Resource Fanfic Writer's Desk: Your Place for Writing Discussion, Questions, and Advice

Not unless I need it for the story. I tend to world build as necessary; I don't worry about history/religious customs/holidays/foodways unless they are relevant to what's taking place. In a later story, set on the same world, I can expand, if necessary.

I've been pondering this myself!

 

AAARGH! Stupid hangups! Double bleeping post!!!

Sorrysorrysorry...

 

I would like to ad that the RPG MAGE: The Sorcerer's Crusade's magic traditions would be good inspirations (even if the RPG's cosmology don't really fit SW can most of the traditions philosophy and belief work in SW); an RPG whose magic system and philosophy could mostly be translated to SW is Gondica, sadly it only exist in Swedish

 

Can y'all help me come up with some city/town names for Serenity? I'm struggling with that.

 

Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Are any of the cities on your planet modelled on RL cities or countries? In that case, you could try to look up how they're named/pronounced in other languages. For instance Paris is pronounced Bareez and Cairo is Qahera or Misr in Arabic, London is Londheeno and Berlin is Verolino in Greek, etc. I'm happy to help with the languages I speak if you give me a starting point

Also, do any of your cities/towns have particular cultural traits? Because then you can Google-translate the word in as many languages as possible until you find something that sounds right; e.g. if you have an industrial town, type "industry" in Google Translate and check out how it's said in the available languages (it gives you a phonetic transcription for languages that don't use the Latin alphabet).

 

There are not a lot of large cities. Like two or three major cities on each continent. The largest city is the capital, which, as the main headquarters of Joss Aerospace, is also the biggest industrial center.

 

Atarax? If the planet is Serenity, maybe the main cities have names with a similar theme... Cape Tranquility, or whatever the Google word for "Serene/Tranquil/Calm" is in another language? (Google translate has given me SO many names!)

 

Atarax is a great idea! Some more words for tranquility/serenity/calmness/peacefulness in Greek and Arabic: Irene (can also be spelled Eirene), Ghalini (can also be spelled Ghalene), Hodu', Raha, Sokun and of course Salam.

I tried to come up with something based on "aerospace" in French, Greek and Arabic but it didn't work (it's the same word in French, "aero" is Greek anyway and sounds to earthy and Arabic needs an entire sentence to say that). Arabic does have a good word to say "stuff related to flying" though: Tayaran or Altayaran, which I think could make a cool city name.

Then I went a bit on a tangent and looked at the RL cities where Boeing and Lockheed Martin are based. Apparently the name Chicago is derived from the Native American word Shikaakwa, which can also make for a cool city name IMO. Bethesda means House of Mercy/Kindness in Aramaic/Hebrew, which could generate more options through Google Translate.

 

I'm liking Tayaran or Altayaran for planet names.

 

Chyntuck LOL Yay. I think I'll adopt Ghalene if Cowgirl Jedi 1701 does not snag it for the locale/world L/M are going to next.

 

I suggest: Persephone, Santo and Sihnon

All three are planet names in the Firefly/Serenity 'verse.

 

I vote for Tayaran and Sihnon.
The other ones sounds too earthy.

 

Hello.
Do stories work when they take place after the actual happening? I am bouncing ideas in my head, and was wondering if anyone here had done or read such a story that worked.

 

Please explain what you mean by "take place after the actual happening?"

Are you looking for fics that uses present tense: Luke watches Leia getting shot by Borsk vs. Luke watched Leia getting shot by Borsk or are you talking about me killing one of my OCs (Honor Tur-hazy) when she's in her twenties and then try to write her diary and write fanfics that take place in her childhood?

put it another way, are you saying you prefer Chuck Wendig's writing style with Empire's End trilogy? Or are you saying it's pointless to read Allegiance and Choices of One that is about Mara Jade when she's a teenager when you know that Jacen Solo killed her when she's 60?

 

The amazing JadeLotus has interspersed flashbacks in her stories and I have read historical novels that have a prologue where the protagonist is recalling things that happened long ago, etc. and the succeeding chapters relate the events that happened in the past but of course in "present tense" or as they occurred. E.G., if Leia were recalling the Battle of Endor 5 years afterwards in the prologue, the first chapter could still begin: "I don't know how I ever agreed to this crazy rescue of Han, but I was just about ready to try anything."

 

DARTH_MU
I basically mean a story that is about someone investigating an event (the happening) and what led to it, years after the event. It's just an idea.

 

Oh cool stuff!!!!!! Rather like a cold case investigation Then there would be tie-backs into how it was connected to something currently happening.

 

And there have been plenty of stories that unfold as if they are a tale being told in a bar over a cold drink... "No shavit, there I was, just me and ten thousand battle droids, and then outta nowhere comes this Jedi!..."

 

I think I know what BookExogorth is looking for now.
Yes, he is looking for a fanfiction version of a history novel.
For profic, I give you: Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem.
That book is intense.

 

Y'all have given me some great ideas for city/town names, and I'll probably use a lot of them.

I can't believe I didn't think of Cape Tranquility myself. Besides fitting with the theme of "serene/peaceful/etc.", It also has kind of a NASA vibe. "Houston, this is Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed."

Gamiel, yes. I kinda had Firefly on the brain when I was working on Serenity, so there was definitely inspiration taken from that.

 

Can anyone tell me if it's common to put the name of a vessel on its prow in Star Wars? Sort of like RL ships. I had always assumed people knew the names of each ship in their fleet through call signs or some tech wizardry, but now I'm thinking of a line for my own story and I'm not too sure--especially since it's from the POV of someone who is not on the same side and would therefore not be in contact with the ship.

 

Snocone I believe there's something along those lines in the TFA novelisation. When Finn and Rey run aboard the Falcon on Jakku, I think one of them sees the outline of a name on the side of the ship, but it's so covered in grime that they can't read it. However, this is the only such occurence that I can think of off the top of my head; in other books ships have a transponder that broadcasts their identity as they travel and that's "public" information, so maybe you can use that instead? (Of course, the info from the transponder may be false – in TTT for instance the various smugglers have fake identities for their ships, which allows them to engage in all sorts of mischief.)

BookExogorth That sort of narrative approach could make a fantastic mystery-style story However I think it's a difficult type of story to write, because it entails some very detailed planning and outlining to make sure that you give away the answers before you reach the end. I kinda-sorta recall reading a murder story along those lines, where a decades-old murder was resolved by a detective through his interactions with the survivors, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

 

Maybe it was Five Little pigs by Agatha Christie?

 

Thanks for the info, Chyntuck.

 

Oh dear. Now that is a blast from the past! I read that book in a previous life, but I do think that's the one I had in mind. Thanks Gamiel!