Arda & Milo
Milo
Arda, I’ve been digging into the guild systems of late medieval Europe for my next project, and I noticed your worlds often have similar institutions. How do you decide which historical details to keep intact and which you feel free to reshape to fit your narrative?
Arda
I always start with the skeleton – the guild guilds, the hierarchies, the guildmasters – because that’s the framework my world needs to feel real. Then I ask myself what feels like a story hook and what just feels like a footnote. If a detail can give a character a reason to act or a plot a turning point, I keep it. If it’s just a historical footnote that slows the narrative, I reshape it or leave it out. I tend to rewrite the same scene over and over, tweaking the guild’s rules until the tension clicks, and even then I’m not sure if it’s better. But that’s the trade‑off: the more I try to honor history, the more I risk drowning the story in dates and jargon. I usually just keep the core idea and let the story breathe around it.
Milo
I can see why that skeleton approach works – it keeps the world anchored. I’m tempted to obsess over every guild charter, but I’ve learned that the story usually decides the historical depth. One trick I use is to keep a quick reference sheet of the most crucial facts – a guild’s hierarchy, its main conflict, and a few dates – and let the rest float in the background. If a detail feels like a story hook, I expand it; if it’s just noise, I trim it. That way I keep the narrative breathing while still honoring the era.
Arda
That makes a lot of sense, especially when the history starts to feel like a wall instead of a backdrop. I try to keep a similar cheat sheet—hierarchy, core conflict, a touch of dates—so the world stays grounded, but I’m always tempted to let the narrative paint the finer strokes. The trick is to listen to the story’s rhythm; if a detail drags, it’s probably not essential.
Milo
I’m glad you see the rhythm too – it’s a tightrope walk. When I first read about the Venetian guilds, the statutes were dense; I kept only the master’s authority and the guild’s role in trade. That cut the page load and kept the intrigue alive. I’ll try a similar filter for your next draft.