World Building, Part Six: Herbs
Hey everybody, sorry I didn't get a post done last week. Five weeks ago my husband's grandfather passed away, and my husband's grandmother passed away unexpectedly last week. It's bittersweet; she said that she didn't know how she could live without her husband, and told people that she would be joining him in a few weeks. They were happily married for decades, and couldn't live without each other. If you need a reason to believe in love again, there you go.
We had to watch my young sister-in-law for a few days and then go down for the funeral, so that kept us busy. We'll also be helping take care of their belongings, so posts might be a little sporadic for a while. Thanks for understanding.
This week we're doing herbs. I decided to do a separate post for herbs; many are used in smaller amounts than typical vegetables for flavoring, and many have medicinal purposes as well. So we'll be looking at those separately. Like most of the other plants we've worked on, herbs are a small part of a world that may or may not be important for you to have details on. Whether you need it or not is up to you.
Step one: Is your herb medicinal, magical, aromatic, or used as a spice? You could choose one, two, or all three. You might even pick a different use entirely. But if you're going to work on an herb, you need know what purpose it has, especially if you're using it in your story. You might have a character that gets hurt and needs to tend a wound, or one that gets hungry and has to find plants growing wild. There may be, like in many fantasy stories I've read, herbs that can be burned or used in other ways to increase some type of power. You'll need to know what these are if you'll be using them, and what they do when used.
Step two: Where can you find it? You may decide to use your maps here, or not. Either way, if your character needs to locate this herb or it's being used, a basic knowledge of where it grows can be useful. If it needs a warm climate, then it will be harder to find in colder places, and likely more expensive to purchase. If your character has to locate it, knowing where to find it can make writing about that adventure easier. If it's an aromatic or common spice, it will likely be grown in kitchen gardens, so that's something you may want to consider as well.
Step three: How is it prepared and used? If it's magical, it might need some ceremony for it to work properly, or to be mixed with something else. If it's a spice, is it dried and ground, or used fresh and whole? Does it need to be peeled, chopped, cooked, or mixed with other things? It could be juiced, or made into a tincture. You might want to design your own spice blend if you have a culinary character, or decide what types of foods it's used in. If it's medicinal, you'll want to think about how it's used in that situation as well. Are bandages soaked in it? Is it used like rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide? Is it ground into a powder or made into a paste and spread on wounds? Is it for bruises or cuts? An aromatic might need to be dried, or picked fresh; is it pressed for oil, burned like incense, or dried in little bags?
Step four: How does it taste and smell? Medicinal herbs are generally bitter, although you can change that up if you'd like. Herbs are generally consumed, though, so if you're planning on using them in your story, you may want to have a description of their taste and scent. Their flavor and smell may also change based on how they're prepared; a dried herb may be more potent, or less. A bitter flavor might be canceled out if mixed with something else, and a strong smell might be commonly mixed with more delicate scents.
Step five: Does it interact well or badly with other plants? A flavor or use might be increased or decreased based on the things a spice, medicinal herb, and aromatic plant are mixed with. A magical plant might be more powerful if mixed with something else, or something in it might react badly with something else, making it toxic. A flavoring herb might work well with one other herb, but taste terrible with another. A powerful aromatic plant might completely overwhelm delicate scents, while a delicate scent might pair well with other plants that don't have a powerful smell. This might be a very small or insignificant consideration, but if you're going to be dealing with medical issues or cooking in any kind of detail, it could be useful. It may also help you develop setting; if it's common for families to burn herbs in their homes, you can describe it. Common garden herbs might also make an appearance in gardens, greenhouses, or windows.
Step six: Repeat steps 1-5 as often as necessary or desired.
We had to watch my young sister-in-law for a few days and then go down for the funeral, so that kept us busy. We'll also be helping take care of their belongings, so posts might be a little sporadic for a while. Thanks for understanding.
This week we're doing herbs. I decided to do a separate post for herbs; many are used in smaller amounts than typical vegetables for flavoring, and many have medicinal purposes as well. So we'll be looking at those separately. Like most of the other plants we've worked on, herbs are a small part of a world that may or may not be important for you to have details on. Whether you need it or not is up to you.
Step one: Is your herb medicinal, magical, aromatic, or used as a spice? You could choose one, two, or all three. You might even pick a different use entirely. But if you're going to work on an herb, you need know what purpose it has, especially if you're using it in your story. You might have a character that gets hurt and needs to tend a wound, or one that gets hungry and has to find plants growing wild. There may be, like in many fantasy stories I've read, herbs that can be burned or used in other ways to increase some type of power. You'll need to know what these are if you'll be using them, and what they do when used.
Step two: Where can you find it? You may decide to use your maps here, or not. Either way, if your character needs to locate this herb or it's being used, a basic knowledge of where it grows can be useful. If it needs a warm climate, then it will be harder to find in colder places, and likely more expensive to purchase. If your character has to locate it, knowing where to find it can make writing about that adventure easier. If it's an aromatic or common spice, it will likely be grown in kitchen gardens, so that's something you may want to consider as well.
Step three: How is it prepared and used? If it's magical, it might need some ceremony for it to work properly, or to be mixed with something else. If it's a spice, is it dried and ground, or used fresh and whole? Does it need to be peeled, chopped, cooked, or mixed with other things? It could be juiced, or made into a tincture. You might want to design your own spice blend if you have a culinary character, or decide what types of foods it's used in. If it's medicinal, you'll want to think about how it's used in that situation as well. Are bandages soaked in it? Is it used like rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide? Is it ground into a powder or made into a paste and spread on wounds? Is it for bruises or cuts? An aromatic might need to be dried, or picked fresh; is it pressed for oil, burned like incense, or dried in little bags?
Step four: How does it taste and smell? Medicinal herbs are generally bitter, although you can change that up if you'd like. Herbs are generally consumed, though, so if you're planning on using them in your story, you may want to have a description of their taste and scent. Their flavor and smell may also change based on how they're prepared; a dried herb may be more potent, or less. A bitter flavor might be canceled out if mixed with something else, and a strong smell might be commonly mixed with more delicate scents.
Step five: Does it interact well or badly with other plants? A flavor or use might be increased or decreased based on the things a spice, medicinal herb, and aromatic plant are mixed with. A magical plant might be more powerful if mixed with something else, or something in it might react badly with something else, making it toxic. A flavoring herb might work well with one other herb, but taste terrible with another. A powerful aromatic plant might completely overwhelm delicate scents, while a delicate scent might pair well with other plants that don't have a powerful smell. This might be a very small or insignificant consideration, but if you're going to be dealing with medical issues or cooking in any kind of detail, it could be useful. It may also help you develop setting; if it's common for families to burn herbs in their homes, you can describe it. Common garden herbs might also make an appearance in gardens, greenhouses, or windows.
Step six: Repeat steps 1-5 as often as necessary or desired.
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