Novel Brainstorming
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 11:50 am
Hey guys. As most of you probably know, I've launched into the new year by starting a brand new novel. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I'm thinking it's going to be a fantasy novel, mostly drama, but maybe some light comedy elements, too.
Now here's the thing. There are a few issues I'm unsure about, and I would really like to hear some opinions on this.
First off, modern language and slang/profanity in a fantasy setting. How do you guys feel about this? Back when I was writing Ander there were so many times I wished I could just let loose and have my characters yell "Fuck you!" at each other. This has happened to me before in a previous novel, too, and I hated that feeling of restriction, of having to pause for a minute to think up some old-timey line like: "Are you touched in the head, you fool!?" when what I really wanted to say was something more along the lines of: "Did you go batshit, you stupid fuck!?"
I've only been working on the new novel for two weeks now, and I fully intended to stick to the more traditional, old-timey, believable way of speaking for these characters, but then, purely on a whim, I decided to relax a bit and just have them swear up a storm in modern vernacular. I was amazed to find that I was having a ton of fun incorporating modern language into a fantasy setting and mixing it with completely made-up words and phrases. It allowed me to have my characters say stuff like this:
"Good morning, Bob."
"Nah, I was having a good morning until some Humie decided to come in here and stink up the place with his Hume fumes, so why don't you do us all a favour and fuck right off?"
"You don't exactly smell of roses yourself, buddy."
"'The fuck would you know? Humies can't smell for shit!"
OMG I love it.
But what do you guys think about this? Does modern word usage make a fantasy setting feel more comfortable and relatable, or does it ruin the illusion of an alternate world? I'd really like to hear your thoughts.
That was the first issue. The next is that all-time heavy-weight groaner of a headache that seems to plague every single writer every single time they try to write just about anything: NAMES! Fuck me, NAAAAAMES!! D:
I realise this makes me sound like a lazy-ass motherfucker, but I've been banging my head against the wall for two weeks now and I fear I might be millimeters away from breaking a porthole into my neighbour's kitchen.
I don't want anyone to actually expend any effort on this, but if somebody just so happens to have a random flash of inspiration, please let me know.
The bleeding won't stop... :/
Character the first.
Middle-aged dude. Beard. I kind of see him as a Sean Bean type. Just imagine Boromir as an alcoholic who suffers from PTSD (he's gone through some real heavy shit). Right now I'm using "John" as a place-holder name, but that just feels so uninspired.
Character the second.
Young Dark Elf girl. About ten or eleven. Lives in a slum. Really filthy. Wears rags. Begs and steals. Originally I thought of naming her "Delphi", but then I realised: "Wait, 'Delphi'? Delf? Dark Elf? That's Monster Musume levels of punny naming!" D:
So yeah. She needs a name.
That's it for now. If anything else crops up (and I'm sure it will) I'll add it to the thread.
PS: Once again, I'd just like to reiterate that I don't want anyone to go out of their way to try and think up names for these characters (that's my job, after all), however, if you already happen to have some names rolling around in your brain, just taking up space, I wouldn't mind taking them off your hands. (Lol, I sound like a new mom begging the neighbours for baby clothes. )
Any opinions or feedback on the language issue would also be greatly appreciated, of course.
Thank you!
Now here's the thing. There are a few issues I'm unsure about, and I would really like to hear some opinions on this.
First off, modern language and slang/profanity in a fantasy setting. How do you guys feel about this? Back when I was writing Ander there were so many times I wished I could just let loose and have my characters yell "Fuck you!" at each other. This has happened to me before in a previous novel, too, and I hated that feeling of restriction, of having to pause for a minute to think up some old-timey line like: "Are you touched in the head, you fool!?" when what I really wanted to say was something more along the lines of: "Did you go batshit, you stupid fuck!?"
I've only been working on the new novel for two weeks now, and I fully intended to stick to the more traditional, old-timey, believable way of speaking for these characters, but then, purely on a whim, I decided to relax a bit and just have them swear up a storm in modern vernacular. I was amazed to find that I was having a ton of fun incorporating modern language into a fantasy setting and mixing it with completely made-up words and phrases. It allowed me to have my characters say stuff like this:
"Good morning, Bob."
"Nah, I was having a good morning until some Humie decided to come in here and stink up the place with his Hume fumes, so why don't you do us all a favour and fuck right off?"
"You don't exactly smell of roses yourself, buddy."
"'The fuck would you know? Humies can't smell for shit!"
OMG I love it.
But what do you guys think about this? Does modern word usage make a fantasy setting feel more comfortable and relatable, or does it ruin the illusion of an alternate world? I'd really like to hear your thoughts.
That was the first issue. The next is that all-time heavy-weight groaner of a headache that seems to plague every single writer every single time they try to write just about anything: NAMES! Fuck me, NAAAAAMES!! D:
I realise this makes me sound like a lazy-ass motherfucker, but I've been banging my head against the wall for two weeks now and I fear I might be millimeters away from breaking a porthole into my neighbour's kitchen.
I don't want anyone to actually expend any effort on this, but if somebody just so happens to have a random flash of inspiration, please let me know.
The bleeding won't stop... :/
Character the first.
Middle-aged dude. Beard. I kind of see him as a Sean Bean type. Just imagine Boromir as an alcoholic who suffers from PTSD (he's gone through some real heavy shit). Right now I'm using "John" as a place-holder name, but that just feels so uninspired.
Character the second.
Young Dark Elf girl. About ten or eleven. Lives in a slum. Really filthy. Wears rags. Begs and steals. Originally I thought of naming her "Delphi", but then I realised: "Wait, 'Delphi'? Delf? Dark Elf? That's Monster Musume levels of punny naming!" D:
So yeah. She needs a name.
That's it for now. If anything else crops up (and I'm sure it will) I'll add it to the thread.
PS: Once again, I'd just like to reiterate that I don't want anyone to go out of their way to try and think up names for these characters (that's my job, after all), however, if you already happen to have some names rolling around in your brain, just taking up space, I wouldn't mind taking them off your hands. (Lol, I sound like a new mom begging the neighbours for baby clothes. )
Any opinions or feedback on the language issue would also be greatly appreciated, of course.
Thank you!