This week: Air Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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I remember, as a boy of 17 years of age, this was a fascinating thing for me: how we human beings breathe out carbon dioxide into the air, the leaves of plants pick this carbon dioxide up, and the plant gives off oxygen, which we can breathe in and keep our life going.
—Percy Julian
Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
—John F. Kennedy
If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.
—Toni Morrison |
The Universe is trying to kill you.
As far as we know, there's a single spherical shell, proportionately thinner than an eggshell, within which we can breathe. Outside of that tiny volume, there's insufficient air, or no air at all.
My last newsletter, "Water" , talked about how water is essential for life as we know it, but air is even more essential for humans. We can survive hours without water. Without air? Minutes, or seconds.
This is probably more relevant to science fiction than to fantasy, what with spaceships, habitats, and other planets and the like, but it can also apply to fantasy writing, when considering other settings besides Earth.
Earth's atmosphere, or at least that portion of it that sustains life, is fairly consistent. The composition of it at near sea level is well-known: roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases, including argon, carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and whatever crap factories belch out. Molecular nitrogen and argon are generally nonreactive, but we kinda need that oxygen.
But not too much. And not too little. Also, despite the relatively small amount of carbon dioxide, it's important to plant life (and factors into climate change, but that's beyond my scope today)—and plant life is itself essential to our survival, in part because of the oxygen it generates.
Earth's atmosphere is what you get with Earth's history and biosphere, which is probably unique. It was different in the distant past, and will likely be different again in the distant future. So why would other worlds, or other planes of existence, have an atmosphere of similar composition?
Sure, making your world have the same atmosphere can make storytelling easier. Easier isn't always better, though. |
Time to air out these Fantasy items:
| | | Completion [13+] #2249338 The quest to become a witch is nearly completed. |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Last time, in "Water" , I talked about, well, you know.
Maddie Pot o' Gold Stone  : Hello! I enjoyed both newsletters. I love to read and write fantasy. I do have to keep my logic/science minded self in check a lot of times. Either picking apart a book for how possible something actually is or encouraging myself to think beyond our world and push the boundaries for what a new world would be like.
Thanks for the thought-provoking newsletters!
Maddie
Thanks for reading! Yeah, I'm the kind of person who watches a movie and goes "that can't happen." But I do try to keep an open mind for fantasy and science fiction.
So that's it for me! See you next time. Until then,
DREAM ON!!!
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Fantasy: March 04, 2026 Issue [#13618]
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