World Building and the Chaos it Creates

Hello again everyone!

Yes, I know, I know, I've blogged about world building before, but I am so fascinated by it. I've read about some very neat worlds. One created by Jayne Ann Krentz, of course, there was middle earth (J.R.R. Tolkien) and then there was the planet of Toril (R.A. Salvatore). One thing that I noticed with each of them is that, while they had unique and interesting things, they also had very similar things as well like schooners, trees and horses. I just find it very interesting that while creating a world with magic, fantasy creatures and such, that they would have such mundane things like trees and horses. In the case of Jayne Ann Krentz, her futuristic world had very neat cars. Even though they used different methods to start them (amber or jelly ice), they were ultimately car styles we have here on earth.

I wonder why that is? Do authors use mundane, everyday things because it's easier, or because it helps the reader feel more at home?

I suppose it would be able to just use the word trees because now I have to work on what rumble trees and humming trees do and what they look like and how their names came to be, which isn't necessarily an easy task, but one that excites me.

So tell me, how many nuances need to be covered in worlds you read about? Do you ever find yourself wondering about such mundane things as insect pests like mosquitoes, gnats, flies and ticks?

Has there ever been a time when reading about a different world, that you have been left wondering about something in that world that you wish the author went into detail on? If so, what was it? Was it a minute detail or was it something that came into play throughout the story?

How detailed do you want a world you read about to be? What small nuances would you like to see given some detail, even if it is in passing? How much detail is too much?

Carrie