Writer's Council V.2

Question, is anyone out their good at naming things? Im really bad at naming. I need names for a Fire God and Goddess, Water God and Goddess, Earth God and Goddess, Wind God and Goddess, and the Dark God. Also I need a name for the people who worship the Earth Gods, their a Nordic type people.

Aqua, I have a method I use in naming elementals and stuff. I was going to post it all here, but it's pretty lengthy. I'll PM it, if you're still having trouble with name. Just tell me so, in this topic or PM, etc.

Originally Posted by Lakayal

Aqua, I have a method I use in naming elementals and stuff. I was going to post it all here, but it's pretty lengthy. I'll PM it, if you're still having trouble with name. Just tell me so, in this topic or PM, etc.

I would like to see your method to naming please. That way, if anyone out their needs help aswell, it would help them. Thanks in advance.

^ Here's what I do: I take a long complicated word, like MATHEMATICS, and rearrange letters, or take certain letters out and rearrange the remaining letters and so on. It's actually pretty effective -- I've come up w/ at least 20 names from just that one word. And, there are tons of similar long complicated words like that! here is the downside: Generally, I only use this for those random characters who you only meet once, or who get killed, or that random soldier that the colonel calls to -- I mean, you just can't get a studly main character out of 'mathematics'. However, you CAN find names for all those random people, and possibly find a cute/cool name for the side-kick. Friendly advice

~Zanza

I would like to see your method to naming please. That way, if anyone out their needs help aswell, it would help them. Thanks in advance.

Erkay! :3

Question, is anyone out their good at naming things? Im really bad at naming. I need names for a Fire God and Goddess, Water God and Goddess, Earth God and Goddess, Wind God and Goddess, and the Dark God. Also I need a name for the people who worship the Earth Gods, their a Nordic type people.

Try putting together peices of Latin root words for the elements whose people have latin-ish societies.

For instance:

Fire
aduro: to set fire to, burn, singe, kindle, light.
adustum: to set fire to, burn, singe, kindle, light.
extermino: exussum, burn down, burn, set on fire.
exuro: burn down, burn, set on fire.
exussum: burn down, burn, set on fire.
flamma: flame, fire.
ignis: fire.
inflammo: to set on fire, inflame, to torch, kindle.

Water
aqua: water.
fons: fountain, spring; fresh water; source, origin
fontis: fountain, spring; fresh water; source, origin
mare: sea.
maris: sea.

Wind
superna: northeast by north wind.
ventosus: full of wind, windy, breezy.
ventulus: breeze, soft wind.
aquilo: the north wind.
aer: air, atmosphere, ether, weather.
aeris: air, atmosphere, ether, weather.

Darkness
acerbus: bitter, gloomy, dark.
aquilus: dark colored, swarthy.
ater: dark, gloomy.
atra: dark, gloomy.
atrum: dark, gloomy.
infusco: to make dark, blacken.
nox: night.
noctis: night.
umbra: shade, shadow.

While you said the Earth people and gods were Nordic, here are some Latin roots anyway.

Earth
humus: ground, earth, soil; land, country.
motus-us: m, motion (earth quake)
terra: earth, ground, land, country, soil.
tumulus: mound, grave, heap of earth.
sato: to sow, plant.
sero: to sow, plant. Also, late, at a late hour.

Hope I helped. For more on the Latin stuff, go here:

http://www.sunsite.ubc.ca/LatinDictionary/
also, there is another site I use on occasion, found here, but I don't like it as much.

I'm sure other people use other methods, but I luuurve the Latin language, so that's how I do it.

I'm writing a story that involves a traveling Freak Show (you know, like the old school Barnum and Bailey sort of thing, only on a much smaller scale). I need some more ideas for some of the characters and what types of "Freaks" they should be. I already have an albino, a giant, a contortionist, a fire swallower, and a hairy boy (a person with thick hair all over their body). But I need more. Can you give me some ideas? I want people with condtions or abilities that are actually posible.
I origanoly posted this on its own thread, but I decided it would be beter to put it in here.
Thanks.

Well of course you've gotta have a midget, a person who does crazy things with animals, a person who can half-animal

Oh! Do the guy that can get shot by a cannon and have the cannonball bounce off his gut!

Originally Posted by Mirren

a person who can half-animal

Say What? I don't get what you're trying to say here. But I do like the idea of having a miget, I don't know why I didn't think of that . I was also thinking of having a snake charmer, so that goes under crazy animal stuff. But what the heck do you mean by that last one? Please explain.

Oops, I mean he's half animal or something, my bad

The snake-charmer's a good idea, I thought of it but I figured I'd generalize and say a person good with animals

Whee! A freak show! Sounds like a SPIFFY idea! Unfortunately, I was never much of a circus fan, the sideshow freaks scared me. .____.ll I think it sounds like an original idea. How about having someone who eats live spiders or something?

Oh! Do the guy that can get shot by a cannon and have the cannonball bounce off his gut!

*giggle* Sounds like the dude from One Piece. :3

Awsome, thanks guys. I appreciate all the help.

One more thing, has anyone read my story so far? Not that Im forcing you guys into reading it, I just would like some criticism which would help my writing.

Well, I have this idea for a story that I am writing...I even have a prologue written out for it. However, I want to see if people actually like the idea of it before I use some of the precious amount of free time that I have writing a story. So, without any further ado, here is the prologue for my story...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

In the past, a far away land that was the strongest nation known to civilization had control of the four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water. Each element was represented by a different color: green brown, red, and blue. The people of this land kept land would be thrown into utter chaos. So, the wise people of the land decided to make the land perfectly balanced, to protect people of their land.

They placed the element of fire in the north. The north of this land soon had many volcanoes, and fire pits. The people that lived in this area soon grew to adapt to the fire. They could walk through flames without so much as flinching. The people of fire, as they were soon to be called, were known for being the people of fire by red, the color of fire. The people all had red hair, and amber eyes. If these people of fire did leave the north, they more often then not made a living by traveling around an amazing people by walking through fire. They were said to have had skin that was tinted orange, and they were known for their fiery tempers.

In the south was the element of wind. In the south, there were soon vast plains, with not a single tree to stop the wind that always blew through that area. Tornadoes were a common thing in this area. This area had many ranches, where horse, cows, and other livestock were raised and sold as food. The people that lived in this area were known as the wind people. They all had dark brown hair, and matching eyes, and skin was brown. It is said that the wind people were good-natured people, who would rather raise their livestock than get into an argument.

To the east was the element of earth. Forests were everywhere in the east. The leaves of the trees were always emerald green in color, and even the bark of the tree were slightly green. Trees were only native in the east, so people from all other placed paid high amounts of money for the wood from the trees. The forest folk were the type of people that would stay up late telling stories, or playing music. These people rarely left the solitude of the forest, and relied on the few merchants to sell the wood from the trees. The forest folk were famous for their light green hair, and bold green eyes. Even their skin was slightly green in color.

The element of water was placed in the west. In this area, rivers and lakes soon formed. The land that was once there was changed rapidly into rivers or lakes by the nearly constant rain that fell in the area. Soon, the only land masses that remained were little islands. Because of all the water, fish were soon discovered. The people of the west adapted to the water, and were soon able to breathe under water as well an on land. These beings of water, as they were called, could swim for hours from one island to the next without having to go up for air. However, they could only last for so long on land before they had to return to the water. The beings of water resembled what we would call humans; however, they were also quite different. For you see, they had gills on their necks to enable them to breathe under the water. Their skin was a light blue, and their eyes as well as their hair were as blue as the water that they swam in.

In the center of this diverse land was the capital of the land. In it, instead of a king, like most of the lands that surrounded it, were four officials from each region. There, they represented their region, and governed over it. Each official made sure that the elements remained in balance. To do so, they relied on the elemental stones. Each stone represented each element. If an element were out of balance, it would alert the official representing that element. The official would then put the element back in balance in whatever way he or she thought was best.

The officials were said to have been chosen by the elemental stones. Every fifty years, the elemental stones would choose a different person as the official. What made the stones choose someone is still a mystery to this day, but the ones who they chose almost always make the right choices when it came to the people.

However, many years after this land was created, the people began to change. They began to wonder why these four people alone ruled over them. They wondered just why they of all people controlled the elements. And so, the people split into two groups; the rebels and the supporters. The rebels wanted to destroy the supporters; in fact, a majority of the people of fire were rebels. The people of fire wanted to be able to earn more money. You see, the people in the north had a very low income (after all, the only thing they could really do to earn money was travel around and impress people by walking through fire). They wanted to be able to earn more money, like the people in the other regions. They felt that since the official had control of the elements, they could make it so the people of fire could earn a decent living. The rebels soon began plotting against the four officials in hopes of becoming rich.

The officials, fearing that the rebels would control the four elemental stones, hid them off in the four corners of their land. They set up a protective barrier around each stone, so only one who was deemed worthy of going near would be able to get it. However, soon those officials left, and new officials took over. The new officials had no clue about where the stones were, and they knew they could not search for them, in case they were killed in the process.

Many years passed since the officials hid the stones, and soon the land was thrown into a war against each other. The rebels soon began killing the supporters. People did not know who to trust any more. They only hoped someone would be able to find the stones, and bring peace to the land. And so, our story begins.

But first, you might be wondering what the name of this land is?

Why, it is Amoreon, the forgotten land of the past…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, what do you guys think? Should I write out my story, or should I abandon it?

^ I like it. Its a bit confusing sometimes, you have missplaced commas or places that need commas, and in some places its a bit repetitive. But otherwise the story sounds great so far. I like the idea.

Yeah, I realize it's repetitive. I tried changing the words, but it just...didn't sound right to me. Constructive criticism is good though. And I apologize that it's confusing...I'll see if I can edit it and make it less confusing...

Originally Posted by LionHarted

The following is what I've written so far for a new original ficton of mine entitled Lionhart. Please tell me what you think of it.

I actually like the opening, minus the first word being He. If you substituted his name or possibly what he does, ie the bounty hunter and cut the sentence off at ...which he waded... It would improve the flow. Overall is a good opening to the scene.

One other thing I noticed, in some of the action sequences there's this;

But, in the mind of Dennon Hart, luck is not luck at all, but talent gone into overdrive.
He *** already whipped his handgun free of its holster before its movement *** yet to pass his eye, because he *** guessed that something *** noticed him squint, and perhaps *** perceived his eyes as being closed. He *** already jerked the trigger before he *** even sensed its advance, because he *** realized immediately that that same something was coming to kill him. It *** already expired before it pounced, because he *** known precisely where to aim. He *** already shuffled out of the way before it hit the concrete of the pipeline, because, under the illumination of the grating, he could better examine his kill.

The *** is the word 'had' is a passive that robs your narrative of it 'punch'. Is also hard to give up - I know I struggle with it constantly. If you read it without them you can see which of them aren't needed. If you applied this to the rest as self edit, you'll find most times it wasn't needed and weakened the narrative by making it sound unsure.

I actually like that he talks to himself...though there were a few spots, it would be better as a thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Originally Posted by Selah

Thank you achitka! I'll take your suggestions for improvement into consideration when I rewrite. I rewrote paragraph 1:

During the gray, frosty months of winter, when a cold sun imparting no warmth lies frozen behind a sheet of clouds, its being a mere light that hangs blurred and impartial in the sky, the tabloids of Nintendo City begin their howling, screeching into the frosted air a litany of falsehoods. Perusing the magazine racks of local grocery stores, one stumbles over a mesh of mendacious headlines, such as, “SMASHERS HOLD WILD FIESTA IN APARTMENT COMPLEX! Ganondorf, Bowser, and Kirby get drunk and smash up stuff. Longtime inhabitants get mad and speak out. Exclusive photos...”

You cut out quite a bit and that's good, but there really is room for more editing; This is a short example, and please forgive me for mangling your text; I couldn't think of a better way to illustrate my meaning. The first two paragraphs contain 309 words. I pared it down to 198.

During the gray months of winter, when the cold morning sun imparts no warmth, the tabloids of Nintendo City begin their weekly howl. They screech into the frosted air an unending litany of falsehoods. Peruse the magazine racks of any local grocery stores and you can’t help but stumble over the mesh of mendacious headlines

“SMASHERS HOLD WILD FIESTA IN APARTMENT COMPLEX! Ganondorf, Bowser, and Kirby get drunk and smash up stuff. Longtime inhabitants get mad and speak out. Exclusive photos...”

As usual, the blowups are visibly simulated. Everything is blurred and indistinct. Even the wild ‘eye-witness’ testimonies on page 6 are slavishly servile to the pattern. True or not readers want new, ‘fresh’ dirt and the Smashers closeted behind the glass walls of Tourney Hall, just don’t cut it. No one really cares about them until spring and fall when the advent of winter, signals the end of the SSBM tournaments.

In the meantime, the world drifts away and turns its attention to other petty and salacious things. Though the media continues to keep its attention on the activities of the Smashers, they discover the world doesn’t care. The reading public prides itself on repudiating the dreary.

You have a dramatic and colorful way of writing, but it took me a few read throughs to understand what you were trying to do with this (and then I had to read it again)...that's never a good thing.

As to the loftiness - I am for the most part, a lazy reader...you don't have to spell it out, just don't make me work that hard to understand you... still, try writing something without ANY flourish or descriptive add ins. Let it be boring and flat. Then go through and enhance it, just try not to get carried away.

I have a bit of a problem. I stopped writing Zelda fictions a little while ago because they began to truly bore me, and I moved on to original writing. See, I want to write a real, hardcore fantasy novel, but have very hazy ideas as to what the storyline should be about. Inspiration, ideas, or ways to come up with original ideas that haven't been overused would be great ...

^ I'll tell you right now, you're never going to create something completely original or innovate these days with fantasy, because it's all been done in some shape or form. Every last setting, every last atmosphere, every last storyline, it's basically been written in some form.

But, what I find that is more unique than most fantasy stories is if you take a plot from a non-fantasy story, and put it into a fantasy story. Such as a romance like Romeo and Juliet, some type of Spy-Thriller can even be transformed into fantasy.

Seriously, find a non-fantasy story and it's plot that you really like, and just shift it into fantasy, that could do very well.

Originally Posted by rising light

Well, I have this idea for a story that I am writing...I even have a prologue written out for it. However, I want to see if people actually like the idea of it before I use some of the precious amount of free time that I have writing a story. So, without any further ado, here is the prologue for my story...

I like it. However, this is a story, so I hope that the actual chapters are not so.....encyclopaedia-ish. I think it's a neat idea -- having the elements confined to regions. I think there could be some ways to make the Prologue a bit more exciting and not so text-bookish, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. (I'm just one of those rare people who enjoys reading the encyclopaedia ).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by Cleric

I have a bit of a problem. I stopped writing Zelda fictions a little while ago because they began to truly bore me, and I moved on to original writing. See, I want to write a real, hardcore fantasy novel, but have very hazy ideas as to what the storyline should be about. Inspiration, ideas, or ways to come up with original ideas that haven't been overused would be great ...

Yeah, Mirren has a point. I usually just daydream, like, if you're taking a really long trip in the car -- that's the fastest way to come up w/ something. I also keep a little notebook of ideas, so that WHENEVER some idea, or fragments of a plot, come, I write them down for future reference. This is WAY helpful if you have no idea what to write about. The weirdest tool I have is that sometimes I DREAM up plots. o_O It's weird, but some of my best ideas come from my dreams. So, honestly, write something that interests you, that is not totally over-done (maybe it could have a cool plot twist), and post it here and we'll tell you if it's clicheed!!! ^_^ Read some of Lakayal's fantasy-writing techniques a couple pages back (here, post #23) -- they're really helpful if you want to be original (and terribly funny too!!)

~Zanza

Ah ... see, I missed that! I'm gonna go check that out now.

And Mirren ... wow, that is honestly something I've never thought of before ... but ... heh, I think I'm going to try both of those ideas out. If I thought up some science fiction and plugged it somehow into a fantasy ... and I did what Zanza did ... that could have some very interesting outcomes. Thanks guys.

I was just wondering if I could get advice about Writer's block. I made a fanfiction titled "The Bachelor (Hyrule Version)", but I don't know what to write about next! Please help me (if you want to)....
-samthegamer

Hey, Cleric, if you're still looking for ideas, I'd try something *NOT* mideival fantasy. It's REALLY overdone, so pick some other era to make it interesting and inventive.

Try Ancient Greece, or the Victorian Age, colonial America, some kind of tribal culture, or even modern society. Mideivalesque fantasy novels are a dime a dozen, put your fantasy in a different era to give it a little something different.