In a post on Lit Hub by Erika Swyler says that, like set design in any stage play, worldbuilding is important for every kind of fiction, not only genre. “Genre frequently needs its logic defined, which is perhaps why worldbuilding is often considered a genre-only concern,” Swyler writes. “For literary fiction in contemporary or recent time periods, it’s often unnecessary to spend lengthy passages describing world forces; readers come in with real-world reference points.”
Minimalism is also a kind of worldbuilding, as in the work of Raymond Carver. “His set might be a collection of furniture strewn on a lawn without explanation, as in Why Don’t You Dance?” Swyler notes. “The story’s force isn’t in external pressures, complex logic, political machinations, or a perfectly drawn late 1970s America. The focus is interiority, physicality, character interaction, and questioning.”
However, in strange worlds, internal logic and design take on more importance. “It’s good to keep efficiency in mind,” Swyler says. “Worldbuilding is clothing, food, and language choice—each a lock on a spinning panel. Efficiency in these choices, relying on reader knowledge and extrapolating on it, means that when diving into the unfamiliar, perhaps the inside of a giant sentient machine, there’s room for intricate set design and logic.”
When setting takes over the stage, logic and detail matter more. “It’s worth noting that extensive worldbuilding and opulent sets often sacrifice other things,” Swyler writes. A story with an opulent setting may sacrifice some character intimacy and the setting may even become a character.
While theater lends itself to spectacle, most novels land somewhere between the minimalist and ornate approaches to worldbuilding. Internal world logic and settings help shape your novel and provide context. Readers need enough information to ground themselves in the story and understand the relationship between character and world, but don’t need to read a full history lesson. “When drafting, remember every bit of worldbuilding that makes it to the page—be it magic system or apartment complex—adds to the set, and stage space is limited,” Swyler adds. “Is it essential history, or one too many candelabras? Even within genres, like fantasy, that allow for lengthier books, each worldbuilding addition means slightly less room for characters to move.”
