Plot for the World or World for the Plot?

World-building is the sine qua non of fiction. The construction of a coherent fictional world enables the narrative to operate within constraints that make sense to the reader. Without these constraints, it would not be possible to build tension because anything could happen. Instead of telling a story, the writer would engage in an exercise of logic. It would be an exploration of endless hypothetical ventures. In order for a narrative to work as such, the plot needs a playground, a sandbox with rules, a framework with which the writer ensures coherence and which allows the reader to understand what goes and what does not. The fictional world is the grammar of the story. The plot is the words.

In a well written story, as loose as the term may be, the world and the plot form a symbiotic relationship. Neither should be overemphasized or neglected. With too much focus on plot, the reader will not experience looking at events in a fictional world but rather observe a sequence of shallow plot devices that drive the action but have their end in themselves rather than in a meaningful context. However, if the story gets bogged down in an overly detailed exploration of the fictional world, it loses the momentum which is necessary to navigate through meaningful events that supposedly impact the world–it becomes static.

Carefully balancing these aspects of writing is key to making a story work. For example, let us consider the importance of exposing the reader to starship bridge operations in Star Trek. It is essential to know what the senior staff’s tasks are on the bridge. This can be explained explicitly or implicitly, but should not be delved into in too much detail. We need to know that the conn officer is flying the ship while the tactical officer operates weapons and shields, the captain is giving the orders, the first officer is backing him up, and the operations officer is doing something that falls in none of the other departments. And it is also good to know that since people need a break every now and then, the stations are manned in shifts. Further, there is also backup personnel on the bridge for when a senior staff member needs to leave for another task or is wounded (because we all know they do not have fuses in the future), they can take the station and ensure that ship can be operated.

Unless it is necessary for the plot, we do not need to know the working hours or the exact shipboard time. We do not need to know the rotation pattern or the names and rank and background of every single officer who has worked a station on the bridge. However, when something plot-relevant happens, we need to have the knowledge to properly embed it in the coherent world-context, or we will end up scratching our heads and wonder why things have happened the way they did. One such example is when Commander Riker takes the helm in a combat situation in Star Trek: Insurrection. It is an extremely unconventional move that defies our knowledge of bridge operations. And if we try to explain it with knowledge and logic that reaches beyond what the narrative has exposed to us, there seems to be no reason for the acting commanding officer to abandon his post of command, where he has the overview of all operations, and take manual control of the ship away from the conn officer, the latter being perfectly capable of performing her duties. It can be explained somehow, of course, but it still leaves a chink in the flow the plot because the plot device does not cooperate well with the fictional world in this case.

Therefore, the act of world-building is crucial. Not all details that the writer creates for the story’s fictional world need to make it into the final narrative, but they serve as a scaffold to ensure coherence. A complete concept of a starship’s bridge crew operates and what their responsibilities are is important for both the writer and the reader. The reader need not know the concept in its entirety, and it is up to the writer to decide how much to reveal–mainly in regard to how much is necessary for the plot. This is where the writer is tasked with balancing the exposition of the built fictional world with the plot drive to ensure a smooth ride.