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The exploration of a new land is kind of a staple in fantasy adventures.  We don’t really pay much attention to it unless it’s the main plot of the story.  It’s usually seen as a shift to a new location where the plot continues.  For the author, it can be so much more behind the scenes.

First, I want to explain that I am talking about wilderness and not heroes entering a new city.  I was going to go that way, but it’s all about culture shock.  This is when the heroes enter a new environment that the know nothing or very little about.  No locals to warn them about things.  Those they might find could be hostile.  All the characters can do is walk forward and hope they survive long enough to leave.  This isn’t always the main plot too, so a reader might not consciously notice the challenge.

One thing I love about having characters enter new regions where they don’t know the dangers is that it creates tension.  I get to play on the senses with smells, sounds, and sights.  People know what a city is like, so I find it harder to create the same level of tension.  The unspoiled wilderness can evoke primal senses of fear for the characters if I push the right buttons.  Nature isn’t all noise and chaos, so I write calming sections to describe the beauty of the area.  I have the characters revel in what they see even while there are hints that things can go wrong.  Then, nature shows its fangs with a beast or a local weather event or anything that puts the heroes at risk.  To me, this feels very realistic because you never know when things can turn in the wild, especially if you have never been to the area before.

Another part of this that I enjoy is simply creating the world.  After doing cities, academies, and whatever the characters start in for a while, I like changing things up and throwing in new terrain.  It gives me a chance to research a few things, take flora and fauna inspiration from other areas, and add set pieces that you can’t do in the previous locations.  You really get to expand the world and make it feel more like an actual planet than a setting.  This is what I think of when I say that I treat Windemere like a character because the addition of a new setting is like character development.

There are challenges with doing this besides having to create the world.  You need to avoid depending on terrain cliches like waterfalls, quicksand, etc.  Using them at times when it seems believable and appropriate is fine.  Having the characters deal with the same danger every chapter without making it a constant threat is going to be tedious.  People do this with lightning a lot.  Many authors will have this be a danger and give it disturbing amounts of precision.  I’m probably guilty of this too.  In order to make this work, you need to make it clear that this threat is bigger than it would normally be and be a hallmark of the new region.

Anyway, what does everyone else think about characters entering new wilderness regions?  Not as important as one would think?