To write a great story:

1. Make rules for your universe. Write them out for you to know
2. Convey them to the reader. They MUST understand!
3. Never defy them. Once established avoid breaking them at all costs.
4. Never mention them. Under no circumstance should the rules be addressed directly. Make them obvious through events and character development.

Stories work well when they feel genuine. The reader follows the story knowing there is a world that exists far beyond the story they are currently reading. Whether the story is set in a historical place or an imaginary place, establish the world so that the reader can enjoy the story. This doesn’t mean drop description bombs on the reader. Rather, the writer must learn to be subtle and through the events of the story and narrative convey the rules of the world without ever directly addressing them. The more differences to our own world introduced, the more focus required to get those details right. 

The writer should always be aware that the universe is where the characters work, live, and interact with one another and should as a result be given similar treatment to as the characters. Developed to such detail that the writer is always aware of how things function without having to give them much thought. The rules of the universe might conflict with the beliefs and goals of the characters and might give rise to natural conflicts within the story. These should be obviously apparent to the writer because the reader will notice if they’re not addressed.

Outlining the social and political elements, creating daily rituals and routines and understanding the history and current atmosphere of the universe are all important for full understanding. These details and rules must always fade into the background. The reader is focusing on the characters and the story. All aspects of the world don’t need to be explained or revealed to the reader. They must merely remain understood and consistent to never interrupt flow and logic within the story. Another way to think of this is: The writer should know all the details on all the things within the universe; the reader should know only the details that matter to the story and narrative within the universe.

Never disregard the rules because doing so can ruin tension and desperately introducing new rules to problem-solve shows poor skill and will force the reader to lose interest. There is nothing exciting about discovering something new just to get out of a jam. If the writer can’t write out of the predicament, change the predicament. It lends a richness to the writing, in addition to communicating to the readers and reinforcing the rules already laid out for the story and the world. Readers should have an understanding of what is going on, where and why. There should never be a moment in which events occur in a way the readers believe impossible within the world. All events, all character behaviors and all details about anything should always follow the rules established.

By introducing the vast majority of the base rules earlier in the story (woven carefully to fade into the background) and then building upon them as the story moves forward, the sensation of never describing how the world works but always having a full understanding of it is reached. A reading flow-state of sorts lends a smoothness in moving along from page to page. The reader won’t ever find themselves rereading in order to understand something new introduced late because it’s just a new way of using something old already established. They already had the parts which equal this new solution.

Never Address The Rules

Example 1: Wrong

*It’s always been Illegal to cross this particular section of the street because of previous accidents. This is why David always avoided it.*

This is the wrong approach. The rules are being directly addressed and come across as boring details.

Example 2: Right

*As David nears the street the man already halfway across gets halted by an officer, searched and then handcuffed. “You know the law, buddy. It’s downtown for you.”*

This second example hides the rule within an event taking place in the world and thus never addresses the rule directly.

Example 3: Wrong

*When a witch doesn’t truly comprehend the magic it has potential to backfire and can often hurt the witch.*

This third example again addresses the issue directly which is incorrect.

Example 4: Right

Wendy waves her wand and chants the spell for the first time. “Alba Amata!” she says just before a bright flash pushes her across the room and she slams into the wall behind her. The outcome she was looking for was nowhere in sight. “I need more practice.

This second example, again, disguises the rule as an event that conveys the rule to the reader without directly addressing the rule as a rule.

When best executed, comprehending the world that is being developed will make things easier for the writer to create and later for the reader to understand. It’s a win in every direction. Some of the greater writers of the world focused entirely on this particular version of Show vs Tell to such a degree that the reader might finish an entire novel and realize they never stumbled and had no technical questions throughout the entire process.

A great way to approach practicing this skill is to create a flash fiction story in which you first established 3 world rules and then you must convey them to the reader by the end of 500 words without ever addressing them directly. Constantly working on improving these skills will improve the quality of the writing significantly.