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So does anybody here create fantasy languages, maps, and entire world systems together with mythologies, and all that (while running on large jars of iced tea when it’s made) just for pure enjoyment to write a future epic fantasy novel (among other various works) just for fun, or am I total creep at heart here?
@leon-fleming Define ‘creep’ XD. While I have made up one language and ten worlds, I write more of an urban fantasy thing rather than high fantasy.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting Oh, I meant something along the lines of a person who really gets into the “extra” material. Cool; what’s your language like?
@leon-fleming I’ve been planning on redrawing the symbols for a while now, but essentially there’s some set characters with sounds and attached meaning, and putting them in different combinations makes different words. I call it Rehveli.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting Awesome! Can you write in it yet? (To be honest, I can’t in mine…yet.) What’s it look like?
@leon-fleming I used to have different symbols that I drew (pretty simple ones, like a bird, leaf, etc) but I’m thinking when I have time I’m going to rewrite them into more stroke form. And, no, I can’t really write in it or anything. I have to reference it every time I use it.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting Cool; your older forms were then kinda like hieroglyphs? I haven’t thought of doing something like that before…cool idea!
Yeah; what do you envision it to look and sound like?
I totally understand. *looks off into the clouds* Sometime in the future: then I might be able to write in them.
@leon-fleming
Welcome to the family! Worldbuilding is always a favorite topic. I have created some languages here and there, but I’m not a linguist at all. I often create a language based off a certain “sound” I want.
Do you like creating cultures? And do you base them partly off real world cultures?
@warrioroftherealm Yes, indeed, it is! I get what you mean about the “sound”; I do that often. Would you delight in divulging something of your languages?
To be quite frank, I don’t come to fantasy world building with the motive of creating cultures; my world building comes with developing certain peoples, and that, not first at their daily life, if you know what I mean. I’ll leave that out for the most part; and no, as you can imagine, I don’t base them off real world cultures. But that’s not to say that I don’t attempt at something with their culture, for I really do. Though it usually comes later in the making or by some side-tracked ideas that take the rest of the day to develop. I have this thing with rabbit trails.
In the developing of my fantasy world, I go first for basic structure, or form of the peoples, then to their history. All the while, constructing their languages.
What about you? How many languages have you created?
I’m not much of a linguist (or a cartographer, for that matter… While I used to love fictional cartography, now I tend to make maps only out of necessity since I’m not very good at it. XD), but I definitely love the worldbuilding aspect of fantasy. I find cultures and mythologies especially fun to develop, and I love using them to explore different facets of worldview and different worldviews themselves.
@leon-fleming Do you have favorite real-world mythologies to draw from for worldbuilding, or do you make up mythologies more from scratch? (I seem to remember you mentioning in another thread that you include a little bit of Greek and Roman mythology? I could be misremembering. 😬 How much does that blend with the more unique elements?)
@warrioroftherealm I’m curious, based on your question, if you base your cultures off of real-world cultures. (I do. It’s one specific aspect of developing cultures that I find really fun.) If so, do you have any favorites to draw from?Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Singer. Worldbuilding enthusiast.
@r-m-archer Oh, aye! That goes for me, too. (Yea, I get what you mean; I was terrible at it when I began. XD Maps are a habit of mine; unfortunately, mine are all rolled up and packed away, so I haven’t been able to work on them in a while…sadly…) That sounds like an interesting take on fantasy world building!
This depends on which fantasy project/novel/etc. that I’m working on. If I’m working on my main fantasy project (called project for a reason; more of a magnum opus) then no. This is all original stuff; no real-world mythological influence. At least, none intentionally. Other influence, maybe and perhaps. The Greek and mayhap Roman mythology is being imbrued into what I’m calling Into the Deep (which I probably mentioned in that thread with the G/R/myth thing). This project is separate from my main fantasy project. Plus, I’m including this because I’ve wanted to use especially some Greek mythology in some project for a while now. In this novel idea, there will be – and already is – more original mythology than the slightly-changed real-world mythology. All other projects are up for real-world mythology additions if needed, but for the most part, there is none. That I know of, at least. Not to mention my gazillion other fantasy novel ideas separate from the main fantasy project…XD
I saw you had some Neverland spin-off novels/other on Goodreads of yours. Did you end up drawing maps for those? (Which sound interesting, by the way. I’ve had my own ideas about Neverland/etc. but I’m trying to hold things like those in a dormant state until some time slot opens up. A long time slot. It probably wouldn’t be a retelling, though; probably just using some of the main concepts in a wholly different context. Or something like that; or nothing at all. XD)
@leon-fleming Thank you! 🙂
What was your starting point for the mythology in your main fantasy project? Was there something specific that sparked it?
Ah, yes, Into the Deep was the one I heard about. Was there anything in particular about Greek mythology that caught your attention?
Lost Girl is more of a short story or a novella, actually. I didn’t make a map for it, since I could find Neverland maps online as reference where needed. I also didn’t think of it during the writing/publishing process, since I tend to make maps either for personal reference or to help introduce readers to a world they’ve never seen before, but I think I prefer it that way since I feel like Neverland is one of those places that different readers will picture somewhat differently.
Neverland is definitely a cool place to explore. I’m actually only familiar with Peter Pan through movies and general cultural familiarity, I’ve never read the book (which I maybe shouldn’t admit, having published a story set in Neverland…), but it’s a lot of fun to work with and I imagine the themes would be really cool to explore in other contexts, as well. 🙂
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Singer. Worldbuilding enthusiast.
I LOVE making cultures. 🙂 My strategy is to mash up various characteristics of real-world cultures to make something unique. Although each culture has a specific aesthetic that I shoot for. For example, I might have a Medieval European aesthetic, but incorporate cultural elements/traditions from feudal Japan.
As a cold-blooded Northerner, I love drawing off of medieval cultures, especially those of Northern Europe (i.e. Scandinavia, Scotland, etc.). But really, anything medieval goes. Sometimes it’s fun to try something different (I have an idea that has a medieval/renaissance Italy aesthetic to it), but that’s generally my go-to.
– Jackson E. Graham, author of the (almost finished) Sword and Scion series
https://jacksonegraham.wixsite.com/jackson-e-graham
@warrioroftherealm That’s pretty similar to my method! My cultures tend to be mashups of different real-world cultures and other unique details I want to include. Often I’ll center them around one or two core values, too, either from the get-go or as I develop them further.
My earlier worlds were heavily based on Medieval European tropes, since that’s what a lot of fantasy is/has been. As I’ve gotten deeper into worldbuilding and drawing from real-world cultures and that kind of thing, though, I’ve found I personally have more fun drawing from more diverse cultures that don’t get as much exploration in fantasy. I’ve found Middle Eastern and Asian cultures really fun to draw from. But I do still like to mix in some European inspiration now and then, including one or two cultures in my biggest worldbuilding project that are roughly inspired by 1600s Europe (France, in particular). I really just love culture and all that goes into it in general, so learning about cultures I don’t know as much about is a really fun part of the worldbuilding process for me.
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Singer. Worldbuilding enthusiast.
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