Fantasist's Scroll

New Year = New Categories

Yep, I decided it was time for a bit of a change here at the Fantasist’s Scroll. So, some of the old categories have changed their stripes and I’ve added at least one new one: Advice from the Fantasist.
Why, you ask? Well, because it’s time for this to be a little bit more fun, for one thing. And, for another… Aw, just because. Stop asking so many questions!

I’ve been selected for punishment!

Actually, to doll out punishment, ironically. So, I’ve been playing this game, right? And, I’ve faithfully made an entry for every letter so far. Some are better than others, but they all meet the bare minimum requirements. And, I’ve been consistent, so I think that counts for something.
Well, the other day, someone “broke the rules” in a small way and I was selected to punish them. What a novel experience for me! I’m usually the punishee, not the punisher, so it was a bit unnerveing. Still, I did my best. Hope it turns out well!

Oh, boy, where to start.

Well, first, let me say that I probably just won’t be posting for a bit. My wife left me last week Sunday, right before Thanksgiving, and we’ll be getting a divorce. So, that’s going to be taking a lot of my time and energy, which will leave little left over for the blog.
Second, I’m afraid that I might say some things that are legally innapropriate considering my current marital situation, so, again, not a good idea to post anything for a bit.

Not sure how long it will take to get this resolved, but, when I do, I’ll start posting again.

Thank you for your support. If you’re the praying kind, keep me in your prayers.

Hey, look, new stuff!

Okay, so my life has been a little crazy the past couple of weeks and I haven’t been posting too much new stuff. Well, there’s a person I know from several lists on-line who was so inspired by my conlang generators that he made his own. His name is Nikhil Sinha, and one of his websites is Azukania. Also, a direct link to his PERL word generator is here. For more information about Azgen, Nikhil’s word generator you can go to his Azgen Information Page.
Great work, Nikhil! We need more people making word generators out there!

I always love a good random generator.

God knows, I’ve needed a good laugh the past week or two, so when I found the Euphemism Generator, I knew I’d hit gold. Of course, it mainly generates sexual euphemisms, but it does have others and, in any case, it’s a laugh riot! Most of them are a little bit off, if you know what I mean, but some of them are so dead funny that I thought I was going to spit my coffee all over my monitor.

Anyway, it’s Friday and you deserve a laugh, too, no matter who you are, so click the link.

I just re-read this last week.

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy is good enough that I’ve read it three times now and I still picked up something new. In fact, I always pick up something new when I read it, or almost anything else about writing.
This book, though, is different. For one thing, it’s fairly focused on speculative fiction, which is just a euphemism science-fiction and fantasy. Also, the author, Orson Scott Card, is not only a writing teacher, but also a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, so he really does know what he’s talking about. But, beyond that, it’s a damn fine book. So, I’ve read it again, after two years, and this time, I’m doing a bit of a review.
If you’re just starting out, this is a great book to start get you started the right way. If you’ve been at this for a bit, it’s still a great book to read, because it will show you some things that you may not have noticed about writing speculative fiction. At the very least, it’ll be a good refresher course for you. I know that I use the MICE “rule of thumb” when I look at my own story ideas, such as they are these days. This book really taught me quite a bit about making realistic fantays settings and, I think, contributes to the strength of my story, The Chrome Girl.
In any case, I cannot reccomend How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy enough. It’s well worth the price.

Whoa! I almost forgot!

I guess I’ve been busy this week, because I almost forgot to post a Friday Fun Link. So, without further ado, here is the Real FAQ, or Questions You Really Ask. C’mon, let’s face it, these are real-world things that people are always asking, so it makes perfect sense to write up standard responses to them and put them on a webpage.

At least, it made sense on a Friday. Aw, go take a look, it’s not like you were working anyway!

A conlang without a grammar is just a cipher.

Think about that for a minute. If you’re just transposing words, you haven’t created a new language so much as you’ve created a new code. Maybe that’s all you’re after. If so, that’s fine and you can stop reading now, but if you want more than that, think about your native language and your conlang for a minute.

Still with me? Great. I can make up words, either by hand or by machine, but making a grammar takes a lot more thought and work. Last month, I was reading the blog over at Langmaker.com, the Ultimate Constructed Language Resource which is maintained by Jeffrey Henning. He had several links to conlang grammars there, including: The Sixteen Rules of Esperanto Grammar, Syntax for Artificial Languages, and A Training Device for Translation Theory and Practice. Any of them are good places to start looking at what goes into a grammar. If you’re a little more advanced than that, and feeling brave, you can try reading Describing Morphosyntax : A Guide for Field Linguists. But, as good as it is, I have to warn you, this is NOT for he casual reader or the easily intimidated. It is a daunting book that damn near put me into a coma! But, if you can make it through this bad boy, you will have a really good grasp of what can go into a language’s grammar. You will also be able to endure incredible, mind-numbing torture as dosed out by mothers-in-law. Or, you will be a gibbering idiot. Either way, it’s all great fuel for conlanging.
I often find myself getting stuck in the “research phase” of my many creative projects. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the research that I never get the project started. This is where I’m at with my conlanging. I need to get past that. I hope that the inspiration from Langmaker, and Jeffery Henning will help me get started on those projects. As they say on the street, ‘aint nothing to but to do it. So, let’s all take some inspiration from those links up above and get started on that conlang that we’ve been putting off.