Your story world is the stage on which the story unfolds. Through visual media such as theatre or movies, the audience is presented with visuals of the world, which can immediately convey the physical space as well as a lot of atmosphere. In writing, it’s up to you to use words to convey the world to your reader.
The immediate go-to is physical description. What does the world look like? The visual aspect alone helps ground the reader in the space the characters inhabit, and avoids the action happening in a Matrix-style white room. Visuals alone can also go a long way to establishing mood through things like quality of light, and character through observation of crucial details, especially in someone’s personal space.
But delving deeper can do far more than that, and draw the reader into the heart of the story.
Engage the senses
For many of us, vision is our dominant sense so it’s natural to focus first on what the characters see. But a compelling story will engage more senses.
Very few places are truly silent, so what does the character hear? Obviously spoken dialogue implicitly uses hearing, but what about background noise? Every setting has its own soundscape with noises in the foreground, middle distance, and background just like a visual scene. What are the qualities of the different layers of sound? Soft or loud, jarring or soothing, rhythmic or chaotic, natural or man-made?
Tactile senses add another layer to your world. How does it feel to be there? There’s the obvious whole-body sensations of heat and cold, dry and humid, air movements or stillness. What about the feel of the floor or ground underfoot: hard or yielding, rough or even, slippery or giving firm footing? And then there’s the texture of things you touch, or the feel of clothing – the squelch of waterlogged shoes, or the rasp of wind-blown grit under the collar. Beyond seeing and hearing, feeling is the sense that really places the reader into the scene.
Finally, smell and taste are oft-overlooked senses, but they tap directly into our primitive brain and can offer very powerful emotional triggers. Are there odors prevalent in the scene: cooking, perfume, flowers, waste, burning … natural or artificial, clean or dirty, pleasant or disgusting, subtle or overpowering?
Engage the emotions
Simply describing your setting (through all the senses) paints a picture for the reader, but just as important is how it affects your character(s).
Emotional triggers are highly subjective and personal, so your reader may have personal reactions to elements of your descriptions. You have no control over that. But what you do control is how aspects of the setting trigger your characters. Does a sight/sound/touch/smell bring back memories or trigger powerful reactions? In your character’s state of mind, what aspects would they be most alert to and take note of? Are they looking for somewhere to hide, something to eat, shelter or safety? Do they have particular interests (or obsessions) or goals in mind that will home in on particular details?
How your character perceives the world is a vital aspect of worldbuilding. It helps develop the character and brings the reader deeper into their point of view. It also influences what details you choose to include in your descriptions, which in turn lends credibility to your story.
Ian S. Bott, Writer and artist 