: Re: What's the benefit of using invented languages in-story? I'm working on a fictional story set in a fantastical (although coherent) universe. I'm used to seeing invented languages in works like

I would limit the use of invented languages as much as possible. I'm not saying this to play devil's advocate, but because I often find that exotic names and words distract from the story. In fact, I've written short stories in which all the characters had names like Brown (has brown eyes), Lightning (very fast with the sword), etc. This somehow keeps the image of these characters more clearly in my mind than if they were called Eldorick or Zarmagoth or whatever.

The same goes for creatures (e.g. "Soulstealers" has much more power than an invented name), towns (e.g. "Donkeytrot" lies one day's travel on donkey back from the capital), plants (think of the many plant names in the Harry Potter series) etc.

Finally, keep in mind that pulling off a fake language is not easy (Tolkien is one of the very, very few who succeeded). It's a huge investment that keeps you from your writing.

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: Your readers will have to relate to the protagonist, even if they disagree with his moral stance and actions. He needs clear goals and obstacles that stand in his way to establish conflict.

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: Software for analyzing a manuscript? I would like to get a better picture of a manuscript I've written, especially in regards to word usage patterns and potentially overused terms. I'm curious

: Re: What's the benefit of using invented languages in-story? I'm working on a fictional story set in a fantastical (although coherent) universe. I'm used to seeing invented languages in works like

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: Your readers will have to relate to the protagonist, even if they disagree with his moral stance and actions. He needs clear goals and obstacles that stand in his way to establish conflict.

: Please help me improve this sentence... In a first-person narrative, Iâ€™d like to use the following sentence: It took me nearly a decade to write this script, and now Iâ€™d pitch it to

: Software for analyzing a manuscript? I would like to get a better picture of a manuscript I've written, especially in regards to word usage patterns and potentially overused terms. I'm curious

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