Worldbuilding: when is it too much?

[serria]

I, along with a couple other members of this community, absolutely love world building. In stories that take place in non-Earth settings, I love developing cultures, religions, ecosystems - you name it. Part of the appeal is the freedom to be god without worrying about mucking up details, but mostly I just love the opportunity to be creative.

But as I write "original world" stories, I find myself struggling with a lexicon that's realistic to my world without being annoying. Here's an example: if characters in a fantasy world have a concept of named days/weeks, should they use Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.? How about January, February, and so forth? It would be strange for a culture that had no Roman or Germanic history to use names blatantly rooted in such, just as it might be for these characters to celebrate Christmas. Is it therefore more helpful to invent new named days and months, or does simply confuse the readers unnecessarily, and it is permissible to "translate" a fantasy world into common vernacular?

When does "changing names" go from being world building, to falling under "Call A Rabbit A 'Smeerp'" territory?

In the same ballpark, but more extreme, should the words that characters use, or I use in my narration, be subject to world realism? Is it strange to use the word "maudlin" when the word comes from Mary Magdalene? Okay, that's a radical example, but I think most readers would be thrown out of a story if a character stubbed his toe and shouted "Jesus Christ!", even though the expression is better understood than perhaps a fantasy counterpart - so where is the line between making language and the world understandable to readers, and retaining world realism?

Comments

[serria]

Maudlin was kind of an extreme example (though I admit it did cross my mind when I used it). But I don't know. The days of the week thing, I feel like it would depend on the atmosphere of the story. If it is a very similar world to Earth (modern day, or a historic society that actually used those names), it'd probably be more jarring to rename them. But if I were reading about a fantasy world that has no connection at all to those named days or months, or is based off of a historic society that would not have used them - I don't know, I think it might strike me as a little off. It might have to do with my love and academic interest in history, but I get thrown off by things I see as inauthentic.

Granted, if it is your fantasy world or alternate universe, it's really up to you to decide what names you use, and maybe your characters actually do have Mondays. But I feel like, for me, as a reader, I like authenticity - but at the same time, if your people have a seven day week, and those days have names, is it worth it to rename them when they essentially have the same meaning? Or is that just "calling a rabbit a smeerp" and obnoxious?

Another example in my own story that I am uncertain about is political titles. Rather than use things like "duke" or "earl", I created my own titles for lords of different ranks - I think at the time, I mostly wanted to show off the flavor of my world's language when they are, obviously, speaking in English (but not really). And I wanted to create a concise political system that was much more simplified than real life titles. I chiseled out a system that worked for my world, but looking back, I wonder how obnoxious it comes across, or even unnecessarily confusing.

I think I might go overboard with world building. lol