The quickest way to get me uninterested in a story is by opening it with an expository monologue. Controversial statement, I know. But it's something I bring up because it's still a very important point to reiterate, because too often - especially in works of fantasy or science fiction - the person telling the story feels the need to front-end a bunch of maps, important dates, and a general overview of the history of the kingdom/colony/intergalactic empire.
And I kind of get the appeal of this "history textbook" approach to world-building. If it's good enough for Tolkien, it's good enough for you, right?
Wrong. People have been aping Tolkien for years now and quite frankly I'm sick of it. So here's what you should do instead of opening your book with a glossary of terms and technologies you'll only define this once or your movie with (God help you) a character giving an overwrought voice-over explaining why dragons are so important or how magic works in this particular universe: Have your characters go to lunch. This is how you get in your world-building and introduce your characters to the audience in one fell swoop.
As far as the latter is concerned, I can only point to the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. For starters, it reveals the rapport that exists between the various members of the gang and their working relationship. It does this not by telling you what role each of these guys are supposed to fill (The Psycho, The Professional, The Softie, etc...) but by showing you how they interact with other humans when they all sit down to one of the most commonplace activities imaginable. Tarantino even goes so far as to offer subtle but very important clues as to the true nature of each of the characters, and this is all so essential because the movie is pretty much just a character study of a few individuals as they argue in an otherwise empty warehouse.
But to get back to worldbuilding, having your characters go to lunch can be very revealing of the sort of society they inhabit as well. What sort of food do they order? What type of restaurant are they going to? Is it one the characters would regularly frequent, or is it outside of their regular social or cultural millieu? Can you get all of this across by telling how the character inhabits the space rather than simply informing us about these details in the most obvious way imaginable?
Tell me which of these gets you more willing to read the rest of the story:
The Tahluvian Protectorate had been the scene of grisly violence during the War for Colonial Independence, a fact of which Kresler was intimately aware thanks to his service with the Federal Legions. They were the ones who had fought the rebel armies on countless planets, bringing a wary peace to a sector that seemed all too ready to break out into open warfare again at a moment's notice.
Or:
"Awright, get the pump going. I'm gonna get us something to eat."
"Oh no you're not."
Kresler stopped in his tracks and whirled back to face his companion, an incredulous look on his face.
"Excuse me?"
"You want to eat there? That prefab shithole?" She jutted her chin out in the direction of the squat rectangular building colored a ghastly bright orange that had been dumped on the side of the road by the fuel station.
"...yeah?"
"No! I mean, if you want to pump all that synthetic garbage into your body go right ahead, but I'd like to live past my first hundred, thank you very much." Kresler put his hands on his hips, biting his lower lip in frustration.
"Fine then. Where would you like to eat, madame?" If Ika noticed the sarcasm, she didn't make any indication. She looked out and off the landing pad to the wooden shack resting next to the woods at the pad's base. Kresler could just tell the words "quaint" and "rustic" were running through her head, and not anything like his memories of the overpriced diarrhea he'd suffered at the hands of a similar-looking establishment years ago.
But they were on a timetable, and he'd learned his lesson from the past two days. He sighed.
"Fine. But whatever you order, we're getting it to go. I want to jump outta here in ten minutes, okay?"
---
So that's my advice. Open your science-fiction or fantasy story by having your characters go to lunch. I guarantee it will do wonders for both the world and characters you're trying to construct. Full disclosure: I have nothing to back up that guarantee but a winning smile.
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