forum Living in a desert?

Started September 11, 2018 by @n o s t r a d a m u s location_city

tune

I am writing a novel set in the desert, and although I live in a hot place (Australia), I know very little about what living in a desert is like. Pls help.

I don't live in a desert, but I will tell you that it sucks anyways. Water is scarce, food is scarce, and it is balls hot EVERY DAY. Any settlements in the desert will be near water, and they are usually very small. Anything near an oasis is like literal Heaven to an outsider. Most animals in the desert are small, like scorpions, lizards, birds, and bugs. Cacti are a good source of food, and the pears are quite tasty from what I hear. Most clothing is white and thin, and facial veils are useful. Camels (or sandseals, if this is Breath of the Wild) have long eyelashes to keep the sand out. Houses can be made of mud, sticks, and leaves. The mud is poured into molds that make bricks. Those dry in the sun, and they can make homes, ovens, and other buildings. You'd be surprised how many things grow in the desert, but there needs to be some fertile soil. The Nile was great because of the silt that came when it overflowed its banks, and Egypt could grow crops like pomegranates, herbs, wheat, barley, and vegetables.

I have clans of desert dwellers (kind of like peaceful bedouins) and this is information I found helpful:
It doesn't actually get very cold at night, and the sand retains heat from the day.
Desert sand is different from beach sand because it's shaped by the wind whereas beach sand is shaped by water. The grains are round in desert sand. This is why they form different shapes and why different things can grow in each. Desert sand is a lot slide-ier and shift-ier because it's looser.