself if the bits of your worldbuilding your readers are having trouble getting are really needed for the story, and if not then consider reducing it to a mere mention or cutting it.
Turning it into passing mentions can have the advantage of turning it into a mystery that will intrigue people, so its not all bad. It also can still be used in sequels, prequels or other stories set in the same universe, and having it all planned out makes consistency between works much easier.

Now obviously creating a real and vibrant setting can make a work much more engaging, but its still the characters and the specific story we’re reading that we will really engage with and remember.

I hope this helps, and welcome to the site.

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