Fantasy Tropes: Don't Take Your Setting Too Far The Wrong Way!

A couple weeks ago I talked about the importance of having a detailed and unique setting (with the understanding, of course, that one not bog down the reader with pages of flowery and needless description).

On the topic of setting (which is inexhaustible! And which I love) there's also a different direction in which a writer can go wrong, and that is making the setting too unique. I can think of a lot of mixology analogies right now, but I'll spare you. There is a reason we insert modern-day protagonists into fantasy settings, or why we use the slightly worn if still well-loved medieval castle as the primary setting for a fantasy novel. Because if a setting is too far off the wall (and this is where the modern-day protagonist comes in handy--for easy explanation) it gets hard to deal with.

Because if things get too complicated, the reader is going to give up and give up fast. I've noticed several problems that contribute to having a setting that's a little beyond the amount of effort an average reader is willing to commit to understanding a story.

Problem the first: UNPRONOUNCEABLE NAMES

A name that sounds like a sneeze and has three apostrophes in it? Probably not a good idea. Because if a reader can't figure out how to pronounce most of your names, then they won't remember the names. If they don't remember the names, they will not be able to tell the difference between many of your characters. ONE name with three apostrophes in it is okay, especially if everyone else has an intuitive sounding name. Then it sticks out, marks that character as being from another land or culture or whatever, and is memorable if not pronounceable. Otherwise, I strongly advise against it. (The same goes for ridiculously long names. Especially if they start with the same letter.)

Problem the second: RIDICULOUSLY INVOLVED CULTURAL RITUALS

Is there a very complicated bow that one must make if it's a full moon in the second harvest month if the king approaches you from the left on a main road? Does your world's religion have more rituals and gods than the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman pantheons and religions combined? And does said religion require some really complicated version of genuflecting and have very strict and very intricate rules? As a general rule, unless you can introduce this kind of intricacy slowly, so as to familiarize the reader with parts of it early on and then introduce it in small amounts only as needed, it's probably not a good idea. And I don't mean don't make up a religion or new cultural rules or what have you. Just don't make them overly complicated and don't try to explain (or 'show') all the aspects of said rituals. You can get away with a LOT of uncommon and unfamiliar stuff as long as you introduce it in the right way, and don't make things needlessly complicated. If it seems like there's at least a somewhat plausible reason for a culture to do things a certain way, then the reader will go along with you. And if you introduce that certain way in bits, only as needed, then again, the reader will go along with you. I know how hard this can be, especially in first person if you're writing from the perspective of someone who's very familiar with things. But it's doable. (And part of what I find frustrating about first person.) One of the best ways to get around 'explaining' rituals is to have someone totally mess them up.

Problem the third: TOO MANY MADE UP WORDS

This goes along with unpronounceable names. Some people can get away with a glossary at the back of the book (or...if you're Tolkien, publishing like twelve books of backstory and language history to accompany your stories). But I have to tell you, having read a lot of books that do have glossaries at the back, I get tired of flipping back every time I come across some word or title or minor character or lesser god in country X's pantheon I can't remember. Sometimes I do look in the glossary, but other times I just resign myself to being confused and forge ahead. Seriously, sometimes it's okay to use the word 'empress' or 'princess' or 'priestess' or 'lord' or 'lady' or what have you. Assume your story is being translated from whatever fantasy language into English. Only when there really is no direct translation (and nothing that even comes close) do we Anglicize another language's word and stick it in something. If they have a special kind of monster or plant or a horse with eight legs or a specific ritual they do on Halloween, well of course we'd have no English translation of that. But we do have words for king and queen, for empress and goddess, and such. Also, if you can make your made up words intuitive, for example if you have a dragon-like monster, somehow including a bit of the word "dragon" or "wyvern" might help the reader remember, oh yeah, that's the dragon-like monster. (That's an awful example, but it serves.)

Problem the fourth: TOO MUCH DESCRIPTION
You knew it was coming. The easiest way to bore a reader with setting is to describe it. In long paragraphs. And pretty language. While absolutely nothing is happening in the story itself. The kicker about this problem, though, is that your setting can still be generic even with lots of description. If you have to describe every detail of a room, but the only things in the room are some chairs and a bed with pillows on it and a fireplace, that's not a room that needs or deserves description. Nor does it say anything about your world other than that people have to sleep and like to sit down.

So what did I forget? What do you think makes fantasy settings needlessly complicated?