Character Skill Sets

Back to Nora Roberts' Dance of the Gods and Blair riding horses (that I didn't recall the set-up). It's an automatic thing that if you're writing a Fish-Out-Of-Water story, you're going to have to explain your characters' skill-sets. Either they can do a thing on Earth and adapt to another planet or can't.

Or can adapt or not. Take riding. Alexa never rode. She has trouble riding on Lladrana, and can manage a horse but not a flying steed. Marian came from a background and family with at least a superficial interest in horses, so she has ridden but is not proficient.

Calli is a cowgirl -- and is the person who bonds with the flying horses and the knights that ride them.

So I've handled that. I've handled the language (Alexa has trouble and will always speak with an accent, Marian knows French and picks up Lladranan easily, Calli is fine with languages, and of course there's that sex bond thing).

Again, whatever your story demands, your characters should have strengths and vulnerabilites, and you should show these. Trite but true.

May your characters surprise you today.
Robin