I Like To Have White Or Ambient Noise Playing While I Study, So I Thought I’d Share A List Of My Favourite

So I'm trying to write a fantasy story, and I'm a bit hung up on one element of world-building. Language and names. I admit I'm not sure how one goes about coming up with fairly usual sounding names that aren't either a jumble of random sounds or just names from real-world languages. Since I'm not trying to write something with the scope of Lord Of The Rings I obviously don't need to invent new languages, but I'm still unsure of how to proceed. What would you recommend?

Oh man I HEAR you I am shit at names. Total shit at names. I’ve been referring to the names in my Nano story as ‘bullshit fantasy crap’ because I’m sure they will have to be tweaked later. If names are holding you back from the for-real writing stage, make a note that they’ll be changed later and charge on.

In most real world cultures, names have a very important context and are very carefully chosen. Even without that context, most parents spend a great deal of time choosing names for their kids. If you want a fantasy culture that is reflective of Chinese culture, for example, you have to research on what goes into naming children in that culture. Your naming conventions in your story are going to reflect your worldbuilding. Is there a particular religion that’s predominate? Names could stem from that. Or they could reflect on where someone is from, or a syllable is added to show which generation they were born in.

That’s all good and well, but actually creating names from scratch is the hard part. If you’re not a master at creating fantasy foreign languages and names, here are my recommendations

Go for nice, pronounceable sounds. Don’t smash syllables together randomly in order to make it look cool, say it out loud to be sure it’s actually something people would use. Xisdhijbur is lazy keyboard smashing, try to avoid it. If you’re at a true loss, pick a real name (Maria) and change it until it seems both different and believable (Maerai, for example).

Steal blatantly from real life. If you want to get in depth, look at a list of the most common or popular names in different languages and see what they have in common (how many syllables, how common are certain vowels, etc). You can make up different cultures based on these different naming trends.

Avoid excessive grammar in names. There are real languages that use pausing and glottal stops (often indicated by ‘), but please don’t make names that look like Ti’pi’la’b’un. It looks silly and sounds even sillier. If you’re not confident you can use this in a way that would make sense in a language, I would avoid them.

Consider nicknames. A lot of American nicknames favor the ‘ee’ sound - Charlie, Christy, Katie, etc. In Chinese, the most common way to make a nickname is to repeat a syllable - Mingming, Pingping, Xiaoxiao, etc. Anastasia can become Ana, and so forth. If your characters have long, grand names, a nickname is often going to be used (depending on their personality). One thing I’ve almost never seen in fantasy is the tendency of people to often share a common name. This is a good way to do that.

For more:

The Art of Fantasy Names

What’s in a Name?

How to Chose Names for Fantasy Fictional Characters

Avoiding ‘Normal’ Names

Fantasy Writing Guide

Interview: Finding Hope and Healing in Tranquil Forests with David Anthony Hall

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Hello fellow nerds!

A new school year is approaching, and since I have to nail my A* this year I put together a masterpost with helpful links and tips that I have gathered throughout my school years. Good luck this year: you´ll do just fine!

1. Learn ´em languages

Learn terms and glossary in Quizlet.

Learn a language for free on Duolingo.

Learn a language for free on Busuu.

Oxford Dictionaries.

Games and fun activities for English learners.

Irregular English verbs.

2. Do your research

Google scholar.

Scholarpedia.

You can learn anything (KhanAcademy).

Didn´t listen in class? (Crash Course).

Simple Wikipedia.

Learn littérature without having to read it (SparkNotes).

Wolfram Aplha.

TED.

Open 2 study. (Online studying) 

Free college courses.

3. Learn how to write like a God

10 practical tips for writing better exam essays.

Writing an essay.

Harvard writing resources.

Writing application essays.

Writing a personal statement.

Genre characteristics.

Writing a literary analysis essay.

Answering essay questions.

Get feedback.

Bibliography maker.

What is the word you´re looking for?

4. Oh yes sweet reading

8 tips to remember what you read.

How to read Shakespeare.

Effective reading and note-taking.

How to take notes while reading.

Note taking tips.

170 free textbooks.

1000 free textbooks.

5. Get your studying and organization game on

Time Management

Get your school life in order with organization.

Reach your goals.

Goals worksheet.

Finding information on the internet.

Using sources.

Get a hold on mind mapping.

How do you learn best?

Sound without music (Such as cafes).

Make flashcards.

6. Stress and anxiety management because school is stressful

Coping strategies.

Stress reduction tips.

Stress relief for students.

Managing test anxiety.

Dealing with test anxiety.

Self help: Keeping calm.

Introverts in college.

Coping and calming down. N.1

Coping and calming down. N.2

Do nothing for two minutes. 

7. Go get ´em tests

Study skills for test taking.

Study tips for finals.

Multiple choice exams guide.

The seven days study plan.

15 steps to success.

How to prepare for a test.

Checklist for essay tests.

8. Classroom participation - because teachers love that shit

Active listening.

Classroom discussions.

Presenting projects in the classroom.

Preparation before class.

Participating tips.

9. Software and pages for us nerdy kids

Openoffice and Libreoffice.

Dropnote.

Google docs.

EverNote.

Prezi (Fore presentations.)

Calculator.

Grade calculator.

Grammar check.

Staying focused for Mac, Chrome and Firefox.

Plagiarism check.

Best apps for students masterpost.

Homework help.

10. Yo! Take some time to care ´bout yo´self

100 000 stars.

Workout masterpost.

Movie masterpost of masterposts.

Self-help masterpost.

8Tracks.

Learn and do yoga.

Voulenteer. 

Learn to play guitar.

The thoughts room.

Disney games because hell yeah.

01. the king’s arrival - ramin djawadi 02. goddysey - two steps from hell 03. streets of rabanastre - hitoshi sakimoto 04. touring the city - james newton howard 05. the burrow - jeremy soule 06. meikyuu toshi orario - jin aketagawa 07. the shop of curiosities - david and ben stanton 08. diagon alley and gringotts vault - john williams 09. ding dong dell - joe hisaishi 10. the moreska (saltarello) - city of prague philharmonic orchestra 11. the blitzers - nobuo uematsu 12. play after play - thomas wander 13. queen of the gaels - adrian von ziegler 14. the launch - james newton howard

(listen)

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I’ve seen a lot of curious people wanting to dive into classical music but don’t know where to start, so I have written out a list of pieces to listen to depending on mood. I’ve only put out a few, but please add more if you want to. hope this helps y’all out. :)

stereotypical delightful classical music:

battalia a 10 in d major (biber)

brandenburg concerto no. 5

brandenburg concerto no. 3

symphony no. 45 - “farewell” (haydn)

if you need to chill:

rondo alla turca

fur elise

anitra’s dance

in the steppes of central asia (borodin) (added by viola-ology)

if you need to sleep:

moonlight sonata

swan lake

corral nocturne

sleep (eric whitacre) (added by thelonecomposer)

if you need to wake up:

morning mood

summer (from the four seasons)

buckaroo holiday (if you’ve played this in orch you might end up screaming instead of waking up joyfully)

if you are feeling very proud:

pomp and circumstance

symphony no. 9 (beethoven; this is where ode to joy came from)

1812 overture

symphony no. 5, finale (tchaikovsky) (added by viola-ology)

american (dvořák)

if you feel really excited:

hoedown (copland)

bacchanale

spring (from the four seasons) (be careful, if you listen to this too much you’ll start hating it)

la gazza ladra

death and the maiden (schubert)

if you are angry and you want to take a baseball bat and start hitting a bush:

dance of the knights (from the romeo and juliet suite by prokofiev)

winter, mvt. 1 (from the four seasons)

symphony no. 10 mvt. 2 (shostakovich)

symphony no. 5 (beethoven)

totentanz (liszt)

quartet no. 8, mvt. 2 (shostakovich) (added by viola-ology)

young person’s guide to the orchestra, fugue (britten) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

symphony no. 5 mvt. 4 (shostakovich) (added by eternal-cadenza)

marche slave (tchaikovsky) (added by eternal-cadenza)

if you want to cry for a really long time:

fantasia based on russian themes (rimsky-korsakov)

adagio for strings (barber)

violin concerto in e minor (mendelssohn)

aase’s death

andante festivo

vocalise (rachmaninoff) (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

if you want to feel like you’re on an adventure:

an american in paris (gershwin)

if you want chills:

danse macabre

russian easter overture

egmont overture (added by shayshay526)

if you want to study:

eine kleine nachtmusik

bolero (ravel)

serenade for strings (elgar)

scheherazade (rimsky-korsakov) (added by viola-ology)

pines of rome, mvt. 4 (resphigi) (added by viola-ology)

if you really want to dance:

capriccio espagnol (rimsky-korsakov)

blue danube

le cid (massenet) (added by viola-ology)

radetzky march

if you want to start bouncing in your chair:

hopak (mussorgsky)

les toreadors (from carmen suite no.1)

if you’re about to pass out and you need energy:

hungarian dance no. 1

hungarian dance no. 5

if you want to hear suspense within music:

firebird

in the hall of the mountain king

ride of the valkyries

night on bald mountain (mussorgsky) (added by viola-ology)

if you want a jazzy/classical feel:

rhapsody in blue

jazz suite no. 2 (shostakovich) (added by eternal-cadenza)

if you want to feel emotional with no explanation:

introduction and rondo capriccioso

unfinished symphony (schubert)

symphony no. 7, allegretto (beethoven) (added by viola-ology)

canon in d (pachelbel)

if you want to sit back and have a nice cup of tea:

st. paul’s suite

concerto for two violins (vivaldi)

l’arlésienne suite

concierto de aranjuez (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

pieces that don’t really have a valid explanation:

symphony no. 40 (mozart)

cello suite no. 1 (bach)

polovtsian dances

enigma variations (elgar) (added by viola-ology)

perpetuum mobile

moto perpetuo (paganini)

pieces that just sound really cool:

scherzo tarantelle

dance of the goblins

caprice no. 24 (paganini)

new world symphony, allegro con fuoco (dvorak) (added by viola-ology​)

le tombeau de couperin (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

carnival of the animals (added by shadowraven45662)

if you feel like listening to concertos all day (I do not recommend doing that):

concerto for two violins (bach)

concerto for two violins (vivaldi)

violin concerto in a minor (vivaldi)

violin concerto (tchaikovsky) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

violin concerto in d minor (sibelius) (added by eternal-cadenza)

cello concerto in c (haydn)

piano concerto, mvt. 1 (pierne) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

harp concerto in E-flat major, mvt. 1 (added by iwillsavemyworld)

and if you really just hate classical music in general:

4′33″ (cage)

a lot of these pieces apply in multiple categories, but I sorted them by which I think they match the most. have fun exploring classical music!

also, thank you to viola-ology, iwillsavemyworld, shayshay526, eternal-cadenza, tropicalmunchakoopas, shadowraven45662, and thelonecomposer for adding on! if you would like to add on your own suggestions, please reblog and add on or message me so I can give you credit for the suggestion!

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I had a bit of fun in the #VeryRealisticYA hashtag. Guess how many of these are autobiographical?

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Let's Talk About: Point of View,  a table of contents

Table of contents:

Part 1: An Introduction Part 2: Hello, My Name is First Person Part 3: I’m First Person and I Have Problems Part 4: Second Person Wishes You Hello Part 5: You Discover Tricks to Handle Second Person Part 6: Third Person Omniscient Says Hello Part 7: The Pros and Cons of Third Person Omniscient Part 8: Third Person Limited Joins In Part 9: Third Person Limited Admits Some Flaws Part 10: A Visual Guide to Psychic Distance

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Some Writing Prompt Generators

Serendipity (names, places, mapbuilding, etc.) Quick Story Idea Full Story Idea Writing Challenges General Character Quick Character really just all of Seventh Sanctum RPGesque generators Writing Prompts Inspiration Finder Story Arc Fantasy Story Situaton Adventure Chaotic Shiny is just really good in general Random Plot 

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Cats Who Have No Intention Of Letting You Read Your Book

"Spoiler alert: the main character dies. Now gimme some tuna."

(photos via the dodo)

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