From Washington, D.C., the rings would only fill a portion of the sky, but appear striking nonetheless. Here, we see them at sunrise.
From Guatemala, only 14 degrees above the equator, the rings would begin to stretch across the horizon. Their reflected light would make the moon much brighter.
From Earth’s equator, Saturn’s rings would be viewed edge-on, appearing as a thin, bright line bisecting the sky.
At the March and September equinoxes, the Sun would be positioned directly over the rings, casting a dramatic shadow at the equator.
At midnight at the Tropic of Capricorn, which sits at 23 degrees south latitude, the Earth casts a shadow over the middle of the rings, while the outer portions remain lit.
Fantasy Guide to Ladies Fashion, Part 1: Headwear.
Fashion is one of my favourite aspects of world building. Though many fantasy novels prefer to have their ladies bareheaded, historical women living in mediaeval or renaissance times always wore some sort of headwear. So here are a few to give you ideas.
1. The English Hood or the Gable Hood
This headpiece may not look fashionable but it was popular in Tudor era England worn by Queens and ladies of the court.
This is a famous one made popular by Anne Boleyn. Though not portrayed in the countless films about the era, there was always a veil attached to cover the hair of the lady.
This is a simple linen slip that covers the hair. Sometimes worn under the ornate headdresses above by noble ladies. Poorer women would wear these on there own.
4. A wig
Perhaps not as pretty as the top two, wigs can bring world building to exciting and outlandish paths. Wigs might show rank and might be decorated with gems or feathers.
Worn by people to show modesty. Nuns would wear them and so would modest ladies. Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry VII wore one of these and so did my gal, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
6. Coronal
A headband like a necklace that is draped across the forehead.
Pratchett was much less interested in following Oblivion’s story than in finding mods that made the world more immersive, and the amount of detail and time modders sunk into their work continuously impressed him. Pratchett enjoyed making cheese and boots and running a little vineyard, complete with seven employees who his character would pay at the end of each in-game week.
He was also on the old Thief fan forums and would play the fanmade games. I still remember seeing his name appear on the Circle in comments. It was a wildly happy moment for me. And I still use the mods he helped write.
We’ve all been warned about the dangers of using too much description. Readers don’t want to read three paragraphs about a sunset, we’re told. Description slows down a story; it’s boring and self-indulgent. You should keep your description as short and simple as possible. For those who take a more scientific approach to writing fiction, arbitrary rules abound: One sentence per paragraph. One paragraph per page. And, for god’s sake, “Never open a book with weather” (Elmore Leonard).
But what this conventional wedding wisdom fails to take into account is the difference between static and dynamic description. Static description is usually boring. It exists almost like a painted backdrop to a play. As the name suggests, it doesn’t move, doesn’t interact or get interacted with.
There were clouds in the sky. Her hair was red with hints of orange. The house had brown carpeting and yellow countertops.
In moderation, there’s nothing wrong with static description. Sometimes, facts are facts, and you need to communicate them to the reader in a straightforward manner.
But too much static description, and readers will start to skim forward. They don’t want to read about what the house looks like or the stormy weather or the hair color of each of your protagonist’s seventeen cousins.
Why? Because they can tell it’s not important. They can afford to skip all of your description because their understanding of the story will not be impacted.
That’s where dynamic description comes in. Dynamic description is a living entity. It’s interactive, it’s relevant. It takes on the voices of your narrators and characters. In short, it gives us important information about the story, and it can’t be skimmed over.
So how do you make your description more dynamic so that it engages your readers and adds color and excitement to your story? Here are a few tips.
(I have a TON more tips about setting and description. These are just a few. But I’m trying to keep this short, so if you have any questions or want more advice about this, please feel free to ask me.)
characters that go through hell yet still believe in the goodness of humanity, still hope for the best despite everything, refuse to let darkness consume them because someone somewhere is always going to be good are literally my favourite, because they give me that little hope too
