JKR filled her world with such minute details, and loads of them, that her critics claimed it was over done. But consider her primary market--kids eat this stuff up, quite literally:
• Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans
• Drooble's Best Blowing Gum
• Chocolate Frogs
• Cauldron Cakes
• Licorice Wands
• Pepper Imps
• Sugar Quills
• Blood Flavored Lollipops
• Cockroach Clusters
• Fudge Flies
• Butterbeer
• Gillywater
• Ogden’s Old Firewhiskey
• Pumpkin Pasties
• Jelly Slugs
• Acid Pops
• Hagrid’s Treacle Fudge
• Magotty Haggis (served at the Deathday Party)
This is a short list, just to give you the idea of the minute and interesting detail she puts into every ounce of her worldbuilding. Notice not only does she pay attention to the foods that her characters eat, but she made her confections fun and appealing to her age group. I mean, who couldn't love a cockroach cluster?
Here's another list for a slightly different focus:
• Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage (includes the Draught of Living Death)
• An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe
• The Beaters' Bible by Brutus Scrimgeour (wonder if he’s related to Rufus Scrimgeour)
• Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul
• Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian
• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
• Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming
• The Dream Oracle by Inigo Imago
• Guide to Advanced Transfiguration
• Hairy Snout, Human Heart
• A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
• Hogwarts: A History (a major treasure troves of information)
• Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean (talks about Gillyweed)
• Magick Most Evile (mentions the Horcrux)
• The Monster Book of Monsters
• Moste Potente Potions (includes the Polyjuice Potion)
• Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy
• Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes
• Prefects Who Gained Powerhttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5330251478298712601&postID=4772635350047624639
• Quintessence: A Quest (a clue to the series' theme)
• The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts
• Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky
What is really cool about this list of books, beyond the fact that I'd like to buy them all, is that most of them are not just throw-away detail, but contain clues toward the series. Indeed, most of her details add something beyond mere description, whether hiding or highlighting a clue, or providing information on the backstory of the characters and setting. Very little of her zoom details are thrown in just as fluff.
The details you will add to your story will vary greatly by genre and target audience. A mystery should be filled with clues or red herrings. A romance will be packed with hints of the developing love between characters, with their backstory packing emotional luggage. A thriller or suspense should have details that hike the tension and darken the feel. But make each one serve double-duty, not just to lay building blocks for your world, but to also build character, hide clues, highlight themes, and hint at the plot to come.
What fun worldbuilding details have you layered into your world? And what purpose do they serve beyond mere window dressing?
Also Recommended:
See TS Tate's World Building and a Cure for the Block. She gives excellent examples of how JKR uses sensory details to build her world!
