World-building

The man walked through the village and down to the harbor.

I bet every single one of you just had totally different visions of that sentence.  Not one of you would have pictured the exact same thing.  It was a pretty bland sentence, wasn't it?  That's because it has no detail, no description.  You have no idea of what this place really looks like.  How about this:

He hurried along the cobbled road past wooden homes with thatched roofs and he headed for the harbor where his ship lay in wait at the docks.

A bit more descriptive, wasn't it?  Add a few more sentences (describe the people, the sound of the waves lapping the shore and the screeching of seagulls, describe the ships, etc.) and you will paint a more precise picture of this little village by the sea.  That's what world-building is all about.  You don't need to describe every single part of your world or where ever the story takes place.  But just describe enough to make it believable.

The trick is not to tell me about every building, every person, every ship, that is contained within the scene.  The trick is to tell me just enough so that I take for granted that the rest of the world exists.

If you can accomplish that, one more layer has been added to the story and it will contain depth.  It will seem full and I won't bother questioning your reality.  As for the world's rules, well, I couldn't care less whether you take up the laws of physics, crumple them in a ball and chuck 'em out the window.  At least I will believe that that is how is is supposed to be.

~Catherine