Dear Fantasy Writers

[marykaykare]

Most of the bone I have seen in my life was not white unless bleached. It's been yellowish or brownish or even pinkish, but not actually white. It jerks me out of the story every time. Also, white as bone or bone white has become a complete cliche. Can't you find some new, slightly creepy, simile to set your tone?

Thank You.

Comments

[houseboatonstyx]

That's odd. Most of the bones I see are outdoors, either abandoned by the dog or the remains of animals that died. Most of them are 'bone white', unless stained (brown or gray or occasionally greenish) by something they've been in contact with. Maybe your colored bones haven't been out in the elements as long?

[marykaykare]

Well, I did say unless bleached. Though I suspect it ought to be desert bleaching if we're talking done by the elements. Hmm I don't live with a dog anymore, the most recent one's bones were generally brownish grey.
MKK

[marykaykare]

And it's still a cliche, a very overdone cliche, whatever color your bones are.
MKK

[lil_shepherd]

Ah. When, for instance, you are extracting the bone from, say, a leg of lamb, it is pretty much white, particularly at the knuckle end. I daresay it is living (or recently dead) bone that the cliché comes from, because bones that have been in the ground are, indeed, usually brown.

Also, bones in a charnel house are sometimes quite pale, depending on how they have been treated on being unearthed.

[carl_allery]

My father used to always compost food bones, so that his compost always contains bones which are periodically unearthed in digging the soil. As I recall these composted/weathered bones tend to also be quite white, which I take to be because everything except the calcium is slowly being leached from them. As what's left on the surface becomes more calcium carbonate than anything else, it will become more chalk-white. It's not sun-bleaching because, well, West Country - our sunshine is usually liquid in nature. :)