This might be a tad odd, but do you have any advice on indexes/guides? Many stories with important features or unfamiliar landscapes have information of species or terrain or a map, be it for aesthetic or make things more organized.
Hello! I do have a few things to say on the subject. This is something I’ve actually commented on pretty frequently in editing and critiquing fantasy novels, so it’s thing a lot of people struggle with…even if they don’t know it. ;)
Using Reference Materials in your Novel
It’s pretty standard for Sci-Fi/Fantasy to include some amount of reference materials in the book. But when do you need to? What is acceptable? And how much is too much?
Speculative fiction tends to, more than other genres, take place in brand new worlds with unknown histories and structures. And so we, as writers, often have a TON of notes on the subject. In early drafts, that might sneak its way in as unneeded exposition. It’s hard to strike the right balance of pacing and intrigue in a novel when there’s so much background the reader doesn’t have.
So once a writer has whittled the novel down to the perfect length for the story and narrative flow, it’s easy to be tempted to stick indexes, guides, images…all manner of reference in the front or the back of the book so that the reader has all of that complicated information at their finger tips. It will help them understand the world! If they get lost, they can refer back and get back on track! They NEED this!
Here’s the thing: your narrative needs to be strong enough to carry that information on its own. You should not rely upon guides or indexes or glossaries to make your book readable.
Including reference materials in your novel is a-okay as long as you follow a few easy rules. I’m not going to stand here and tell you not to put glossaries or maps or anything in your book because that would be crazy. For fantasy, especially, it’s almost expected that you’ll have such things. The key is how to create them and how to use them so that they enhancing your reader’s experience rather than detract from it (or stop it all together).
If yes, GREAT. Stick it in the front of the book, no questions asked. People will likely skip over it for the most part, at least at first, but it’s there and you’re already cluing the reader in that this story is set in another world. You’re also, based on the quality and accuracy of the illustration, giving them an established tone and possibly time-period orientation for the story. (Old time-y map, vs. pirate map vs. futuristic map. It can say a lot.)
I will be writing a brainstorming series post on map making in the near future.
2. Include your alphabetized, concise glossary in the back of the book.
Make each definition short and only include words that are used in the novel. But remember not to rely upon the glossary. Words, when used in the book, should be able to be figured out by context.
3. Make sure any illustrations, visuals, or diagrams you use are important, attractive, and in the back of the book.
In a project of mine, I use one illustration in addition to the map because the exact image, while described within the narrative, is central to the character’s understanding of their own magic system. The reader doesn’t need it, really. It doesn’t give vital information or fill in gaps that are left out of the book…but it does say something about the culture and its presence in the book speaks to the importance of that image (which is, once again, discussed in the book) to the characters and their society. I include it because it deepens the world a little and it’s fun.
In the past, I have included diagrams and other such things, but I had beta-readers admit that they didn’t really pay attention to them, they weren’t beneficial, or weren’t interesting. So they were cut. The novel is easier to swallow in one look because of it.
4. Consider: Is it important to you or to the characters?
If it’s the former, your reader will likely not care that much. The latter is much more interesting because the reader just spent 300 pages or so getting to know the characters, so coming across something in the back that they know was of interest to the characters is automatically more intriguing.
5. Don’t use footnotes unless it very specifically fits into the tone of the book.
If you’re writing an epic fantasy, you don’t need footnotes. Use your writing skillz to the max and do all vital info-dumping within the narrative. If it doesn’t fit into the narrative, maybe reconsider its importance.
If, however, you’re writing a book about a scholar or archaeologist who is studying the ancient ruins of a now-dead planet in which the voice and tone are all very academic, then footnotes might fit very well into that style.
Even then, though, reeeeaaaaallllly think about it.
6. Don’t include too much.
It pretty much all comes down to this. Are the materials you’re including going to truly enhance the reader’s experience? What will the average, relatively lazy reader think when they see all the extra non-story stuff you’ve included? Just like the importance of being concise with your narrative, choose only the most important words to add in your reference stuff. Don’t be repetitive only, but help flesh out the details of the world of your book that are really going to be interesting.
Your reader will open your book with no context, no preconceived love of your world or your characters or your story. So all that extra information will mean nothing to them. That’s why it belongs at the back of the book. If they open the book and see pre-reading infomational materials, then they might decide that your book isn’t worth it…not if it requires this much study before diving in.
Earn their desire for more knowledge by first writing a compelling and deep story. Then, at the end of the book, if they want to know more, it’s there waiting for them, to help appease their hungry minds.
Make it your goal to make them want to read all your reference material.
That’s a goal that can only be accomplished by writing an awesome story.
