#writing how to

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Creating Your Own Language

When writer's set out to world-build, language has a huge role in creating new cultures and lending a sense of realism to your efforts. A world and people just feel more real when language is involved. As the old Irish proverb says "tír gan teanga, tír gan anam”. A country without a language, is a country without a soul. So how can we create one?

Do Your Homework

First things off, you should start by studying languages. Nobody is asking you to get fluent but it's important to understand the basic mechanics of language. You will start to see certain tricks to language, how verbs are conjugated and how gender effects certain words. It will be easier to make up your own when you know these tricks. For example, in Irish one doesn't scold but "gives out to" - "a thabhairt amach". In German, numbers are arranged differently to the English with the smallest digit arranged before the tens for example 21 - Einsundzwanzig. By immersing yourself in an array of different languages (I recommend finding ones close to how you want your language to sound), you can gain the tools necessary for creating a believable language.

Keep it Simple

Nobody expects you to pull a Tolkien or channel the powers of David J. Peterson (hail bisa vala). You're not writing a dictionary of your con-lang. You will probably use only a handful of words in your story. Don't over complicate things. A reader will not be fluent in your con-lang and if they have to continually search for the meaning of words they will likely loose patience.

Start Small

When you're learning a language, you always start with the basics. You do the exact same when writing one. Start with introductions, the names of simple objects, simple verbs (to be, to do, to have for example) and most importantly your pronouns (you will use these more than any other word, which is why I always start with them). Simple everyday phrases should always be taken care of first. Build your foundation and work your way up, this is a marathon not a race.

Music to the Ears

If your creating a new language, you're more than likely doing it phonetically. Sound is important to language and especially a con-lang because you want to trick your reader into thinking of a real language when reading the words on the page. I suggest sitting down and actually speak your words aloud, get the feel of them on the tongue to work out the spelling. Spellings shouldn't be too complicated, as I said before the readers aren't fluent and you want to make it easier for them to try it out themselves.

Also when you're creating the con-lang, it's important to figure out how it sounds to an unsuspecting ear. If a character is walking down a street and hears a conversation in a strange language, they will likely describe to the reader what it sounds like. It might be guttural or soft, it might be bursque or flowery. It's always interesting to compare how different languages flow in the ear.

Writing in Your Language

Now that you've written your language and created some words, you will want to incoperate them into your story. The way most writers do this is by italicising them. As a reader, I generally prefer authors not to go too overboard with their con-lang. Swathes of con-lang words might intrigue a reader but it can leave them confused as well. It is better to feed con-lang to your readers bit by bit. In most published works writer's tend to use words here and there but there are few whole sentences. For example in A Game Of Thrones by George RR Martin, has actually only a handful of short sentences in Dothraki despite the language being prevalent throughout the book. Daenerys Targaryen pronounces that "Khalakka dothrae mr’anha!"/"A prince rides inside me!" and it's one of the only sentence we actually see in actual Dothraki.

There's also nothing stopping you from just saying a language has been spoken. If you're not comfortable writing out the words, then don't make yourself. A simple dialogue tag can do the trick just fine.

Know your Words

I do recommend keeping an actual record of your words. Make a dictionary if you want or a simple list of words you need. This is one of the most entertaining aspects of world building, have fun with it, go mad if you like. Also here's a short list of questions you can ask yourself about language in general which might help your juices flow.

[scifrey]

Lots of talk happening on Social Media lately about Trade Pub vs. Indie Pub vs. Selfpub (not that one is better than the other, just the advantages or disadvantages of whichever route you pick.)

So, I thought I'd share this again.

This is how a book goes from a manuscript to a published product, regardless of which type of publishing you do.

Note that if you have an agent or publisher, everything from "Submissions" downward, you will have support teams for (editors, proofreaders, marketing teams). Unless it's Indie/Small Press, in which case, much like querying, the submissions process is on you.

But if you selfpub, you have to do that all on your own (unless, like me, you hire cover artists, proofreaders, typesetters, etc.)

I've got some more information about Pitch Packages for Query/Submissions here, and lots more articles about the business and craft of writing here.

[thoughtportal]

typesetting in google drive

[sohoscribblers]

Sharing an educational article written by one of our more experienced Scribblers for any new or hopeful writers out there. This is the first in a series on POV

______

An Overview of Point of View in Writing

by @adeptdragonfruit54

What is point of view and why is it important?

Simply put, point of view is the lens through which you tell your story. It’s the voice of the story and your perspective character.  It’s important because the POV you tell the story from will impact the details available to your reader and the reliability of the narrator among other things. “No decision you make will impact the shape and texture of your story more than your choice of Point of View,” says editor Dave Lambert. Surprisingly, it can also be one of the trickier skills to master for a new or inexperienced writer. A common problem is an inconsistent POV. You don’t have to stick with a single POV throughout a story, but if you’re new to writing, sometimes it’s better to stick with one POV until you have a little more experience under your belt. Another problem I’ve seen is using an incorrect POV for the story being told.  I’ll give you an example of this once we dig into the different types of POV below. So, what are the different types of POV?

Primarily, there are three types of POV. We’ll start with a basic overview in this article and then go into each, in depth, in subsequent articles.

First Person POV:

First person POV uses personal pronouns like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “us.” Stories written in the first person are personal narratives where the protagonist is telling their story or a side character is telling the protagonist’s story. Ie. Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games is written in with first person from the POV of the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen.

Finish Reading on AO3

[theprissythumbelina]

Hello! : )

thank you so much for answering so quickly it helped a lot but i have some follow up questions as i realised that the situation is trickier than i thought. Sorry i think this is even longer than the first one. Also warning: it has some mildly grafic description of an injurie and mentions the death of an animal brifely and non graphicly. I phrased it as palatabel as i could but my english is not the best so i don't know how well i did. I understand if you dont answer it due to this.

First of all that chase scene i think i about got what they would do but i realise it might not be enough. So there are no spare horses availibel because its on uninhabited land. Dismounting to let the horses rest is not an option because one of the riders is injured and cant mount or dismount the horse whithout help especial not while the horse is moving. These beasties would definitly have something like the Tölt gait if not exactly that and they are used for long distance rides normaly, the riders have experience with that too. Would that make this easier for bot parties? Another thing the riders could do is trow away most of the stuff the horses are carrying. Could that help?

What might cause troubel is the following.

They are not chased by humans who need to deal with the same barriers they do but predators. I don't know what their stile of predation is called, persistence or endurance predator i think, esencialy they follow prey at medium pace until it drops from exhaustion. So they don't need to keep breakneck speed but stopping is not an option. The horses are bonded to their riders so not likely to leave them to their death but what littel i know of horses i am not sure a horse fearing for its life would care much for anyone but itself. Would the predators' presence motivate them to keep runing even when they want to stop and work with their rider or would they become feral couches from hell and stop listening to any commands even if they let the humans stay on their back?

Another troubel is the horse to human ratio. One of the horses fell and injured itself fataly so one of the remaining horses is carrying two humans. Bot of them are pretty light and they fit on the horses back but i know multipel riders on one horse is best avoided. Could the horse still keep up its special gait or would the weight distribution make that hard? Could it have any chance in keeping up with the other horse? Its the stronger one and it had a more favorabel travel rout with more throughout preparation befor the chase and the rider on the other horse is the injured one so he is not mantaining ideal position for riding. Would the horse even tolerate two people climbing on its back under these circumstances even if it likes them?

As i mentioned the solo rider is injured, he can press on the horses side with his thighs but he cant stand in the saddel. his right lower leg has a pretty gnarly bite wound that messed up some tendons, its bandaged and sewn up properly but still a day old injurie. He also has some brusing and internal injuries that make it difficult for him to straighten. How dificult would that make his life? What injuries is he likely to suffer due to this?

Regarding the care for the horses after: resources neededfor that would be availibel. But there is no option to take them indoors as they are in a camp and not a city. How big of an issue would that be? Also no familiar face can attend to them because they are exhausted. Would a horse that gone through an ordeal like this tolerate a stranger right after? Would they be too tired to care as long as the person gives the commands they are used to and acts sensibel? How soon could they be riden again safely?

Thank you so much again.

Ahh, I love more specific questions. So, let's break this down. One of the really cool things about horses is that horses, humans, and dogs are incredibly well suited to each other as constantly mobile creatures. That is possibly one of the reasons that horses were domesticated, in fact. Horses are made to continually walk and graze, it is their optimal situation. However, being chased will slowly wear down any animal.

I'm not sure for how long this chase goes on, but if it is maybe a week or more without stopping at all, the horses are going to run into the issue of starvation quite quickly. There is no way to carry enough food for the horses so that they do not need to graze along the way, and even a few days of limited food and stress will begin to cause digestive issues. If walking is an option, horses can walk and eat just fine even with riders, but if they need to continually be moving at a trot, they will start to starve.

Regarding leaving their riders out of fear, that very much depends on the horse and rider. There are many real life instances where horses will actually attack predators to defend their humans, so that is up to you and what you want to have in your story. I mean, horses were historically used for war, they can be trained to go against just about any natural instinct.

Two people on one horse for any amount of time is a fantasy fabrication. In your scenario, those two would alternate time on the horse and running beside the horse. They would only both ride if they needed to gallop, and even then the second rider would most likely fall off. Again, your story, you can take my advice as you please, but unless one is a child of half the size of the other, it flat does not work. There is just not space for two people to sit on a horse. You could hog tie one to the front of a western-style saddle, but that would not be very comfortable for the hogtiedee.

As for the injured rider, he would be in extreme pain. Riding a horse is a very muscular exercise, especially for long distances. Even someone used to riding will have sore thighs and abs after a longer ride than usual. I would bet that with his injuries, he would have to be lashed to the saddle somehow, or dragged behind the horse on a makeshift travois. (illustrated below) He would be constantly moaning, possibly faint from pain, and the continual motion may cause additional bleeding, which is also not great. If he falls from the horse, he will have further injuries including possible broken bones, concussion, but even if he stays on, his healing will be delayed by the additional trauma. And infection will most likely set in with only field care, especially from an animal bite.

As for the aftercare, the horses will be far too exhausted to care who feeds and brushes them. They will want to drink, eat, and sleep. The person offering that could be anyone. Outdoors is also not a problem as long as they are properly cooled down. Horses have lived outside since horses existed. As for when they can be ridden again, if needs must, a few days. But if they can rest, I would let them rest several weeks before using them again. Forcing anything to continually work to exhaustion will make injuries more likely and decrease its lifespan.

Also, here are some current examples of special paces for you, including the Tölt. Many are American breeds, as most gaited breeds of Europe were extinct by WW2.

[so-many-ocs]

[on the verge of having a complete breakdown] i need to make some kind of list or perhaps sort things into categories

[pygmi-says-hi]

STOP DOING THIS IN INJURY FICS!!

Bleeding:

Blood is warm. if blood is cold, you’re really fucking feverish or the person is dead. it’s only sticky after it coagulates.

It smells! like iron, obv, but very metallic. heavy blood loss has a really potent smell, someone will notice.

Unless in a state of shock or fight-flight mode, a character will know they’re bleeding. stop with the ‘i didn’t even feel it’ yeah you did. drowsiness, confusion, pale complexion, nausea, clumsiness, and memory loss are symptoms to include.

blood flow ebbs. sometimes it’s really gushin’, other times it’s a trickle. could be the same wound at different points.

it’s slow. use this to your advantage! more sad writer times hehehe.

Stab wounds:

I have been mildly impaled with rebar on an occasion, so let me explain from experience. being stabbed is bizarre af. your body is soft. you can squish it, feel it jiggle when you move. whatever just stabbed you? not jiggly. it feels stiff and numb after the pain fades. often, stab wounds lead to nerve damage. hands, arms, feet, neck, all have more motor nerve clusters than the torso. fingers may go numb or useless if a tendon is nicked.

also, bleeding takes FOREVER to stop, as mentioned above.

if the wound has an exit wound, like a bullet clean through or a spear through the whole limb, DONT REMOVE THE OBJECT. character will die. leave it, bandage around it. could be a good opportunity for some touchy touchy :)

whump writers - good opportunity for caretaker angst and fluff w/ trying to manhandle whumpee into a good position to access both sites

Concussion:

despite the amnesia and confusion, people ain’t that articulate. even if they’re mumbling about how much they love (person) - if that’s ur trope - or a secret, it’s gonna make no sense. garbled nonsense, no full sentences, just a coupla words here and there.

if the concussion is mild, they’re gonna feel fine. until….bam! out like a light. kinda funny to witness, but also a good time for some caretaking fluff.

Fever:

you die at 110F. no 'oh no his fever is 120F!! ahhh!“ no his fever is 0F because he’s fucking dead. you lose consciousness around 103, sometimes less if it’s a child. brain damage occurs at over 104.

ACTUAL SYMPTOMS:

sluggishness

seizures (severe)

inability to speak clearly

feeling chilly/shivering

nausea

pain

delirium

symptoms increase as fever rises. slow build that secret sickness! feverish people can be irritable, maybe a bit of sass followed by some hurt/comfort. never hurt anybody.

ALSO about fevers - they absolutely can cause hallucinations. Sometimes these alter memory and future memory processing. they're scary shit guys.

fevers are a big deal! bad shit can happen! milk that till its dry (chill out) and get some good hurt/comfort whumpee shit.

keep writing u sadistic nerds xox love you

ALSO I FORGOT LEMME ADD ON:

YOU DIE AT 85F

sorry I forgot. at that point for a sustained period of time you're too cold to survive.

pt 2

also please stop traumadumping in the notes/tags, that's not the point of this post. it's really upsetting to see on my feed, so i'm muting the notifs for this post. if you have a question about this post, dm me, but i don't want a constant influx of traumatic stories. xox

[solarsyrup]

for whatever reason tumblr has flagged this post from a deleted blog as explicit so I can't even reblog it anymore which is a shame because it's one of my absolute favorites

[creativepromptsforwriting]

How to show emotions

Part V

How to show grief

a vacant look

slack facial expressions

shaky hands

trembling lips

swallowing

struggling to breathe

tears rolling down their cheeks

How to show fondness

smiling with their mouth and their eyes

softening their features

cannot keep their eyes off of the object of their fondness

sometimes pouting the lips a bit

reaching out, wanting to touch them

How to show envy

narrowing their eyes

rolling their eyes

raising their eyebrows

grinding their teeth

tightening jaw

chin poking out

pouting their lips

forced smiling

crossing arms

shifting their gaze

clenching their fists

tensing their muscles

then becoming restless/fidgeting

swallowing hard

stiffening

holding their breath

blinking rapidly

exhaling sharply

How to show regret

scrubbing a hand over the face

sighing heavily

downturned mouth

slightly bending over

shoulders hanging low

hands falling to the sides

a pained expression

heavy eyes

staring down at their feet

Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV + Part VI

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[bamsara]

I love blocking people I've never interacted with based off their replies on some random popular post. Wow random user on a post with 50k notes with the worst take ever, I hope I never meet you and will make sure we never do

[noperopesaredope]

I wish we had more female characters like Eleanor Shellstrop. One of the most unlikable people you've ever met. Read a Buzzfeed article on most rude things you can do on a daily basis and decided to use that as a list of goals. Makes everyone's day worse just by being there. Dropped a margarita mix on the ground and tried to pick it up, only to get hit by a row of shopping carts which pushed her into the road where she was hit by a boner pill delivery truck, killing her instantly. Cannot keep a romantic partner despite being bisexual. Had a terrible childhood but will die before she gets therapy. Best employee at a scam company. Just the worst but also can't help but root for her to improve.

Absolute loser. Girl-failure. Bad at almost everything. Literally perfect female character.

[the-coffee-fandom]

Had to make a meme to describe me currently

[thoughtportal]

Writer Emergency Pack https://www.writeremergency.com/

creator https://linktr.ee/ecfullersbooks

[thewatcher727]

Writing Description Notes:

Updated 9th September 2024 More writing tips, review tips & writing description notes

Facial Expressions

Masking Emotions

Smiles/Smirks/Grins

Eye Contact/Eye Movements

Blushing

Voice/Tone

Body Language/Idle Movement

Thoughts/Thinking/Focusing/Distracted

Silence

Memories

Happy/Content/Comforted

Love/Romance

Sadness/Crying/Hurt

Confidence/Determination/Hopeful

Surprised/Shocked

Guilt/Regret

Disgusted/Jealous

Uncertain/Doubtful/Worried

Anger/Rage

Laughter

Confused

Speechless/Tongue Tied

Fear/Terrified

Mental Pain

Physical Pain

Tired/Drowsy/Exhausted

Eating

Drinking

Warm/Hot

[intermundia]

this is the single worst way i've ever read to describe an erection, frank herbert

[whatkindofnameisella]

can you believe that we have fanfiction. that we have websites dedicated to fanfiction. that there is a place that you can go and read tens, hundreds, thousands and thousands of pieces of writing that strangers have made. people who are not "writers". people who come home at the end of the day and have feelings and say, i am going to put that into words. i am going to share those words. short, long, sweet, sad, horny, funny, wonderful words. we are all just human and we all love to make and remake and share that with others. can you believe that.