Unintentional symbolism
Symbolism and motifs are one of those integral parts of a good, solid novel that I tend to overlook. Either that, or I make it uber-obvious. I’ve been trying to explore some possibilities for motifs in A God Grown Old and before last night I was totally stumped.
Then I started reading up on historical Libyan food and dining rituals. One of the things that stuck out to me was that three cups of green tea are consumed at the end of every meal. While green tea is by no means native to Libya, it does appear to be a commodity they purchased from the traders coming in from the Far East as early as 800 BC. That fits nicely into my timeline, so I think sharing a cup of green tea is something two of my characters will do as a representation of their relationship.
I had to make a trip to the library the other day (avoiding the bus tunnels as long as I could and all that) and ended up walking out with two useful books: The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers and The Hero With an African Face by Clyde Ford. I needed information on the history of the karkadann (my previously made-up unicorn species has been switched to this no-less-elusive but appropriately “real” critter from Arabian mythology) as well as a little extra depth to my African characters and their belief system. I perused Ford’s book this morning and pulled out quite a few useful gems for the Princess, and I’ll take a look at the unicorn book very soon.
Research is surprisingly fun!