A couple of years ago I reblogged a similar post about a list of worldbuilding background details, several of which were a lot more nitpicking and frankly pointless.
There’s a lot of stuff a writer knows about their world that shouldn’t ever need to go onto the page. When it does, it should be (IMO, YMMV) to add detail as the plot requires it (technology, jobs) or to expand and colour the world for the reader’s enjoyment (toys, light sources). It should never be added merely to show how much research the writer has been doing.
A good reason for not “talking up” something without reason is seen in movies, where when the camera Pauses Significantly on something, that’s almost always a hint that it’s going to be Significant Later. Expending too much description on an object or incident which is simply providing worldbuilding colour may also suggest it’s going to be Significant Later and, when it isn’t, readers who’ve been expecting that may wonder if material has been left out somewhere.
Leave “subverting expectations” to those who’ve forgotten how to do anything else.
What kind of eating utensils do people use?
Chopsticks? Forks and spoons? Their hands?
Are the utensils provided by the meal’s host / eating establishment (if so, what quality and material are they?) or are they each diner’s personal equipment, like these?
Does the quality of an eating-set (”trousse”) or the way in which it’s used say more about the character using them than the character intended to reveal?
Dining errors are a good way to let characters give themselves away if the plot requires such a thing: do they eat with knife and fork or fork alone, do they break a roll or cut it, do they make a small heap of salt on the side of the plate or sprinkle it all over their food - all unthinking behaviour that can send a message without hitting that character with the Idiot Ball.
Leaving utensils aside, what’s the etiquette for eating with the hands? Use both?
How are the hands kept clean? Is licking fingers a courteous I-waste-nothing compliment to the food and its provider, or an ignorance of how to use finger-bowl and napkin?
If diners clean their plate does this show appreciation or hint that they weren’t given enough? If they leave food on their plate does this acknowledge the generosity of the serving or hint that they didn’t like what they were given? How much should / shouldn’t be left? What “one” is meant in “Leave one for Mr Manners”…?
Is refusing second helpings polite (please, keep something for yourself) or rude (do you think we’re that poor?) or is a certain amount of insistence (indulge yourself, go on, but it’s your favourite…) and refusal (I couldn’t, no really, not another crumb…) expected, followed by acceptance (oh, all right, thanks awfully, just a bit, you shouldn’t have…) after a certain number of exchanges?
All of these don’t just add colour and possibly humour, they can be a springboard for further developments, like finding out they really were that poor-but-proud after all…
What color is used for mourning and funerals?
Black? White? Red? Blue? No specific color? What does the color symbolize?
If a character who should be wearing mourning colours doesn’t, why not? Are they a foreigner who doesn’t know, or a local or even family member with reasons not to, and what reasons might be acceptable or totally beyond the pale?
Is an appropriately coloured armband / sash / hat-plume enough, or is anything short of full mourning clothes insufficient? How is accidental / deliberate failure to wear mourning regarded? Is “I’m foreign, I didn’t know” sufficient excuse, and if the foreigner puts on something in their own mourning colour(s) is that acceptable?
Worldbuilding is fun, especially since it can serve several functions at once.
