Word of the Week #329:
You know what’s a randomly tough part about writing medieval fantasy fiction?
The details!
As a writer, there are so many more details that you need to know that you might not even consider as a reader.
What kind of footwear did the normal civilians wear?
How fast can a horse run and for how long?
How many people actually live in a town or a city?
How large is an army, actually?
How many warhorses would a local warlord normally own? How long does it take to even breed and train a warhorse?
How did engineers aim catapult weapons before the formulation of Newton’s laws?
Was ice easily available in the temperate plains? Was it possible to freeze ice artificially, or did it have to be transported from glaciers?
What actually happens when you slash wildly at someone with a broadsword?
What food was available in what climates, before paths to the “New World” were discovered?
How did they keep time and dates before the reforms by Julius Caesar?
What kind of medical facilities were available in European kingdoms, which were surprisingly lacking in scientific knowledge at the time?
There is just so much random detail that goes into writing period fiction that people do not realise.
Now, do I know random things because I’m a writer, or am I a writer because I know random things? That’s a question I have always been asking myself.
