How do I provide background information for a fantasy story?

Question

I am writing a fantasy story. I have a lot of background information that I need so that the readers can understand my world. But I'm not sure one how to show this information. Should I write an introductory chapter/prologue, or what?

Answer 1

I hate prologues and introductory chapters in most books. Few authors can do them really well, and most books would be just fine if they were cut off. Many writers have a proclivity for giving too much information, when they should just get to the story and let details come out as needed.

But, this is your book, not mine!

Pick up some of your favorite fantasy books and study the first few chapters. How does the author convey the information that he or she needs to get across? Have you read prologues that you really liked or disliked? Why were they so good or bad?

Why not start writing the story, and see how it comes out. Once you start getting the action on paper then you may have a better sense about what needs clarifying and how to incorporate it. No one said you have to start writing a story at the beginning!

Answer 2

Well, you can write an introductory chapter - that's what I usually do - or you can simply grab the reader's interest with a completely different universe and integrate the necessary information into the entire book.

Answer 3

You must study the works of others who have worked in the same way. For example, Austin Tappan Wright imagined completely the world of "Islandia" decades before he wrote it. A critic called it, "the very Devonian outcrop of Neverneverland." A second author is William Rice Burroughs. He wrote 30+ Tarzan novels and 10 novels about John Carter of Mars. Burroughs daydreamed about it for decades until he was encouraged to write "the stories." (Note: The first three Tarzan stories are good. The first three Mars stories are good. Do not stray.) A third author is Margaret Mitchell, "Gone with the Wind." I think, but I do not know, that Margaret Mitchell wrote in the same way: She imagined completely the way of life that was, "gone, gone with the wind."

Answer 4

Well, I gave some details about the main character and the setting, and got started. The rest I explained as I came to. You don't really want to tell everything there is to know about the background at first (it will get boring). You can explain a little here and there as needed and in some cases explain things through dialogue (really depends on who the characters are and what they know). Use variety, and dont say too much at once.

Answer 5

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers. Not your typical fantasy novel, but amazing. Also, books by David Eddings, and by David and Leigh Eddings.