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I am writing a fantasy novel set in the Middle East. For multiple reasons related to both plot and atmosphere, I'm using flowers and flowering trees a lot in both descriptions and dialogue. Trouble...
#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T21:57:19Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/34361 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:19:40Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/34361 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
I am writing a fantasy novel set in the Middle East. For multiple reasons related to both plot and atmosphere, I'm using flowers and flowering trees a lot in both descriptions and dialogue. Trouble is, many plants that are very common in the Middle East don't have common names in English - only clunky Latin names. For example: > They rested under the branches of a Vachellia tortilis during the hot hours of the day, and only continued on their way when the sun hung low over the West horizon. Or > He walked from between the trees out into a clearing covered with Sternbergias in full bloom. Or > They're as impossible to kill as a Faidherbia albida. The Latin names evoke nothing at all, and break the flow of the narration. If I limit myself only to plants with common English names, I am left with only a small subset of the flora I see around me. Is there a way I can make use of the full range of Middle-Eastern plants (or at least of enough of them that I don't get stuck seeking for something that would be in flower in a given habitat in a given season, and please please please have an English common name), without the text creaking, clunking, and crashing into a wall of disinterest?
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-03-17T12:10:00Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 19