It’s kind of funny. We write fantasy where pretty much anything is possible and we still can get stuck writing what we know. Who came up with that concept anyway, write what you know.
Today, I came across this post Science in Science Fiction: seasons.
“Even on Earth, there are many places where the seasons don’t conform to this four-part structure at all. Anyone who has lived on or near the equator can tell you that the four seasons are total rubbish. The “summer” is isn’t any less warm than “winter”, and trees lose their leaves either not at all, whenever they damn well please, or in response to a dry period. Even further away from the equator, seasonal rainfall is a much more dominant factor in determining the season. Before the European concept of spring, summer, autumn and winter was adopted in these regions, native peoples had much better ways of describing local seasons. They usually involved the absence or presence of rain.”
Reading this article I was like, “Oh, that’s right!” I live with four seasons so it’s only natural my worlds have winter, summer, spring and fall. It never occurred to me to play with that concept. For my Merging Worlds Series, the main land in the book, Jael, has cold winters where most of the land in buried under snow. Still, the land has four seasons.
Most of the books I read are set in worlds based on medieval Europe. They all have four seasons. It’s nice reading Dark World where the land is underground and always dark. Now, that’s different.
I had a similar imagination block a couple of years ago. I was giving my characters realistic looking weapons when I didn’t have to. I talked about this in Stretch Your Imagination. Recently, building the world for The Marked Hosts (Devortus Reigns) was harder than usual because I wanted to do something different.
I follow many blogs and authors and do research so I can write about things and people outside my little bubble. If you only read one type of fantasy novel, that’s what you’re gonna write. I’m glad I came to this genre through horror. I also live on Pinterest. That site has artwork for all kinds of different fantasy worlds and people.
