Thursday, July 26, 2012

Nature helps me create fantasy settings

While I have company this week, I’ve been taking in lots of local sites like a tourist. Some settings and views captured my mind and spun short fantasy scenes, which is usually how my storied begin. Here’s a short list of my favorites that can easily be explained with science, but also seem very magical.

Rainbows—We have a lot of summer rains here in Florida and get frequent rainbows, often in full arc and some even double. I can’t help but marvel at them and wonder what magical beings I might find at the end of a rainbow.

Rippled sand created by tidal flow—I could be convinced that water fairies, called sprites, were hard at work forming those patterns.

Large, old trees or gnarly, weather-beaten trees—What history those trees could tell if I could just unlock their language! Big trees always look like good homes for magical beings, in their wide trunks or sturdy limbs. 

Conch shells—Their spiraled shapes amaze me. It seems magical how those sea dwellers know to form those complex shaped shells. Since I have a degree in Biology, I can explain the process in terms of science, but I think that knowledge just leaves me even more awestruck.

Clouds—Incoming storm clouds take shapes from my imagination. I’m often inspired by them.

What features in nature make you think of fantasy settings?

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Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, and Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED. She has also authored the Ciel's Legacy series, with fast action mermaid/pirate storylines: TEARS ON A TRANQUIL LAKE and TORTUGA TREASURE.  For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

2 comments:

Emilia Quill said...

The iceage left a lot of marks in our nature here in Finland. In the old days people thought the big rocks moved by the ice were moved by giants, devils or 'hiisi' an evil creature instead.

In the nearby forest there are two birches which grow so near each other they look like they're embracing each other. I like think they were loves who were cursed, but even in the form a tree are together.

E.B. Black said...

No wonder I write speculative fiction. I live in a national forest. Lots of nature here!

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