Latest Posts by m0th-b0nes - Page 14
casual affection (part 2)
clearing out a drawer for the other at their house
helping the other wash/cut their hair
filling the other’s car with gas
making sure the other is up for work/school
sewing a rip in the other’s shirt
picking up the other’s meds for them
changing the other’s bedsheets
telling the other’s parents/siblings how much they love them
being the designated driver for the other at a party
taking candid photos of the other
holding the other’s hand in every situation
helping the other with their homework
learning the lyrics to the other’s favorite music so they can sing it together
making sure to kiss the other before they’re apart
giving the other a bouquet of flowers just because
helping the other go through their old clothes and taking them to donate
buying the other’s favorite candles and lighting them before they get home so the house smells of their favorite scent
teaching the other a skill (knitting/crochet, instruments, cooking, etc.)
putting up framed photographs of the other in their room
hugging the other every chance they get
casual affection
covering the other with a blanket when they fall asleep on the couch
making playlists/mixtapes/cassettes for the other
showing the other a meme/video that reminds them of them
smiling at each other from across the room
teasing each other good-naturedly
laying their hand on the other’s leg
embracing them from behind
talking about how much they love the other to their friends/family
giving the other the comfy seat in the car/kitchen/living room/etc.
plugging in the other’s phone when they fall asleep
bringing the other leftovers
rubbing the other’s back when it hurts
looking in each other’s eyes during a conversation
taking a photo of the other smiling or in their element
doing the other’s hair
doing the other’s laundry/dishes
changing the lyrics of a song so it says the other’s name
buying the other something small they mentioned they wanted
winking at the other
putting an arm around the other’s shoulder
letting the other have the umbrella/hoodie
bumping the other’s shoulder when they say something funny
ruffling their hair
laying their head on the other’s shoulder
squeezing the other’s shoulder
fixing the other’s clothes
cleaning the house when the other is at work
leaving cute notes for the other on the fridge
asking the other how their day was
hyping the other up before they do something big
Just finished reading Maus for the first time and this part really spoke to me.
she PERFECTLY explained why euphoria is a gross ass show and why i just cannot get into it.
this scene is so fucking funny the english dub of this show is so good
Piper Mclean - Masterpost
A masterpost of resources & posts on how to respectfully draw and represent Piper McLean as a Tsalagi/Cherokee character, and a few posts on the issues with her canon depiction. I am not Native, but a majority of the posts linked here are by Native people.
Note: if you are not Native, you do not get to decide what is or isn’t racist against Indigenous people, no matter how much research you do. Listen to Native voices on Native issues.
Note #2: please do not bombard the creators of these posts with questions unless they say they’re comfortable with it. They are not google. If you have questions, ask someone who has made it clear they are comfortable with it, ask me, or just google them.
Edit Note: I’ve removed links by findingmy//culture, as I no longer feel comfortable with them due to unrelated reasons. If you have suggestions for alternate links to share, hit me up.
some tips on drawing Piper
+ checklist of what not to do when drawing Piper
How to Draw Native Skin (Tutorial)
General How to Draw Native People (Tutorial)
General How to Draw Dark Skin (Tutorial)
color picks from Piper fanart vs photos of actual Indigenous people
on Piper and feathers (archived)
refs: some photos, more, this blog, you can also look through the Piper tags of my blog, tsigililimclean, etc.
further research on indigenous rep: @indigenousfantasy, @writingwithcolor (particularly this!), justin’s (Plains Cree native) representation wishes, rep for dark skinned Native folks, etc.
why piper isn’t good rep: long post on topic, also check the rr crit tags, etc.
Feel free to add on, especially Indigenous bloggers! I will edit as I find more. And also feel free to share this when asking people not to draw racist Piper.
Me: The way that the fandom writes and draws Piper McLean is racist.
White fans: It’s not racist! That’s how she’s written in canon!
Me: Yeah, and canon is racist too.
White fans:
why do you think you're entitled to money just for being black?
Because I am ;)
venmo.com/fluoresensitive
cash.app/$yahyascholfield
paypal.me/marsinaries
URGENT/TIME SENSITIVE: help two black women (me and my mom) pay rent this month.
hey yall, back again. the two women in the middle of the left photo are me and my mom. ever since mama and dad’s split our brother went off the grid, so we’ve been braving it alone. no luck on the job front, with prescriptions to pay and my mama’s disability. i’m begging y’all to come through for us again. rent is $600 but between odd jobs i can cover $200, which means i’m hoping for $400 by the 30th.
paypal: paypal.me/serenadavis4 cashapp:$serenathedavis IMPORTANT: if you pay through paypal, pls select ‘send to friend’ option. otherwise i have to provide proof of shipment before receiving funds.
0/$400
meep.
in which jack burns and burns and burns (or; i think about jack’s death to tommy far too often for it to be considered healthy)
a burning hill; mistki / tommyinnit is actually depressed in exile; tommyvods / a burning hill; mitski / war of the foxes; richard silken / dream smp wiki / jack manifold fanart; @mmiceonvenus / unknown / unknown / the horrors of villisca ax murder house; buzzfeed unsolved
this video is making me SOB
what does the revolution must not be televised mean?
prompts — casual affection
covering the other with a blanket when they fall asleep on the couch
making playlists/mixtapes/cassettes for the other
showing the other a meme/video that reminds them of them
smiling at each other from across the room
teasing each other good-naturedly
laying their hand on the other’s leg
embracing them from behind
talking about how much they love the other to their friends/family
giving the other the comfy seat in the car/kitchen/living room/etc.
plugging in the other’s phone when they fall asleep
bringing the other leftovers
rubbing the other’s back when it hurts
looking in each other’s eyes during a conversation
taking a photo of the smiling or in their element
doing the other’s hair/painting the other’s nails
doing the other’s laundry/dishes
changing the lyrics of a song so it says the other’s name
buying the other something small they mentioned they wanted
winking at the other
putting an arm around the other’s shoulder
letting the other have the umbrella/hoodie
bumping the other’s shoulder when they say something funny
ruffling their hair
laying their head on the other’s shoulder
squeezing the other’s shoulder
fixing the other’s clothes
cleaning the house when the other is at work
leaving cute notes for the other on the fridge
asking the other how their day was
hyping the other up before they do
sarahschauer: not what I usually post but worth sharing! Credits go to @/ dollarfor on tiktok, this video has already been deleted once by the platform, so I just thought l'd share before it goes away! the health care system in America is horrendous, all my international followers who like to gloat that they get free health care, can you hold off commenting for a second - americans, please watch this.
Be my valentine?
Excuse this rare posting, but 71 followers? I am so grateful. Like, you can’t even imagine. Thank you so much. I probably won’t do something like this again until I get to 100, but really, thank you so much.
World Building Tips: Empires and Power Structures
World building is important in any setting. There are places, such as fantasy literature where it can become the difference between a believable world and an unbelievable one. Suspension of disbelief is often a critical part to stories.
Many fantasy books take place during times of war, or revolution or even a fall of a corrupt empire. I love reading these sorts of stories, as many people do. Power structures can be complex. They can be used to create tension and drama between characters - take for instance the hero versus the corrupt government troupe in fiction such as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter or even more traditional fantasies such as Tigana ( by Guy Gavriel Kay) or The Wheel of Time series (by Robert Jordan). As a reader it can be compelling to follow these stories. For writers though, it can seem daunting to go into the details of shaping a believable power structure. Here are some basic tips for creating one.
There are four crucial factors to any power structure. These are as follows:
1. Military - this includes the size of the army, the types of technology used (guns or swords? navy or land army?), the basic structure of the army (is it highly regimented like the Romans? What are the different groups within the army? How are they divided - by technology, skills or social status?). Another important question here is why has the military developed in this way? The Roman military, for example, grew out of competition with other Italian states. The opposition is equally important here - who were/are they within your story? Apply the above questions just as much to them, because empires and other structures are influenced by the world around them. The military can be the reason an empire begins in the first place. The military should also play a role in sustaining the power structure/empire. It doesn’t have to be the strongest factor by any means. It may even become the downfall of the structure in the end.
2. Economy - How is your power structure or empire funded? Does this change over time? Does your empire take part in internal or external trade? Is trade important to the running of the empire? Resources such as crops, fertile land or people are also a part of this and influences the larger actions (such as conquest) your structure takes towards other countries. Trade can be a form of control and influence as well, even outside of the structure’s territory. In terms of story, a lot of decisions that are made involve trade or economic reasons - no one wants to get on the wrong side of someone who controls valuable resources or trade with other entities. The British Empire was based mainly on trade and this insured a global influence even as it declined in actual power.
3. Administration: The system of government and the way it manages itself is important to know. Is it a traditional monarchy or a democracy? How is leadership decided? How is power delegated throughout the larger administration? Hierarchy? One person can’t do or know everything. In terms of empire and conquest this is equally important. Does the empire recruit the local elites from conquered areas to administer to the general public, like the Romans? If your story is set in the outskirts of your empire, this could effect the outcome of the story - local elites might enjoy the power they have gained through an alliance with the larger empire and thus be unwilling to revolt against it. What other ways does your power structure control its territory? Does it use culture, or a set language to spread out into new territory? What kind of empire is your empire? Is it land based (only conquering territories linked by land) or maritime (navy focused with overseas territory)?
4. Culture: How does your power structure interact with its subjects? Even in a small area, different ethnic groups exist, so what unites all of them together? Are they all united, or is there groups of people the power structure leaves out? Have they always been left out deliberately or have these groups formed over time?How does the the government and the people from inside the empire view outsiders and their culture? Does this influence your story or characters? Do negative stereotypes or different language create a barrier between your character and others? In newly conquered areas is the empire’s language, laws and social ideals endorsed to locals or is it forced upon them? Is religion important to how the empire works or interacts? For example, before war do the gods need to show approval for the empire’s commanders? What about clashes of religion with other areas? Where do cultures intersect? Is your empire influenced by an older power or a hard past? What is seen as integral to your structure’s culture - art, literature, music etc? Are allies connected with your structure through culture, a shared distant history?
Most power structures rely on all of these factors - but none are ever equal in importance. Your government will identify one or two of these areas as important and focus on them. This can impact how the structure comes together and eventually falls apart - the greatest strength becomes a weakness, or something is overlooked until it is too late.
This is a long post - so I’m going to leave it here for now. If you guys have any questions, feel free to use the Ask feature to contact me.
Worldbuilding: Religions
Religions have many different aspects that should at least be given thought if not careful consideration. Use these to guide your creative process when developing new religions and deities.
Key Aspects
Deity/Pantheon: Your religion does not need to necessarily have a deity, and it can even have an entire pantheon. I would venture that while a trained priest might perhaps specialize in one deity, a religion can have many.
Dogma: What are the principles and teachings of your religion? What does the deity implore of their worshippers? What is and isn’t allowed? What are the ethics of the religion? Why must we follow these principles?
Symbols: As important as the religion’s dogma are its symbols. How is your religion recognized on flags, tabards, armor, weapons, artwork, and holy symbols? Does your religion have a holy color or color scheme that they could use for their priestly robes?
Temples: Where are the religion’s places of worship? They could be secluded and secret or in/near cities. What do they look like? Are they merely household shrines or grand cathedrals? Do they have any distinguishing features?
Religious Practices
Rites and Rituals: What sorts of special ceremonies do the clerics of your religion practice? Are there any special material components that have meaning for the religion, deity, and ceremony? How long do ceremonies take and what is supposed to come from them? Rituals always serve a purpose, even if that purpose is merely affirming your faith. Rituals are useful as story elements as well as for players to perform.
Affirming Faith: telling your god you’re there and in prayer. It can be as simple as a daily prayer or weekly ceremony or more in-depth like a monthly or yearly ritual.
Proving Devotion: proving your faith to your god, usually meant for those who might be in doubt or who have wavered.
Initiation: rituals for new members to the religion.
Induction: rituals for new clergy members or clergy moving up in hierarchy.
Satiation: your deity demands sacrifice of something valuable to you or to it.
Boon/Blessing: the ritual seeks something of your deity, perhaps a bountiful harvest or victory in battle.
Magic: a ritual might be held to cast certain spells or perhaps to increase the power or scope of a spell. These can also be used in creation of magic items.
Healing: rituals for performing healing magic.
Funerals: ceremonies for the dead.
Marriage: ceremonies for binding individuals together spiritually
Holy Days: Often rituals can coincide with special days or times of the year. Holy days can be predicted and often signify important seasonal or historic events. Harvest, springtime, solstice, and equinox holy days are common, as are those commemorating the deaths of martyrs or important dates in the religion’s history.
Myths/Legends: Are there any stories or parables that your religion teaches? What stories of the gods do they tell? Do they have any specific myths relating to things like the creation of the world, the creation of elements, the invention of everyday things, or perhaps the invention of morality?
Prayers/Sayings: To help you roleplay priests of this religion, you can come up with some common greetings, farewells, and blessings that might be associated with the religion. “Pelor shines upon you” and whatnot.
People
Titles/Hierarchy: What are the ranks of the clergy and do they have any special titles? Are there any notable NPCs in the religion’s hierarchy? For instance, those that worship Mammon, the archdevil of greed are often called Covetors.
Clergy: Do the clergy perform any services for the rest of the population? Usually this involves healing or holding ceremonies, but they could have a broader scope in a theocracy or a narrower scope if secluded or unpopular. What do the clergy look like and wear? Do they favor certain classes other than clerics?
Worshippers: What sort of people are drawn to the religion? Are there certain races, classes, or kingdoms that worship them? What convinces them to follow the religion’s dogma? Is it out of fear, necessity, protection, comfort, or prosperity?
Relations: Does this religion have allies or enemies? These could either be allied or rival churches, deities, or religions. Furthermore, certain kingdoms or people could ally with or oppose the religion. Think of how each faction and religion in your world sees this religion.
Culture
Art: How does your religion express itself? Define your religion’s art, architecture, fashion, and songs and how they compare to other religions and cultures.
Relics: What sorts of holy relics belong to your religion? These can be body parts or objects belonging to important martyrs or high priests or heroes that champion the religion. These might be kept in temples or may have been lost to time. Perhaps some are magic items being used by chosen (or unscrupulous) adventurers.
World building exercise
Make a stereotypes map, or “[region] according to ____”, like this one
But for your fictional world
A Guide to Writing: Making New Cultures
Cultures, like anything, take time to build. They are what define a people and what make their customs. It’s complicated and integrated into their society. It changes as the people change but the fundamentals often remain unchanged even centuries and millennia into the future.
When creating new worlds, if it’s not set in the world that we know, then the people, while being similar, will be different. What they hold as value will be different. That’s where new cultures come in. countries will be define by something and way out of the way towns will have things that are connected to them. Making new cultures can be a messy process, and I am by no way an expert, but there are at least five things that define a culture and should be present and known.
Customs
Customs are a traditional ways of doing something specify to a set of people or place. If you can’t think of any, think of some traditions that are from where you’re from. For example, in America and many other countries, it’s traditional to put up a tree for the winter holidays.
If the story you’re writing centers around a new culture, then the customs of its people is something that should come into play, even it’s something small. Maybe it’s someone coming of age. Maybe it’s someone passing away. Whatever the case, customs are a personal thing that people share. Be sure to not overlook them.
Arts
Art is a way people share their thoughts that are hard to convey. A way to pass on knowledge and to capture the emotions. Perhaps they capture their history in tapestries and artisans make paintings for a living.
Not only that, body art is an important part of many cultures. Maybe tattoos mean something at a certain age or it’s something like a brand. Perhaps they’re just decorative and meant to look flashy.
Social Institution
A social institution is a group of people who are together for a common purpose such as economy and government. These institutions are a part of the social order of society and they govern behavior and expectations of individuals.
For example, a charities and other nonprofit organizations fall under this category. In this culture you’re writing about, how do they feel about such organizations? Are the promoted? Frowned upon? Not only that, but this includes the education system, cultural groups, how families are defined, health care, market values, politics, and religions.
Each of these things may not hold equal value, or perhaps they all have the same weight. Are the church (in this instance used only to refer to religion) and state separate or together? Is the market, trading goods and services, more important than anything else? What’s the health of the people like and what methods do they use for healing?
Achievements
Achievements, in this case, are defined as things the people have done to better and further themselves. What are some of the things these people have done since they became a people? Was something medical? Was it something that benefited not only them, but the people around the as well?
However, the achievements don’t always have to grand. It could be something small like finding an easier way to make paint or a way to make their weapons. Achievements are things that are well earned and come from something small like inconvenience or big like a fight.
And not all that glitters is gold. An achievement can benefit the majority, but what about everyone else? Is it useful to everyone? Does it need to be? More importantly, what was the reason? It doesn’t always need to be known in detail, but things happen for a reason. As the writer, you, are the very least, need to know.
Behavior Characteristic
We all know that there are somethings that are frowned upon in modern culture. Things like people with breasts going around topless or anyone walking pants-less through the streets. There are certain things people just don’t do because of the consequences and the culture.
What are some of the things that are okay for people to do? What are things that are harmless yet frowned upon? There are things that are widely accepted and if these normal things are challenged then it should be explain if it’s not something carried over from a real culture.
If there are things that are carried over from real cultures, then that’s a tricky ground to walk on if you don’t know anything. Research and asking are an important part of this process if you want to do this. Carrying over form real cultures is fine as long as it’s not a bastardization of it.
Of course, like I said in the beginning of this, I’m not an expert. I don’t really know everything there is to know but this is what I’ve realized when making new cultures myself.
See ya, kiddos
Conveying Worldbuilding Without Exposition!
(As requested by both an anon and @my-words-are-light)
One of the hardest parts of writing speculative fiction is presenting readers with a world that’s interesting and different from our own in a way that’s both immersive and understandable at the same time.
Thankfully, there are a few techniques that can help you present worldbuilding information to your readers in a natural way, as well as many tricks to tweaking the presentation until it’s just right.
Four basic techniques:
1. The ignorant character.
By introducing a character who doesn’t know about the aspects of the world building you’re trying to convey, you can let the ignorant character voice the questions the reader naturally wants to ask. Traditionally, this is seen when the protagonist or (another character) is brought into a new world, society, organization. In cases where that’s the natural outcome of the plot, and the character has a purpose in the story outside of simply asking questions, it can be pulled off just fine. But there’s another aspect to this which writers don’t often consider:
Every character is your ignorant character.
In a realistic world, no person knows everything. Someone will be behind on the news. Someone won’t know all the facts. Many, many someones won’t have studied a common part of their society simply because they aren’t large part of that fraction or don’t have the time for it.
Instead of inserting an ignorant character and creating a stiff and annoying piece of expository dialogue, find the character already existing in the story who doesn’t know about the thing being learned.
2. Conflicting opinions.
A fantastic way to convey detailed world building concepts is to have characters with conflicting viewpoints discuss or argue about them. Unless you’re working with a brainwashed society, every character should hold their own set of religious, political, and social beliefs.
Examples of this kind of dialogue:
Keep reading
Resources For Plot Development
Plot Structures
All About Plot Structures
The Novel Plotting Formula
Story Structure: Plot Points
Save the Cat! 15-Beat Plotting Method
The Snowflake Method
The Hero’s Journey
Three Act Structure
29 Plot Structures
Methods Of Plotting
NaNoWriMo Prep: Plotting Your WIP with 90 Index Cards
Plot from the End
27 Step Tutorial How Do I Plot a Novel
How to Create a Plot Planner — Part 1
Pre-Plot the Middle and End of Your Novel
Dance between Plotting the Overall Story and Writing
Pre-Plotting Made Simple
A Writing Plan that Incorporates Research, Plotting and Writing
NaNoWriMo Plot Development Guide
Cool Resources
One Page Novel Format Spread Sheet
Worksheets For Writers
Writing Blockbuster Plots
Pros and Cons of Pre-Plotting a Novel before Writing
How to Plot 2 Protagonists in a Novel
Plot Your Story Scene-by-Scene to Emotionally Engage Your Readers
Behind the Scenes – Scene Types
Plot and Emotion
3 Common Plot Problems
Control the Pacing of Your Novel
Plot Twists: What Are They and How to Plot Them
Above the Plot Planner Line: How to Test Pacing and Tension in Stories
Beginnings Hook Readers/Audiences. Endings Create Fans
Where To Start: How To Write the Exact Right Beginning of Your Story
How to Show Character Mastery and Transformation through both the Internal and External Plots
Cause and Effect Scene by Scene
How to Create Subplots
Emotional Elements of Plot: Stories that Last Evoke Emotion
How to Plot the End of Your Novel
Plot the Climax, Write the Climax, Re-Vision the Climax and Then Re-Write the Climax of Your Story
How to Decide Which Scenes to Keep and Which Ones to Toss
Where Exactly Does the End Begin in a Novel
Benefits of Pre-Plotting
30 Scene Ideas
Plot Generators
Romance
Fantasy
Paranormal Romance
Crime
Horror
Mystery
Science Fiction
Dystopian
Even More Options Here
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FAQ //monthly writing challenges // Masterlist
writing resources masterpost
i am just CRANKING out the masterposts. linked to original posts whenever possible. enjoy!!
100 beautiful words
name generators
plotting made simple
places to put character descriptions
guide to fantasy
how to passive voice
research resources
regular masterpost i’m including bc of all the writing/grammar links
for writers creating their own worlds/characters
who and whom how to
ways to avoid saying the word ‘very’
several ways to find the word you’re looking for
look up illegal stuff in a legal way
deflate inflated phrases
rhymes made easy
start the story
good character traits ref sheet
character traits generator
write real people
limits of the human body
best yet most infuriating writing advice
seven steps to the perfect story
100 ugly and beautiful words
quick guide to myers briggs personalities
eye shapes for writers
four temperaments
tip top writing tip
visualize your character’s house
random writing tips
castle terminology
kurt vonnegut’s rules for writing fiction
words that describe a voice
surnames/last names masterpost
random city/name generators
character building stuff
size comparison
build a realistic character
here’s why every word is important
hemingway writing checker
ideas for character flaws
if you think writing a book is easy, read this
cis person writing trans character? read this
stages of deterioration in the human body
resources for writing character bios
stuff u should know about all ur characters
Writing About: Pirates
The Characters and the Fiction
Tips for writing about pirates
10 Tips for writing pirate fiction
Types of pirates 1
Types of Pirates 2
Not Even Pirates Spoke Pirate
6 Absurd Pirate Myths Everyone Believes
Ten Facts About Pirates
Life
What did pirates drink?
Pirate Life
Oh to be a Pirate
Real life pirates
Real-life pirates of the caribbean
Ten Facts About Anne Bonny and Mary Read
Historical Female Pirates
Women Pirates, Female Pirates in Story
History of Black Pirates
Raids, Not Race, Were What Mattered to Black Pirates
Wikipedia’s List of Pirates
Historic Periods
The Golden Age of Piracy
1680-1730: Pirates and Anglo-American Piracy in the Atlantic
1700-1725 The Golden Age of Piracy
Big Cities during the Golden Age
The Ships
Category: Pirate Ships
6 Famous Pirate Ships
Ship Parts (possibly flawed but very long list)
Ship Parts
Definitions of Caribbean-used Ships
Positions and Duties on Board of a Pirate Ship
Weapons and Fighting
History of Pirate Weapons
Pirate Weapons
Sword Fight and Pirates
Writing Sword Fight Scenes 101
For Writers: How to Write Sword-Fight Scenes
Books
Villains of All Nations
The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers and Rogues
Popular Pirate Fiction Books
Websites
x The Way of The Pirates
x Historic Naval Fiction
x The Pirate King
x Swashbuckler
x Pirates & Privateers
-Alex
Experiment with political systems
Sure, having a king/queen is simple, but have you ever tried:
Democracy
Multiple nobles and they all have the same amount of power (lot of conflict potential)
You can become ruler by defeating the current ruler in a fight
The merchants run everything
A noble and a parliament rule
The most intelligent people rule
…
There are thousands of possibilities, be creative!
Resources For Worldbuilding
Culture & Society
Creating Fictional Holidays
Music For Your Fantasy World
Creating Religions & Belief Systems
How to Design Your Diabolical Cult
Historically Accurate Sexism in Fantasy: Let’s Unpack That
Debate with the Squirrels: Sexism in Fantasy
Feudalism
Using Politics In Fantasy Fiction
Mythic Justice – Crime and Punishment in Your Fantasy World
Government Worldbuilding
Realistic Political Strife
A Politics Of Worldbuilding
Language
Creating a Language
The Language Construction Kit
The International Phonetic Alphabet – Audio Illustrations
Fantasy Name Generator
Geographic Names
Medieval Names Archive
Squid Name Generator
Model Languages
Xenolinguistics
History
Prehistory
Mythos
History
Today
Myths, Creatures, and Folklore
Encyclopedia Mythica
The Ancient History Encyclopedia
Using History as Inspiration for Fantasy
Victorian Era Family Day Life in England
Peasant Life in the Middle Ages
Everyday Life in the Middle Ages
English Monarchs
Feudal Japan
The Story and Structure of the Iroquois Confederacy
Science + Geography
Dimensions
Solar Bodies
Climatology
Planetary Geography
Water Geography
Cartography, Maps, Star Charts, and Writing
Fundamentals of Physical Geography
Dating of Middle-earth events, using Precession of the Equinoxes and Tidal Friction
Orbital Operations in Science Fiction
Planet Designer
Artificial gravity calculator
Natural gravity calculator
Selden’s Catalogs of Objects for Celestia
Medieval Technology
Defining the Source, Effects, and Cost of Magic
How to Create a Rational Magic System
Miscellaneous
/r/worldbuilding
Fantasy World Generator
SciFi World Generator
Focused Ambiguity: Using Metaphor in Fantasy Writing
Space Engine
Terragen
The Five foundations of Worldbuilding
Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World
Support Wordsnstuff!
If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee.
Request Resources, Tips, Playlists, or Prompt Lists
Instagram // Twitter //Facebook //#wordsnstuff
FAQ //monthly writing challenges // Masterlist
Creating a Distinct World
@kaulayauwrites said:
what is, in your opinion, the best way to world build? how can you avoid writing a bland, archetypal universe or copying an already existing one? sorry if I’m not being clear, haha, and thanks so much!
Hey there, thanks so much for your ask! I honestly love talking about the world-building process, so I’m really glad you sent this; let’s dive right in!
Best Way to World-Build?
In my opinion, there isn’t a best way to world-build. The “best” process depends on what is needed and what you’ll actually need to know for your writing. What follows isn’t necessarily what I would call the best way, but it’s a good way to cover your bases and opens up a lot of options for going in-depth with details. (It’ll be a bit of a long list, but definitely worth it in the long run.)
For each country you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:
Name
Capital and major cities, and locations
Border shape
3 most common landforms
Historical sites or places that mean a great deal to the people living there
General economic scheme (ex. capitalist, Communist, Socialist, etc)
Most important laws
Major differences from the character’s homeland
Military setup (different branches, enlistment age, etc)
Climate
Relations with surrounding countries
Societal norms (gender roles, public & professional behavior, etc)
Stance on LGBT+ rights, and treatment of LGBT+ people
Most and least respected professions
Common religions
Stereotypes about this country (any and all)
Common pastimes and hobbies
Popularity of sports, movies, and other forms of entertainment
Genres of music (and possibly stereotypes of people who listen to them)
Language(s) spoken
Beauty standards and the commercialization of them
Commercialization that feeds off of the peoples’ insecurities
For each city you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:
The “aesthetic” (think of it the way NYC’s aesthetic is taxis, skyscrapers, and nightlife)
Public opinion of street performers
Any recreational centers and common activities
Popularity of a town counsel or the idea of opening to the public for improvement ideas
How well-known the city is by everyone around it, or how much of a tourist attraction it might be
State of educational buildings
Percentage of unemployment versus those who are actively searching for jobs, and how this affects the city’s reputation
3+ popular businesses, maybe food or clothing stores
The way business is generally conducted
Opportunities for nightlife (etc. bars, night clubs, etc)
Usual daytime attire, usual nighttime attire
Any sort of tradition (ex. sharing dreams in the morning, praying before meals, etc)
Stance on more advanced technology
Treatment of different age groups
Again, cliches and stereotypes that might exist of people who live there
Most common architectural style (ex. modern, Victorian, etc)
Commonly seen colors
Any inflation that might exist, local economic troubles
People’s opinion on the government as a whole (then in-depth, if you want)
As you can see, these two lists are very open-ended. I can’t go too far in-depth with world-building ideas and explaining, because it’s all up to you to create this world. Every single item on this list here can be expanded into tons of different things, but if your goal is just to cover your bases and explore needed details then I think this would be a good place to start.
Making Your World Distinct
This can be pretty tough, honestly. There’s (almost) always a world themed around something out there that’s probably more well-known, famous even. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite wizarding world, that of the Harry Potter books. Your world can be as interesting and different as it gets but because it includes wizards, someone out there is always going to relate it to Harry Potter. So how can we avoid this?
There’s one proven way to this this, especially if you don’t want to change your world. Accentuate any and all differences that would set your story apart from a more well-known world. Maybe our wizards’ spells depend on a material transaction, or they won’t work. Maybe there’s some sort of wizarding god who must be pleased to cast a successful spell. Not so much like HP anymore, huh?
Just remember, there’s a huge difference between world-building through details and world-building through exposition. Both are acceptable, but both have their own appropriate time to be utilized. Take a break from telling the reader flat-out how this thing works, and instead reveal it through the world’s details. Not only does this help treat your readers like the competent individuals they are, it also immerses them so much in the world that there isn’t much of a chance to compare your world to others.
Tl;dr—World-building isn’t really something that can be explained for you by someone else. There are certainly questions that exist to help you, but following a guide that works for someone else might not work for you. Explore the details! (And let the reader explore them, too!)
First Language Acquisition and Child Speech
First Language/Native Language Acqusition
Our native languages surround us from birth. Babies start acquiring them as soon as they start crying, and then cooing (usually around six 6 weeks). Babbling (“mamamama, dadadadada”) doesn’t generally start until around six 6 months. Language acquisition occurs fastest around the age of two 2 years, when a child learns most at once.
Most children pass language milestones at similar ages. However, some children pass some milestones earlier or later than others. Even so, they pass milestones in the same order as most other children.
Babbling (6-12 months)
More or less all babies babble, even Deaf babies (with some exceptions). In the earliest stages of babbling, babies will use sounds that aren’t part of their native languages’ systems, as initial babbling comes from the baby, not from the baby’s linguistic environment (the language(s) being spoken at home).
Babbling becomes specific to a hearing baby’s native language between six 6 and twelve 12 months. After this, a hearing baby will only use sounds that are found in their native language(s). At this stage, Deaf babies will often stop babbling. However, if their caregiver uses a sign language, a Deaf baby will often start babbling in that sign language, repeating particular signs where a hearing baby would use combinations of vowels and consonants.
At the babbling stage, a baby will say, “Mama,” “Dada,” “Baba,” and “Papa,” which is why words with these sounds are used for parents in lots of languages; they’re sounds that stick to a particular figure in a child’s life, often present in the earliest stages. Parents tend to reinforce this by referring to themselves in the third person when talking to the child, e.g. “Do you want Mama/Papa to read you a book?”, “Dada’s taking you to the park this afternoon.”
Holophrastic/One‑Word Phase (12‑18 months)
In the holophrastic phase, a child will begin to speak in individual words. At this stage, these words are used in the places of whole phrases (holo‑=whole, ‑phrastic=phrase), and their meanings can vary with context, as well as from child to child.
“Milk” may really mean “I like milk,” but it may also mean “I want milk,” or “I don’t want milk,” or “Have some milk.” You really need to know the child and the context well in order to understand properly.
At this stage, children may also overextend the meaning of a word, so that “milk” refers to all liquid. Meaning may also be underextended, so that “man” only refers to the child’s father, and “dog” only refers to the family dog; other dogs aren’t called “dog”, and other men aren’t “man”.
A child may also pronounce words differently in the holophrastic phase, contracting consonantal clusters like “pl” [pl] into “p” [p] or “l” [l] to make “plum” into “pum” or “lum”.
Combining the different pronunciation heard in the holophrastic speech with the overextension/underextension of meaning, and the use of single words in place of phrases, “lum” might be a child’s way of saying, “I would like a plum” (whole‑phrase speech and consonant contraction) or even “Where is the fruit bowl?” if the child overextends “lum” to mean all fruit, not just plums.
Two‑Word Stage (18‑24 months)
The two‑word stage is present in the acquisition of more or less all first languages. This stage is similar across different languages, and all children will use the right syntax (word order) for their native language.
Japanese and Korean word order is Object‑Verb (“store go”), and English word order is Verb‑Object (“go store”). Children acquiring their first languages get syntax right automatically, and don’t have to sit down and learn it like in a second‑language lesson. They observe speakers around them, and mimic their syntax. Grammar is usually missing at this stage, but word order is usually accurate.
At this stage, auxiliary words (such as “will” in “I will go”, “to” in “go to playgroup”, and “can” in “can I go?”) are omitted. So are articles (“the”, “a/an”, etc.) and pronouns (“she”, “him”, “their”, “your”, “we”). Therefore, an English‑speaking child between 18 and 24 months will say “go store” rather than “I will go to the store”.
Semantics at this age are very simple. A child at the two‑word stage won’t have a large vocabulary, so will call all shades of blue “blue”, rather than specifying “turquoise” or “cerulean” etc. They might not distinguish between “cat” and “kitten”, “walk” and “crawl”.
Telegraphic/Multiword Stage (24‑30 months)
This stage is also called the telegraphic stage because children speak as if they’re writing a telegram. This is because 24‑30 month‑old children don’t use auxiliaries. They say things like, “I want go park” when they mean, “I want to go to the park”. Little grammatical words are missing, like they are in a telegram. Only words that carry real meaning are used; sentences can still be understood, but an adult will think of them as having gaps.
Gradually, a child at this stage will start adding functional words, such as pronouns, as well as inflections (for the ends of words), like “‑ing” and “‑ed”, so that “Holly walk” becomes “Holly walked” and “Joey swim” becomes “Joey swimming” (to mean “Joey is swimming”).
Complex sentences (30+ months)
Complex sentences have two clauses, e.g. “I know that she likes toffee” and “This is the bus which broke down yesterday”. Children will start to produce these sentences from about 30 months.
Questions and negative statements are grammatically complicated, so many children still struggle with them at this age. “Where has she gone?” requires the inversion of “she has” as seen in “she has gone.” “I don’t like peas” requires the auxiliary “do”, which the positive “I like peas” doesn’t. Most grammatical structures like this will be in place by the time a child reaches three 3 years, so having a child older than that speak in telegraph or holophrase will seem odd to a reader unless there’s a reason for it, explained in the story. Most children won’t speak in telegraphs past 30 months.
At this stage, some children will still have trouble with irregular past tenses, saying “I swimmed” instead of “I swam”, and “I runned” instead of “I ran”. However, they’re not likely to confuse “I swim” with “he swims” and say “I swims” or “he swim” at the complex sentence stage.
Children hypothesise rules to produce words and sentences that they could never have heard. They might overregularise language, hearing “happy/unhappy” and assuming they can also say “sad/unsad”, or “fat/unfat”. A child might hear “can you butter my bread?” and produce “can you jam my bread?”, because they think that “jam” can be a verb in this context, as “butter” can.
Correcting Grammar
Linguistic input has an important role in first language acquisition, but direct teaching or covert correction by adults is generally fruitless unless the child is cognitively ready to understand what’s being said to them. You can’t teach a two-year-old how to make questions or relative clauses, because they’re not old enough to understand your corrections.
For @sins-virtues and @givethispromptatry From university lecture notes, organised by Hilary Hale, AKA @thorlokibrother.