Athena Bowman

There: Placement. “She’s over there.”

Their: Possessive. “That’s their stuff.”

They’re: They are. “They’re getting food.”

Your: Possesive. “Is that your phone?”

You’re: You are. “You’re funny.”

Its: Possessive. “The bird built its nest.”

It’s: It is. “It’s getting late.”

Were: Past tense. “They were leaving.”

We’re: We are. “We’re having fun.”

Less: Single or group nouns. “I had less fun.”

Fewer: Plural nouns. “There are fewer boxes.”

Accept: To agree. “Please accept this apology.”

Except: Excluding. “Everyone except Carl.”

Affect: Verb. “It will affect the environment.”

Effect: Noun. “It had a negative effect.”

To: Direction. “She went to the mall.”

So you’ve created a new race for your fantasy story but have no clue what to name it, right? I’ve been there. It sucks. But I can help you out.

So I’ve got a race (more about them later) that I couldn’t figure out a name for, so for a while I used “cree” as a placeholder name until I came up with something. About two months went by and nothing was sticking, so my solution? Two words:

Google. Translate.

Now this race lives near a volcano and pyromancers are kind of their thing. So I went on Good Translate and started translating fire-related things into multiple languages until I came across:

Looking at “Kapnos” I’m like “hey, that’s kinda sexy.” So What I did was started brainstorming different ways to twist the name:

Kapno?

Kapnus?

Kapne? Hey, that sounds kinda of nice.

Kapro? Oh wait that’s already kind of a thing

Capnus? Eh

So after a bit, I decided I liked the sound of “Kapne” and “Kapnus” the best. The plural of “Kapne” would stay that, while “Kapnus” would probably be “Kapni.”

While this is mostly written for advice, I’d also like some opinions. I know I have like two followers so barely anyone will see this anyway, but hey, if you want, let me know which you like better? Or any other suggestions?

What do writers suffer from each spring?

So you’ve created a new race for your fantasy story but have no clue what to name it, right? I’ve been there. It sucks. But I can help you out.

So I’ve got a race (more about them later) that I couldn’t figure out a name for, so for a while I used “cree” as a placeholder name until I came up with something. About two months went by and nothing was sticking, so my solution? Two words:

Google. Translate.

Now this race lives near a volcano and pyromancers are kind of their thing. So I went on Good Translate and started translating fire-related things into multiple languages until I came across:

Looking at “Kapnos” I’m like “hey, that’s kinda sexy.” So What I did was started brainstorming different ways to twist the name:

Kapno?

Kapnus?

Kapne? Hey, that sounds kinda of nice.

Kapro? Oh wait that’s already kind of a thing

Capnus? Eh

So after a bit, I decided I liked the sound of “Kapne” and “Kapnus” the best. The plural of “Kapne” would stay that, while “Kapnus” would probably be “Kapni.”

While this is mostly written for advice, I’d also like some opinions. I know I have like two followers so barely anyone will see this anyway, but hey, if you want, let me know which you like better? Or any other suggestions?

Do you ever put your character in a situation that you don’t know how they should respond? You don’t know your character well enough.

I know, I know—“But I’m the one who made the character!” But like how a mother doesn’t always fully understand her daughter, your “children” can sometimes stray from the personality you have set for them. To help with this, try answering the following questions to better understand your character.

1. What would make your character smile if they’re having a bad day?

2. What are some irrational fears your character has?

3. What would absolutely break your character?

4. Is there another character that this character would give up anything and everything for? Who is it?

5. What would utterly piss off your character? How would they react to rage?

6. How does this character react to betrayal or or heartbreak?

7. Is there another character that your character is in love with, has a crush on, or just finds aesthetically pleasing? Who is it?

8. What motivates your character to keep pushing on when the going gets rough?

9. What would be a common reason for this character to pull an all-nighter?

10. What’s something your character dislikes about themselves? Are they working the improve it?

Let’s face it, writer’s block sucks. No one likes it. But you want to know a good way to fight it?

Just...write.