There’s a pop-culture tendency to point at structures like Hadrian’s Wall or the Great Wall of China and laugh because “they didn’t keep invaders out.” But that betrays a very limited understanding of what a wall is for.

A fictional world is potentially infinite in its detail, just like the real world. How do you decide when to say, that’s enough — I’m done worldbuilding? This question is, among other things, a matter of taste, which means there’s no actual “right answer” apart from the one that suits your preferences. I think it’s […]