I'd keep the metaphors to a minimum and never invent words unless I absolutely had to. I believe the narrative voice should be kept as clean, clear and simple as possible. "As big as a winter rutabaga" comes to mind.
Characters, on the other hand, can say all kinds of bizarre things. Out of culture swearing almost always sounds silly, so I'd cut that too, as much as I can. Of course, when you have characters from different cultures meeting, they can find each others' swearing silly.
As for the italicizing...I've never seen this. I wouldn't do it. In the story, invented words fit in there, so why have them look different?
What really needs to be replaced is anything that is obviously earth- or modern-specific. Calling someone a 'Benedict Arnold'. Thursday, like you say. How long is a month in your world, if you have that unit?
In addition, I'd ditch many greek- latin-derived words for their english equivalents, such as telepathy or anything that ends in -tion. This is a way to show a more medieval world were such concepts were unfamiliar or uncommon.
Characters, on the other hand, can say all kinds of bizarre things. Out of culture swearing almost always sounds silly, so I'd cut that too, as much as I can. Of course, when you have characters from different cultures meeting, they can find each others' swearing silly.
As for the italicizing...I've never seen this. I wouldn't do it. In the story, invented words fit in there, so why have them look different?
What really needs to be replaced is anything that is obviously earth- or modern-specific. Calling someone a 'Benedict Arnold'. Thursday, like you say. How long is a month in your world, if you have that unit?
In addition, I'd ditch many greek- latin-derived words for their english equivalents, such as telepathy or anything that ends in -tion. This is a way to show a more medieval world were such concepts were unfamiliar or uncommon.
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