Whether you’re writing a futuristic sci-fi novel or epic fantasy, it’s important to develop a lexicon of your own. After all, you are the one who will have to live with what you’ve written! Using proper names and scientific terminology can put you miles ahead of the competition, making your writing stand out above the rest. In this article, we will discuss a number of ways you can give your work an extra boost by developing unique and creative names and terms for the science fiction and fantasy worlds you create. We will cover everything from giving your creations human names to creating entire systems of slang, so you can talk like a true Alien.
Give Your Creatures Proper Names
One way your work will shine above others is by giving your characters proper names. In sci-fi, these are usually derived from science, technology, or the fields of knowledge that are prevalent in your work. For example, in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, the main characters have the following names:
- Foundation
- Foundation and Empire
- Foundation and Galactic Empire
- Foundation and Empire of Azathoh
- Foundation and Empire of Muad’dib
- Foundation and Empire of Pahvee
With these names, Asimov has created an entire universe filled with educated and intelligent life. Of course, you should use a unique name for each of your characters in case the same person turns up in more than one story. This makes it easier for the reader to remember which character is which. For example, if you have a robot named C-3PO in one story line and a human girl named Leia in another, it would be hard to keep track of which is which if they all have the same name. This is why it is best to give each of your characters a unique name that will stand out.
Give Your Creatures Common and Strange Nicknames
Another excellent way to add variety to your characters is to give them unusual or common nicknames. In the case of the former, it could be that the nickname is based on your character’s name, creating a unique link between the two. The only way to provide a common nickname to a character is by sticking a label on them, which was the norm before the invention of aliases. For example, in the Harry Potter series, Harry is often mistaken for a boy named Henry due to his blonde hair and bright orange clothing; this link between the two is further strengthened by the fact that their nicknames are the same. It is widely accepted that J.K. Rowling intended the two characters to be named after herself and her husband, although this is also a matter of some debate. In any event, using such an approach will certainly give your work an extra punch of creativity. Here are some more examples of common and strange nicknames in English literature:
- Omni – for the wizard Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling)
- Goblet – for the wizard Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling)
- Scary – for the witch Dolores Umbridge (Rowling)
- Dementor – for the horrible monster from the films “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and “
Alter Ego
” (Rowling)
- “Golliwog” and “Goldie” – for the talking dogs Cairn and Faro (Dickens)
- Wuffler – for the weasel-like creatures from John Cleese’s “Funny Animals of Fiction” (Cleese)
- D-Money – for the character Arnold from Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Atwood)
- Sandy – for the blond giantess Olga Campoli from Rainer Maria Rilke’s “The Duino Elegies” (Rilke)
- Tweety – for Jennifer Love Clement’s animated cat “Flutterby” (Clement)
- Scrappy Do-Right – for the eponymous hero of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Dust Tracks on a Road” (Hurston)
- “Tommy Snuffles” – for the giant puffball monster from L. Frank Baum’s “Mutt and Jeff” (Baum)
- “Nippy” and “Skippy” – for Fred and Wilma Flintstone (Rooney)
- “Elmo the Lamb” and “Tiny Tim” – for the sheep from William Carlos Williams’s “The Red Wheelbarrow” (Williams)
- “The Lame Duck” – for the “ducky” or “duck” novel (Lewis Carroll)
- “Aunt Hyacinth” – for the character of that name from Henry James’ “The Golden Bowl” (James)
- “Daffy” – for the nervous dog from G.K. Chesterton’s “Wit and Wisdom” (Chesterton)
- “Puffball” and “Gopher” – for characters in William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” (Blake)
Creating outlandish nicknames for your characters is a great way to make them easier to remember. In the above examples, the characters have all been given strange monikers that would catch the attention of anyone reading the work. Moreover, as you are probably aware, humans are much more likely to remember faces than names, so having a unique face for your characters can help introduce them to the audience more readily. Of course, this can be further enhanced by giving them distinctive voices, which will make them easier to remember as well.
Develop an Alien Language
Another excellent way to add flavor to your work is to develop an alien language. This can be as simple as making a list of all the strange words and phrases you can think of and trying to make sense of them. Alternatively, you can take a whole other direction and give your words and phrases the meaning and inflection of a real language. In either case, doing so will certainly give your work a unique quality that is almost impossible to describe.
If creating an entire language is too much work, you can always take it a step at a time. You can start by developing a list of words and phrases that would make sense in the context of your work. For example, if you are writing a story set on an alien planet, you might want to include words like “gravity”, “atmosphere”, and “space ship”. Of course, you can always expand the vocabulary of your language as you write more stories. You can develop a small word salad for conversational purposes and use a thesaurus to look up words when you need them. The great thing about this approach is that it is easy enough to continue adding to your vocabulary as you go along. Naturally, you must guard against overusing the language in the way that would make it cliche or stale. As with all other aspects of your work, variety is the key to keeping things fresh.
Give Your Alien A Speech Pattern
Another excellent way to make your audience remember your work is to give your alien a distinct and unique speaking pattern. For instance, if you’re writing a story about a species of aliens with webbed feet, you might want to give them a very weird accent and unusual speech patterns. These are a great way to make humanoids seem even more alien and, as a result, much more intriguing and memorable characters. For instance, you might want to give your characters the following speech patterns:
- Peppy – for humans (Jimmy Buffet)
- Eeyore – for humans (Ringo Starr)
- Guffaw – for humans (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
- Yahoo – for humans (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
- Buckaroo – for humans (John Mellencamp)
- Waddle – for humans (Richard Simmons)
- Woplah – for humans (Louisville Slugger)
- Wah wah – for humans (Jimi Hendrix)
As you can see, there is a wide range of possibilities for weird and creative speech patterns, allowing you to give your work the flavor and tone of the era you are living in. Moreover, this will certainly make your characters easier to imagine and, as a result, much more memorable. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all your characters will have to speak in a way that is out of the ordinary, as it can add to the comedy or drama of your story.