Filling in the Details

Snowdonia, Wales 
(c) 1997 - Jana G. Oliver

My DragonFire fantasy series was originally published a quarter century ago, and yes I'm feeling old right now. Having written a number of books since then I can now spot the missing details needed for these stories. Time to fill those holes and flesh out the plot. But what is missing?

The original plot and subplots for each of these books are fine. My characters make mistakes, some fall in love, evil is always present, and heroes rise when things are dire. As you would expect in a fantasy novel.

But what was thin was the depth of the world in which they lived. The internal structure of the various societies, for instance. How does the magic work? What are the consequences if that magic is tainted? What is the difference between the Tingarsan Isles clans (you meet them in Book #2 The Healer's Path) and the nobles and common folk from the Northlinds?  What of their religion(s) and political structures?

Then there's logistics. Wouldn't there be some mention of large fields near Lord Bardyn's fortress where they would grow grain or produce? How's about a few orchards? Vineyards for all that wine? Livestock and beehives? Because all those people inside the castelon need a ready food supply. As expected, those same verdant fields would be a target of an invading enemy, wouldn't they?

I thought this was particularly silly of me to miss, but apparently not. There is an informative video on YouTube that explains how to calculate exactly how much food would need to be grown to supply "X" population, how much of that would have been paid to the nobles in tribute, and how much to the king. Or in my world, the High Lord. Because of that video, it appears I'm not the only one who kinda slid right by all this.

Going even further, what would it have been like inside a medieval city, especially a big one like the seaport of Kell? How would the streets be constructed, who would be selling goods there, and how would they receive those goods? Water supply? Privies? City administration? Law enforcement? Guilds (Ordems in my world)? All the basics you need for a society to function.

​J.R.R. Tolkien is the master of filling in all the holes. In some ways, his detail is overwhelming, but it's there and that's what counts. While I did find sources for this needed info--the internet has sooo much more compared to 2001--I also made sure that none of this slows down the plot. This needs to be backdrop, not an info dump, a way for my readers to fall deeper into the story.

​I want you to feel what it's like to be a bandit in the Grett North Forest, or at a murder trial held at the Ordem of the Wood Merchants in Ilspath. What it would be like to watch the ships being unloaded in Kell's harbor. What life would be like if you lived with one of the Tingarsan Isles clans.  

All of this "layering in" has taken time, but in the end it was so needed. As a reader I love to immerse myself in a book's world. My job as an author is to ensure that happens for you.