this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2026
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Worldbuilding

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So, here's the thing. I have this setting I've been working on for years now. And the setting ended up with almost 5000 years of extensive lore, and you need to be familiar with several different philosophies and cultures to understand any of it. I was trying to come up with some names for characters in a story I am writing in said setting. And when I was researching how names and languages change I was struck with a thought. Am I overcomplicating this? Do I really need an explanation why there is a guy named "Al Banian" and why the name is actually a remnant from a completely different reality? I'm getting to the point where the lore is so complex it starts to sound stupid if you don't know all the details. Case and point, a guy named "Al Banian".

Another example. There are several creation myths, and three of them are technically correct.

I need some advice. Feel free to ask questions.

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[–] DMCMNFIBFFF@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

As I'm sure as many others have, I've spent a lot of time with background too.

What I might do is release a version that's for a typical reader, i.e. one who's not as interested in my story as I am; and then release a background to it later for the few who might be interested.

Maybe just tell the readers what Al Banian does or did, and if they're interested, they can read up about him in your notes.

There's also the possibility that if you don't explain, others might come up with their own, and a few of those might be interesting.