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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/11377-Exploring-the-Natural-World.html
Action/Adventure: May 25, 2022 Issue [#11377]




 This week: Exploring the Natural World
  Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

What is your favourite scenic spot? What makes it so beautiful? The natural world is filled with beauty and wonder. Let's explore it in our work!

This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter is all about the natural world - both real and imagined.

Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author Icon


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Those who know me – and those who read my newsletters – will know that I love nature. It has always been this way, even when I was a child in the city and my access to the outdoors was limited. The first years of my life were spent in a rather gray and grim area of the city, with little in the way of greenery, but I was fortunate. My city was situated by the coast and I loved the sound and the scent of the sea. It was a joy to dig my toes in the wet sand, and to search for pretty shells. Also, I had family elsewhere in the country where I’d go and visit, and sometimes we’d book a bungalow in the countryside and spend a week wandering the woods and taking long strolls through the heather. I’ve explored caves, handfed wild squirrels, sat quietly during dusk hoping to be honoured with the presence of deer.

Through school I have visited farms, gone white water canoeing in the Ardennes and with some classmates spent a cold week in October building rafts, riding horses and cooking on a campfire during survival camp. I cherish these memories. As said, I have been fortunate.

I spent my childhood, teenage years and young adulthood in the city, though not all those years were spent in that aforementioned area. Still, it was an eye-opening experience when I eventually moved to the British countryside. The sounds of cars and sirens were replaced by the baaaaas of sheep on the hills. The hoots of the owls around my house spooked me a little when I first heard them – the result, no doubt, of having watched too many horror movies. Now I consider them the sounds of old friends. Here, too, I have handfed squirrels. I’ve had a hedgehog climb onto my leg and settle in my lap when I sat in the grass. I felt like a Disney princess! Though I have lived here for many years now, I still feel joy when I wander the hills and relish in the scenery – nature and more nature as far as the eye can see.

It is this love of nature that makes me enjoy descriptions of different worlds and environments in novels. Take me on a journey through the woods, guide me through the mountains, make me tread cautiously through the jungle! I enjoy the familiar and the unfamiliar. There are many places around the world that I have not – unfortunately – seen in person, so I’ll readily accept your account. Or, if we’re visiting other worlds I’ll happily explore it along with the characters. As long as you bring it to life, I’m right there with you.

Just, it has to make sense. I understand that fantasy is, well, fantasy, and that sci-fi opens doors to worlds that may be beyond my imagination, but help me to enter your imagination, your creation. That doesn’t mean dumbing down your vision, but if I have to jump back and forth through a novel because I feel what I just read is inconsistent with what I just read before I am not having a good time with the flow of the adventure. Yes, this has happened. Not often, but enough to add this paragraph as a gentle plea to make sure that your world is a) accessible to the reader and b) doesn’t crumble under scrutiny.

That said, world building can be excellent fun. Instead of working within the limits of what we know of our planet, you get to invent everything. Do you want giant plants with polka-dotted leaves? Okay! Three moons? Twelve-legged horse-like creatures with lion tails? Put them right in. You can have your hero or heroine (or both) gaze over the purple ocean while the sky otters spin and twirl in the light of the setting sun(s). How precious a moment. Or, perhaps, the calm before the storm? It’s up to you (as long as you make it make sense). It’s not difficult to get me on board.

If your story is set in our own natural world it will have to be reasonably realistic. There will always be those amongst your readers who have pen and paper ready to tell you that that specific insect does not belong in this or that environment, so unless there’s something in the plot about them having been released ten years earlier, or they’ve escaped from a nearby facility, you’re going to get complaints. Which you might be okay with. Mail can be fun. Still, it’s always best to check. Better yet, if there’s a similar natural setting nearby, go and enjoy it!

As I write this, I have the second half of my end-of-the-academic-year assignment to go and then I have several months of freedom! Or, I have a work project, but I have a lot more free time! I look forward to getting back into the outdoors. To feel the sun on my skin, maybe spot a few squirrels or, if I am very fortunate, a badger. You just never know!

If you, too, have some free time coming up, I hope that you’ll enjoy it. Have some fun. See some sights. Life can be filled with beauty.


Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline Author Icon



Editor's Picks

Some contests and events to inspire you:

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FORUM
Shadows and Light Poetry Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Do you love the challenge and creativity of free verse poetry? This contest is for you.
#1935693 by Choconuts Roasting Author IconMail Icon


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FORUM
The Dialogue 500 Open in new Window. (18+)
Dialogues of 500 words or less.
#941862 by W.D.Wilcox Author IconMail Icon


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FORUM
Merit Badge Projects Open in new Window. (13+)
What if you got a chance to work towards gaining a Merit Badge that you might not have?
#1978212 by Andy~hating university Author IconMail Icon


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FORUM
The LGBT Writing Contest - December 2024 Open in new Window. (18+)
Short story contest (with great prizes) for LGBT characters.
#1980539 by Osirantinsel Author IconMail Icon


Poetry Contest and Inspiration Open in new Window. (18+)
Contest Cancelled due to Lack of Interest.
#2253936 by bearbit Author IconMail Icon


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FORUM
Parenting Short Story Contest ~ CLOSED Open in new Window. (ASR)
Parenting is the funnest job ever! Or not? You tell me!
#1558020 by Annette Author IconMail Icon


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FORUM
The Writer's Cramp Open in new Window. (13+)
Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPS!
#333655 by SophyBells Author IconMail Icon


And don't forget:

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SURVEY
Short Shots: Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (ASR)
Use the photo to inspire your creativity. Write a short story and win big prizes!
#1221635 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Action/Adventure Newsletter Team


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