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This week: Showcasing Worlds in Terms and Phrases Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
A quick glance at small ways to show the world that come about in dialogue, thought and other quick spots. The terms and phrases we create (or are characters come up with) help give the reader insight into the world of the story. |
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Worlds are hard to create and even more of a challenge to showcase in a limited amount of words. Sure, we can do paragraphs to try showing different elements and specific things in order to help the reader envision the worlds our characters exist within but still there are limits. Plus, not everyone likes reading long sections that are describing things. Those aren't the only methods for showing bits of world either. One can also do a little periodically to help illuminate the world through much smaller sections of story. I've touched on the small moments in the past but a recent novel read reminded me of how our characters can help by the terms and phrases they use.
Example: He's such a blowfish, thought the mermaid.
Having the character even use specific sea culture for general comments or a little bit of name calling helps show her background. Could even be used without calling her a mermaid once that has been established in the novel and the nautical or fish based terms and phrases help emphasize that feature.
That's just one of many examples from the YA mermaid book I finished reading on vacation. And she calls the one particular boy a blowfish several times. Of course, it's not the only sea based term she uses. Often either in thought or occasionally in a verbal note, she'd use phrases and sayings that were very much under the sea focused. Made sure you didn't forget those elements.
I've used some of this myself in a story I'm creating. I wrote a couple short bits where the characters are based off birds, they aren't actually birds but are called such. The main characters, for example, are mostly from the raven clan. When going out on patrol they often refer to the method of travel as flying. Insults include saying things like "son of a hen" and "wood pecker" plus a non-raven, falcon instead, teases the one character about preening. It's those little elements that help build up the world, or at least they can help.
Have to be careful not to do too much, on the other hand. Little terms and phrases can help but if you do it all of the time then it becomes more of a distraction than anything else. It's like using dialect or other methods of speech to showcase certain aspects of character. Some can be helpful and really show but do it all of the time and well, that can get to the point where it's hard for people to even read the story.
It's all in a matter of finding balance. Whether you find the terms and phrases when building the world, for those of you that prep or actually put effort to build the worlds beforehand, or if you just find them along the way, you'll get there in the end. The characters will get a little more life to them and your world will show just a little more. Plus, it's kind of fun to find those elements and have them work in a story. Keep writing and discover what happens next. |
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Is there any term or phrase your character uses that also showcases the world created for the story?
Last time, for the fantasy newsletter I discussed the different transportation options available for speculative fiction. Here are the two comments sent in about the topic:
Comment by eyestar~*
Wow! Thanks dawn. This was interesting and inspires one to imagine. elves in cars? earth creatures with technology? Pondersome. 
- Thanks. I figure why not let them have a little tech, though still have a lot of work to do on the world and stories.
Comment by Azrael Tseng
In the city of Eden introduced in my novel 'Was Eternal', people go around in city-shared self-driving pods that are quantum-locked in place between five and ten meters above the ground, leaving plenty of obstacle-free pedestrian space for those who prefer to walk (almost none do). Ionised tracks buried beneath the surface and along the sides of buildings allow these pods to go anywhere, including vertically, so they act as personal elevators as well, completely eliminating the need for elevators and escalators. These are further stabilised such that the passengers do not feel any movement, and have inbuilt and impeccable anti-collision systems that boast a perfect accident record, since a singularity-level AI runs them and she's essentially unhackable. I devote a good half a chapter simply to expound on the mechanics and effectiveness of this transportation system, and spent weeks stretching into a good month doing technical research into all the different kinds of tech involved (including structural materials, power-source evolution etc.)
- Interesting.
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Fantasy: August 16, 2017 Issue [#8441]
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