EssentiallyI have hhad a hard time finding how to show in fantasy. I do not know how to show in a fantasy world where certain things don't exist... So to speak animals like a wolf don't exist and chocolate doest exist... Etc... But people often compare things... Ie a dress as bright as a lemon... Or something similar. How do you describe things in fantasy when a comparable item does not exist? Do I just say the non existing item. (All third person POV).
No, don't say the non-existing item unless it's something like a portal fantasy where your viewpoint character is from our world and has a frame of reference for that item. Otherwise it makes no sense. You just have to describe directly, instead of using simile or metaphor that incorporates items that don't exist in your world. Instead of saying something is wolf-like, talk about it being thick furred, with four long legs and bright, slanted eyes. Or whatever imagery comes to mind. You'll conjure up something like a wolf if that's what you're going for, without specifically saying "wolf." One caveat: if it is so much like a wolf (or some other real world animal or item) that it is virtually indistinguishable, then it's best to just say it's a wolf and recognize that they do exist in the world.
Wow thank you so much for the input. It will be applied. It's hard to describe and Google search this.
Yeah, I have an alien species that looks like Demons, though they don't have magical poweres, but that is how my one MC defines them. They are just a different culture and species, and not mythical beyond that. So if it looks like a duck, probably a duck as defined as the world's rules and logic.
My MC refers to something that "doesn't hold a plasma torch" to something else, with the same meaning as "doesn't hold a candle to". Candles aren't in general use, either for practical or aesthetic reasons; they're almost exclusively religious in purpose. So even though most people know what candles are, have seen them, own a few for personal shrines, plasma torches are a bit more common and as someone who has a working knowledge of starship engines, it's more in character for him to compare [lesser thing] to [greater thing] with 'plasma torch' than 'candle', even though technically the original phrase could still exist.
One of my favorite book series, The Green Rider series by Kristen Brittain, involves a lot of comparable items. Coffee is kauv, and chess is a different name that escapes me at the moment. I do agree with what someone said earlier about how describing the thing it it instead of saying what it is makes a world of difference. Even though she names kauv, she describes it as a bitter drink the main character can only stomach with lots of sugar or cream in it. The thing may not be the actual thing in the universe you create, but if it's similar enough to something we'll know, a roundabout way of describing it would be, in my opinion, the most effective.
You might use other things you have invented. For example, I have a crocodile-lizard mix called a Gazard. People often say "thick-headed gazard" (although the animal is actually not that dumb)
