One thing I've occasionally struggled with in MHO is whether to use Real Things or Made Up Things, and how to name them in either case. Specifically, I'm referring to stuff like animals and plants, mostly. There's also the matter of different words from different cultures for the same thing, even if they're speaking the same language. The latter is somewhat mitigated for Lykou and Kuna a bit by their magic translation medallions, but it can still come up.
Obviously, since writing is a creative outlet, coming up with new creatures and such can be part of the fun, especially in a fantasy setting like MHO. It helps the world feel exotic and interesting. Plus, it is a more primitive/ancient time period, too, so that gives extra reason for the characters to maybe give things more descriptive names like "glow root" or something like that, at least according to genre convention.
On the other hand, it can also become a hassle. Using real plants and animals can be a lot quicker and easier than coming up with something on the fly. And that's important when you're in the flow of a scene. You're writing along, establishing a scene and doing some important plot development or character dialogue, then all of the sudden, BAM! You've hit a point where you need to briefly mention some plant, animal, food, etc. and aren't sure which route to go. It can be very distracting and frustrating to suddenly have to deviate from your flow to go figure out what to call it and how to describe it. Especially because naming things is a pain in the ass, in my opinion. (Honestly one of the biggest sticking points in writing, for me!)
So... I go back and forth. As anyone who's been reading MHO has probably noticed, I have a mix of both real things and made up things, sometimes right next to each other. One minute Kuna's snacking on a pineapple, the next he's harvesting some "meshweed" to patch up some clothing or something. I worry this is jarring and offputting somehow, but it's frustrating having to deviate away and think up things like that. More to the point, as I said above, I am constantly frustrated with naming things.
Part of it comes from not being able to decide on a naming scheme. I can't decide whether to go with just completely made-up words (like the 'pridlin' instrument from Clovaria) or more descriptive ones like "dawn flower" or something. I feel like the latter is more genre-appropriate, but somehow, for me at least, it feels even more clunky and tricky to work with. So, again, I bounce around.
Anyone else struggle with this? And more importantly, for anyone that's read MHO, is it really jarring, or am I just being too self-conscious about it?
