On the other AYWSF thread, there is a very good tip for names (any).

1) Take the name of anything: your name, your town's name, anything.
2) Write countries, states, or towns to the side of it.
3) Look at the names you have created, and throw out the ones that don't make sense.

EX:

South Africa
Iceland
Rhode Island
India
Tibet
Holland

Names: Rl, Ochnio, Ueodbl, Tldiel, Haeata, Anin, Fdsd, Ia, Cn, Ad. (Usable names in italics. All names are up for grabs.)

I personally don't use this tactic because I don't have any trouble with coming up with names. I just write down the first thing that comes to mind, and that usually works.

Maps. You brought up something I dread doing, and haven't yet done for my story, which I am a good 150 pages in. I am no good with maps, and while I enjoy looking at finished ones, I fear making them. Don't ask me why, for I can't tell you. If anyone has any good maps suggestions, please come forth! (Please...)

I write a lot of fantasy, it is very private though, i do show it to a few lotr fans. Tolkien has really inspired me and I get a lot of ideas from his work. I get a lot of the personality traits from Tolkien, though I don't copy his ideas and I think of all my own names. There are dwarfs, elves, and men in my stories, though no hobbits! And also I create various creatures. I think the best part is making up all the kingdoms and cities etc. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who writes fantasy! and sirithherewn, I agree that maps are hard and I like your technique for names. I usually just think of words which sound like the names in lotr. almost like a rhyme! ;) hope tht helps

I guess drawing maps just comes naturally to some people. I like drawing an island and slicing it up into different bits, adding forests and rivers and whatever. Do rough maps to start with, really simple things. Don't start with any great detail.

I'd forgotten about that, but I've used it to come up with some very nice names. I usually use one of my friend's names and make up a random sentence. Like this:

E-elephants
L-like
E-eating
N-nasty
N-noses
A-and
R-raspberries

Elephants like eating nasty noses and raspberries. :rolleyes:

Liaona...oooh, I like that one, no stealing it!

I decided to write a story because I've always loved writing of all sorts, I'm actually an award winning poet so I've got a lot of experience.
I am writing a fantasy book and one of my main inspirations was Lord of the Rings, it just struck me as the benchmark of fantasy and originality.
It's so hard to be original when Tolkiens done almost everything already. :)

Completely agree there Gothbogg. So much fantasy writing is terribly derivative, the dreadful "Shanarra" series being a case in point.
I think that Tolkien covered the major themes so well that the LOTR books are almost impossible to better.
One fantasy writer is distinctively different though...has anyone read anything by Gene Wolfe?

Wow. You guys make it sound as if Tolkien and LotR was the ultimate fantasy, that it was fantasy, that it is the end all of fantasy, and that is the king of fantasy. I feel really sorry for those pitiful authors out there, trying to scrape together a fantasy story for people who seem to think that there is nothing after Tolkien.

You two seem to be operating under the thinking that there are only a few major themes and that Tolkien incorporated them all. I almost seem to be getting the impression that there is only one way to write those themes. Well...hate to break it to you, but there are a zillion ways to write those themes. Tolkien did a theme in a very basic way that had never been done in quite that way before. That's why it's popular. He took the theme of a dark lord and hero trying to take over the world and how a nobody peon defeated him (he even put quite a twist on that) and another theme that is called the Cinderella Theme and he wrote the story from there. Sure, Aragorn isn't a girl but he's still a nobody. A ranger. A ranger who is frowned upon. And then he becomes king. It's so brilliant its hardly recognizable.

What I'm trying to say is that there are only a few handfuls of themes in this world (the Cinderella theme and the peon defeats big bad lord theme are two of the major ones) and they are everywhere, even in history (Joan of Arc). What makes a story is how you wrote the theme, the spins and twists you put on the theme, the reality of the setting, and many more factors. To say that Tolkien's way is the only way to write fantasy or that he already did it is like saying there is only one method to do math, and we all know that that is a lie.

Saying that Tolkien did all there was to do, or that there is only one way to write fantasy is denying the genius, the intricacy, the creativity, and the imagination of the human mind.

Yes Virgina, there is fantasy after Tolkien
 

Fantasy can be anything that has even only vague supernatural or speculative elements. You can write Fantasy without Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, Trolls, Orcs, Ringwraiths, Hobbits, Balrogs, Ents, talking Eagles, Wargs, Dark Lords, magic objects, vast cosmologies, catastrophic wars, Quests, or anything else that takes a forefront in Tolkien’s books. (That isn’t to say that anything which does have one or more of those elements is automatically Tolkienesque, but I mean that those things are not the heart and soul of fantasy). I agree with Imladris, fantasy doesn’t begin and end with Tolkien’s words, and his is certainly not the only method. Or even the best for some people’s tastes. I have come across (to my initial surprise) many aspiring fantasy authors who have Tolkien low on their list of favorites or don’t even like him that much. A year or so ago I would have just thought that they had no taste or were denying their Lord of the Fantasy, but now I have just come to realize that people are varied enough that some can like fantasy but prefer methods other than Tolkien’s. And more importantly, aspire to something other than Tolkien.

I can honestly say there’s nothing in my writing repertoire that is Tolkienesque, and here I even like him. I just don’t buy into the idea that there’s only one way to write fantasy and that it’s Tolkien. I have seen too much proof otherwise. There will always be copycats of great stories, or stories told in a similar format, but that doesn’t mean that there is not and never will be anything else which is still yet worthy of the title “great fantasy”.

Oh, and by the way….

D E T R O I T
I L L I N O I S
A L A B A M A
M O N T R E A L
O N T A R I O
N E V A D A
D E L A W A R E

Hmmm… Ellonee, Tlantvl, Ribtaaa, Onarrdw, Iomeiaa, Tiaao.

S A C R E M E N T O
A L B A N Y
R A L E I G H
A R K A N S A S
H A C K E N S A C K

Alara, Cblkc, Raeak, Enine, Myhas, Esa. I think the second try had better results. That is kinda interesting. :)

It really works! Gets you unstuck when you can't think of any names. I have a list of names somewhere, I make up new ones whenever I feel like it, then write 'em down to use when they're needed.

Suffering from a major case of writer's block at the moment...stupid persuasive essay for english class... :mad:

I have never really liked writing. In school when we are required to write a story, I put to much detail and events into them, and they end up being at least 8 pages long while everyone else has 1-2 pages.
However, I was in school a couple weeks ago, and on an impulse of my own, I felt like writing. I began jotting down ideas, and it is now coming along nicely. It is fantasy, my favorite kind of story because you can make anything happen, and it seems possible.
And yes, Tolkien has influenced my writing very much. Especially with names. Like Elennar Starfire, I have a list of names that I take from whenever I need to. Many of them sound like they could come straight from Tokien`s works. ;)

I think my record for a school-required writing was six pages, double-spaced...I got extra credit for writing more than necessary. (Loved my eighth grade English teacher!) I wanted to make it longer, but didn't have time. I may add details and improvements someday...my main problem with school writing is finishing in time, since I tend to write on with many details and plot twists. Though I rather pity the people who think eleven pages is a book rather than a longish short story...

*Leny realizes she's rambling*

Ok...I'll stop now...

I'm suddenly filled with inspiration for some new characters... I already have a few drawn but I really have very little idea what's going to happen to them. However, I went to the New York Renaissance Faire today and there were so many interesting and unusual people about that I just want to write about them all! Now all I need is a plot... ;)

Ah, I at last am rid of my Writer's Block! *sighs happily* Now, to find those papers I wrote it all on...

Ah, but how did you break the block? ;)

I do that too, Encaitare. I am inspired by the things I see or hear, and create people or ideas from it. In the story I am writing right now, I really don`t have a plot. I make it up as I go, though sometimes I get ahead of myself and dream up ideas to put in later. My Literature teacher has been trying to stress the importance of brainstorming, clusters, and prewriting lately, but very seldom do I use them. I store all my ideas in my head.

I don't really know...it just went away.

Once I was complaining about my writer's block to one of my favorite fanfiction authors, and she told me that writer's block is just a state of mind. Surprisingly, thinking on her words of wisdom helped lift the block! Maybe it'll work for someone else too...

Yes, I have heard that too, Encaitare, and when you view Writer's Block as an illusion, it does help wonders. Unfortunately, it's easier to say that than do it.

I have found that if you do have writer's block, it pays to write about anything. I consider it the equivalent of an artist's doodlings...only you're writing the doodlings.

Maybe it was the strange journal prompt my English teacher gave us...she put a strange picture on the board, of a man about to hit a lump under the carpet with a chair (meaning he was going to use the chair to hit the lump, not that the lump had a chair) and said to make up a story for what's going on. I had a bit of fun with that...the really great thing is that she's got lots of these pictures. :D Tales of accidental toadification, baby rocks that come skipping back...

*is rambling again* Sorry about that...

Anyways, I suppose I would recommend thinking of something amusing and writing about it.

<==The Lofty Tree of Gondor!
 

I just read through this entire thread, and decided it needed resurrecting. :D

I'm not sure, really. One day, when I was about thirteen, my mind suddenly said, "Hey, wouldn't it be interesting to write a fantasy story?" My mind has refused to shut up about it since.

I write action fantasy! Lots of running around and battling with creepy things. 'S most fun. I actually have started out by writing fanfiction, which is brilliant practice for original work. ('M working on one story at the moment which is a very odd crossover between LotR and Alien! Should be quite good. *crosses fingers*)

Oyez. Mostly with names; a lot of the names in the novel triplet I'm working on are drawn from Tolkien's works. I do change the meanings and spellings, so it's not exact, and it's not just Elven; I have names taken from Black Speech, Westron, and Rohirric as well. Plus, Tolkien's style is just so brilliant, I try to give my work some of the same depth and meaning.

Ditto what has been said before; I try to write them so I identify with them, and hopefully others will identify as well. We really are more alike than we are led to believe.

Even the baddies can be identified with, to a certain degree. Best example? Gollum.

What I'm actually doing with my current triplet is making my protagonist not be the most important person involved in the war. He's a knight, one of many, and is just trying to help protect his land and his people. I think having a protagonist be "perfect" and the most important piece on the board, so to speak, is a real turnoff for many readers. They don't want to read about amazing, perfect people doing amazing, superhuman things. Like with the hobbits. They are "little people", in every sense of the word, which is why readers identify with them.

Immersion, definitely. *nodnod* Personally, I don't like having to explain everything to the main character in order to explain it to the audience. I always feel like I'm in better hands if the protagonists actually know what they're doing (or seem to know ^_~).

Although I did get a weird idea to do "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Middle-earth", involving a modern teen/young adult falling into M-e and needing help from a friendly Arda denizen and his/her Hitchhiker's scroll. Yes, I know I need help. And no, you can't have that idea. :p It's mine, my own, my preciousss.... >.>

Carefully. ^_~

I actually don't have much trouble with this; even though I'm a girl, I seem to have an easier time writing male characters... o.O; Yeah, 's odd. Just try your best; but don't fall into stereotyping; this creates Designated Misogynistic Idiots, which is, as a general rule, a bad thing, especially in a protagonist.

This took me forever to work out. I used to refuse to change anything I've already written. Now rewriting is one of my favourite parts of the writing process! I'll agree with what has been said previously; make a copy of your work and hand it over to someone with a Big Red Pen to mark it up and make suggestions. It is very useful. *nodnod*

My Insanity Folder. It never leaves my person. I keep all my writing ideas, maps, excerpts, quotes, everything, in this one little folder. The poor thing gets very beat up; I've had to replace it three times already. O.O For a writing utensil, I keep a mechanical pencil, extra lead, and an eraser with me at all times.

Music. Lots of music. *nodnod*

Another study has shown that if you listen to rap, your IQ drops. *snicker*

I'm thinking my current triplet is more of an event story, but I'm not sure. It's a battle/magic kind of thing (with spiders! :D) so it kind of just goes from event to event; but I also like to put in detail and background for my characters. Can a story be in two categories?

I hate when that happens. -_-; I usually just stick in names of friends or something until I get to know the characters better. Then I can usually pick a name. If you write modern fantasy, you can pick a name by deciding on a meaning you want it to have, then checking a names book to find something that fits. Or you can write it as an in-joke (someone who loves disco with a name that sounds rather like Boromir? ^_~).

Then there are those lovely characters that pop up with a name already supplied. One of my characters waltzed into my head with a little wave and a nametag that read "Hello, my name is Maura!". It was so perfect. ^^

Place names... -_- Horrid, quite horrid. I will give you a tip that my friend uses, to great success; maybe you can use it. She gets an astronomy book and goes through the names of stars, constellations, and nebuli. She has discovered some brilliant names by doing that. I've used a few myself.

Anyway, my question is this: connecting pieces. Say you get a lot of ideas, but you have trouble linking them all together coherently. How would you fix that problem? I hate doing the "time skips" and "trudge trudge trudge" that turns up so much. Any suggestions?

Abedithon le,

~ Saphy ~

Another fun way to come up with names is to spell things backwards and change a few letters so it's not obvious to those weirdos (like me) who often read names backwards to see if it's a word.

Remember Aksarben, Saphy? ;)

I also think of a person I know that acts somewhat like the character, spell it backwards or twist it around and come up with a name. Like Deshaune...(my 7th/8th grade French teacher).

I found a million great ideas for names in my SAT prep book. They put some very curious words in there:

maudlin -- which could easily, and probably will be, converted into Maudelyn

scintilla -- an word which sounds like some sort of evil vegetation to me

legerdemain -- since many of my characters are court jesters, and this word means "sleight of hand," I may very well make it a last name, LeGerdemain.

I also came across the name Quigley in there, which I immediately loved, so much so that I had to create a character for it. He's a little juggler who's very mischievous.

I've only been published in science journals/magazines but I'm writing my 2nd novel (I'm waiting a good spell before trying shop my first one) that is a Sci-Fi with plenty of humor. Sometimes it takes inspiration to get through a block, but that can take time. Time is not on our side, usually, so I've found, by experience, that 'working through' is the best remedy. By which, I mean, just making myself work forward on the story (thank goodness for computers! ;) ) and only saving the good bits. I will usually find a new thought or thread to carry on the story, or even just come up with new ideas to incorporate into the story at some later juncture.

Plus a real kicker is a timeline....nothing inspires like a deadline, eh! :p

I don't know who first suggested taking the first letters of various names and places to form new words, but that has been a most helpful hint!
I finished writing a fantasy story earlier this year and I had no problems coming up with the places for it, but as I started to write the second part I needed more names for it. And so I used that first letter method and it was such a huge help when I was drawing the map and trying to name the various landmarks. So thanks to the person (or people) who brought that up!

Once, in a fantasy story I was typing on the computer I couldn't come up with a name, so I looked around for ideas, I actually found it on the back of a cerial box. So, when in doubt, look around. I also think Sirith's idea was cool. :)

So what type of scene comes most naturally to you guys? I must say that I particularly love writing about a diminishing mental state of a person. Whether this character has been weakened by some terrible news, or is descending into madness, that's what I really enjoy writing about.

Ohhhhhh, yes. I absolutely love writing madness, and the more tragic it is, the better. That's why nearly all my fanfiction, poetry, and short works of original fiction are categorized as "angst." The great thing about mentally upset characters is that you can make them act in the most unpredictable and random ways to ordinary things. So that sort of angsty business comes very naturally to me, not sure why. Perhaps it's got something to do with my astrology...

Another idea I like that just popped out of nowhere is the idea of characters who personify different things. I've got these characters called the Virtues, and they have names like Faith, Hope, Mercy, Chastity, etc. The super-fun twist is that they are the exact opposite of their names. So Hope is always depressed; Mercy is a sadist, and so on. Very fun stuff.

And anything surreal. Surreal is good.

I used those names to create a group of angels in one of my fantasy stories (obviuosly called the Angels of Virtues), only unlike yours their names were what they are. But I also had the angel Death who was a woman, which is supposed to be a twist because women are associated with life.

I'm not much for a certain scene I like to write, but I'm really love introducing someone for the first time. Describing them and so on.

I do quite enjoy creative writing and writing fantasy, but am a bit more into constructing my own cultures and especially constructing languages. Being somewhat of a linguist myself (only somewhat because I'm a Classicist, but more in the philological/literary sense), I'm fascinated with etymologies and the development of languages and the pure sounds of words. I don't suppose there's anyone around here with the same interests?

I do love learning about the origins of names, something I've acquired since becoming immersed in Tolkien. I'm dorky; I like looking at the Latin-English dictionary and spotting word roots. :D

Hello all, just found this thread.. :)
 

Ok, so I am writing fantasy, trying at least. But Ireally don't knowhow good I am...
I have account in Elfwood, where I have few stories written...
(http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/libr/o...8/orion88.html)
But, they may be little weird.... Blame that I'm a Finn, and not native speaker/writer of English. :S

Eomer, I love writing action scenes. With every detail of a fight. I also like writing about crazy people. It's fun trying to think up mad thoughts. My dad gets quite disturbed when he reads my writing, too much blood and gore.

When I ever find the chance to write, fantasy for that matter, I tend to enrich it with poetry, something I love as a hobby. When I do this, I end up proof-reading it over a million times, even though they are always short stories. Another thing I love to do is encorporate historical fantasical items such as one I used, a spiegeltent which played an important role throughout that story.

Also, I have a bad habit of being a Poe, I always have something of maniacal or of dark humour happen. Another habit is giving characters very detailed backgrounds - Which end up taking a whole page... None if my characters are "goodie-two-shoes" either, I don't know why. Sometimes it would be nice to have some to liven up the text a bit. :rolleyes:

Tolkien has effected how I see or specifiy fantasy in some ways, mostly structure. His works are indeed high fantasy works of genius, which most tap insperation out of like a fountain. I don't think I have based any of my works on similar topics and ideals as Tolkien, but it would fun to try.


Well, that's all. Really.

~ Poe Loving Ka~

The Ka, I never write about goodie two shoes either. If the people are kinda bad, it adds drama. My stories always have the worst things that can happen to people, but I at least can still make it funny. (Without being like Leggy and Gimli) ;)

Mmm, Poe. One of my idols. Except I don't want to die a drunk. ;)

I too like to write flawed characters, or nasty or annoying ones. People don't want to read about all these perfect characters... at least I don't.

Flawed characters are always more interesting. They seem to endure the most conflictwise. Atleast mine do. They always have to fight two battles. One for whatever cause and then one within themselves. Good stuff. That's what Kitanna is in my story. She's my most flawed character I've ever had and everythings always about questioning if "this is really who I should be fighting for" or "is it really worth helping when the world will crumble" I love her so much which is why I picked that name to be my Barrow Downs name.

Encaitare~ I also hate reading about perfect people. They're ok as minor characters but a good story can't have a super perfect person as the main character. There's no conflict in that. My friend's story characters are all perfect and like superhuman with no flaws and I can't stand reading about them.

Blood and gore is quite good. I usually like to write about that from the perspective of a horrified onlooker. I don't think I've ever glorified it.

I'll agree that nobody wants to write (well, maybe they do, but they oughtn't to want to) a perfect character. But you have to be careful of how you're defining perfect and how you're defining flawed.

I've stumbled across a few people who seem to think if a heroine has anything even similar to good looks, it means she's perfect, and the author is under obligation to counter-act that good point by making her selfish, or some other flaw. If the main character is talented at something, then she (the poor young women are mostly picked on, but mostly by young women, so the gentlemen still retain their gallantry ;) ) must certainly be perfect. If she is unusual she must be a Mary-Sue (but if everyone else were as unusual as she, she wouldn't be unusual anymore).

I'm not in any way saying that you have these ideas, but some people truly do.

The word 'flaw' is often misinterpreted, as well. I've stumbled across people who think a person must have a flaw for every virtue they have, which is most realistic. I know many people, in fact and fiction, who have only one or two flaws against their many virtues... but these few flaws spoil everything else to a certain extent. I've heard that if your main character is selfish enough to not want to help her (again... it's always the females who are picked on) family and friends with something but not so selfish as to watch her friend die so she won't have to, she isn't selfish enough.

I once read a book about a fellow who had quite a few flaws... he was obstinately stubborn, he was accustomed to use slang, etc., etc. But even these flaws weren't actual flaws. They were un-refined virtues. Near the end his stubbornness was refined into determination to stand for what is right, and his use of slang developed into a real grasp of humour. This character didn't have any flaws, but only un-refined virtues. And yet almost every young lad I know who knows him adores him.

I'd be interested in hearing how others on this thread define 'perfect' and 'flawed.' How bad does a person have to be to be flawed? And when is it that they're pushing the limits and becoming perfect?

And here's something to think about...

If you have a good character, without many serious and wicked flaws, and perhaps only un-refined virtues, don't make everyone else around him really bad, to show up his goodness. Surround him by characters who are just as good as he is, and maybe even a character whose better.

And if you have a bad character that you really want to show up as mean and selfish, put at least one very good character alongside him who will show, just by being the opposite, how bad this character really is. It worked in Gone with the Wind with Scarlett O'Hara and Melly.... or at least it worked for me.

When I think of a flawed character, I think of most characters, since most are not perfect in every single way. They can be good people and still have a few things about them that are not ideal: little idiosyncrasies or problems that may arise and sometimes get in their way.

Or perhaps I used the word "flawed" incorrectly in the first place...

You were talking about Mary-Sues, Nuru, and in the fanfiction realm we see the same story time and time again. A beautiful, talented-at-everything young woman who just isn't appreciated by anyone at home and leads a tragic life magically meets handsome hero from a fandom of the author's choice. Extra points if she's got naturally purple hair in a world where everyone else has brown. This does not necessarily mean that a beautiful female lead is this type of character, or that there aren't quintessential sorts of people in the world on which she could be based. The character, in the end, is what the author makes of it. The seemingly perfect woman can either be annoying in her perfection, or a deep and genuinely good person.

Now about being flawed or not, I think that maybe "flawed" is not always the best word for what I meant. What I meant was more along the lines of a character not always having all the answers, or not always being sure of exactly what to do, or not always getting along with certain other characters, or being a bit snappish at times, etc. The characters I would prefer to write about would be more realistic (except if they are purposely meant to be a personification or embodiment of something, some virtue, vice, or what have you). We all have things about ourselves that we wouldn't mind changing but sometimes can't help. Maybe we'd like to be nicer or more sure of ourselves. Still, this doesn't make us bad people.

Hope this made some sense!

An interesting concept... must think about that one!

Mmm, I don't know how I would explina my idea of flawed. So I'll have to think about how I want to say it and still make sense, but I can say what I think a perfect character is.
When I say perfect I mean they have nothing wrong with them. Such as their physical form is top notch. They're fit, they're strong, they can do anything. Pretty face, and never a hair out of place. But also I mean personailtywise, everyone loves them except the bad guys of the story. They never get angry, they never falter and they never question their own motives. They're nice, funny, and smart and always have the answer to every question.
I want to say a "flawed" person is on the opposite end of that. But not quite. I'm just gonna stick with this as my definition of flawed (though after reading what Nurumaiel said I'm going to change my word choice.) Every person is flawed in some way. Maybe they're not smart, maybe their not fit, they can't answer every question, and they're not always nice and they get angry. Stuff like that. That's at least what I think.