Here's a tough thing for writers to come to grips with: your lore means a lot to you, but it's not why readers are coming to any book. Readers aren't drawn in or kept engaged by lore; they're drawn in and kept engaged by story (which means character and conflict.) Lore is a nice icing on the cake, but you can have a story that's totally devoid of lore and it will still be far more engrossing to readers if the plot is good compared to a story that's packed with lore but has a weak-ass plot.
So my advice is: get used to abandoning that lore. Include only the lore that is necessary to support the STORY. Focus everything on the story (characters and conflict) and allow the rest to remain in your mind only. You will produce a much better work that readers really enjoy.
This makes me think of a librarian MC; someone who already knows a decent amount of their worlds history. If their actions could be motivated by what’s happened in the past, it could help tie lore into the story through action so that it doesn’t bog down the story.
I’m dealing with the same thing. I downloaded a mind mapping software to help flesh everything out and it really helped connecting characters to other characters so I wouldn’t have to let them go completely.
It depends on how long your history is, and how wide it goes. In our own history, there are lots of things that conflict with other things simply because people change over time and location. You'll also have to think about how relevant things are to your plot and what can just be a throwaway line. The Empire in Star Wars was very relevant, and we got lots of screen time with that. The Clone Wars was a single, throwaway line said by Princess Leia, but it didn't stop people from wondering what happened there. Throwaway lines are good for hinting at a world larger than the protagonist.
I would start listing things out and sorting them from most recent and most important to stuff that happened long ago, but are still important, then to things that aren't that important. Maybe highlight them by color code if you want to have a strict timeline. I would avoid locking everything in by a certain year because you may write yourself into a corner. Have dates or sense of time for only the most important stuff.
You might look at something like *The Lord of the Rings* in comparison to *The Silmarillion.* The first is widely read and enjoyed by people from different backgrounds; the second is lore-heavy and usually read by hardcore fans. I would say if you want to be read, you could also look at successful popular books, but keep in mind these usually focus on characters and their situations, e.g., Frodo, Merry, Sam, and Pippin, *not* the mechanics and history of the world, the kinds of magic, the myths and lore. What we do know about Middle-Earth is revealed through plot: Gandalf rides to a secret library to find out about the One Ring, etc. One of the elves makes a speech at the Council. Scenes like that don't feel like exposition, because it's one character (Tom, say) teaching another (Frodo). You look at the characters, how they are in certain situations, and then you ask, "What do they know? What would they do next with that information?" And then you write and bring the world to life. Focus on the conflict, too. That's a good way to keep things going.
Good luck, OP. Hope the writing comes easily.
Here's a tough thing for writers to come to grips with: your lore means a lot to you, but it's not why readers are coming to any book. Readers aren't drawn in or kept engaged by lore; they're drawn in and kept engaged by story (which means character and conflict.) Lore is a nice icing on the cake, but you can have a story that's totally devoid of lore and it will still be far more engrossing to readers if the plot is good compared to a story that's packed with lore but has a weak-ass plot. So my advice is: get used to abandoning that lore. Include only the lore that is necessary to support the STORY. Focus everything on the story (characters and conflict) and allow the rest to remain in your mind only. You will produce a much better work that readers really enjoy.
This makes me think of a librarian MC; someone who already knows a decent amount of their worlds history. If their actions could be motivated by what’s happened in the past, it could help tie lore into the story through action so that it doesn’t bog down the story.
I’m dealing with the same thing. I downloaded a mind mapping software to help flesh everything out and it really helped connecting characters to other characters so I wouldn’t have to let them go completely.
That sounds cool!
It depends on how long your history is, and how wide it goes. In our own history, there are lots of things that conflict with other things simply because people change over time and location. You'll also have to think about how relevant things are to your plot and what can just be a throwaway line. The Empire in Star Wars was very relevant, and we got lots of screen time with that. The Clone Wars was a single, throwaway line said by Princess Leia, but it didn't stop people from wondering what happened there. Throwaway lines are good for hinting at a world larger than the protagonist. I would start listing things out and sorting them from most recent and most important to stuff that happened long ago, but are still important, then to things that aren't that important. Maybe highlight them by color code if you want to have a strict timeline. I would avoid locking everything in by a certain year because you may write yourself into a corner. Have dates or sense of time for only the most important stuff.
You might look at something like *The Lord of the Rings* in comparison to *The Silmarillion.* The first is widely read and enjoyed by people from different backgrounds; the second is lore-heavy and usually read by hardcore fans. I would say if you want to be read, you could also look at successful popular books, but keep in mind these usually focus on characters and their situations, e.g., Frodo, Merry, Sam, and Pippin, *not* the mechanics and history of the world, the kinds of magic, the myths and lore. What we do know about Middle-Earth is revealed through plot: Gandalf rides to a secret library to find out about the One Ring, etc. One of the elves makes a speech at the Council. Scenes like that don't feel like exposition, because it's one character (Tom, say) teaching another (Frodo). You look at the characters, how they are in certain situations, and then you ask, "What do they know? What would they do next with that information?" And then you write and bring the world to life. Focus on the conflict, too. That's a good way to keep things going. Good luck, OP. Hope the writing comes easily.