#lyralit

thirty-three questions / ideas to write a sci-fi world

1. does the story take place on Earth?
2. when does it take place (future, present, past)
   ^ side note: it can take place in the past—think of Star Wars’ “a long time ago”
3. what is the government type?
4. are there extraterrestrial species?
5. what is the effect of the world to the plot?
6. what are forms of new technology?
7. is there a developed timeline?
8. check out some sci-fi movies and series (Star Wars, Star Trek) and write down the scenes
9. read some sci-fi books (Ender’s Game, Dune) and note the recurring themes and tropes
10. sci-fi often crosses with dystopia. does your story touch other genres?
11. what is the main differences between that world and ours?
12. what languages are spoken?
13. why did you decide on sci-fi?
14. draw a map of the world
15. draw some of the creatures
16. fix together a playlist from different sci-fi movies and shows to create a background to your story
17. what books is it inspired by?
18. could the world be Earth-similar?
19. what are the great events in this world’s history?
20. how is the culture different?
21. what foods are common? is it similar to the kind we eat now, or is more developed for activities such as space travel?
22. what do people in this world wear?
23. how far have people travelled in this world?
24. what are common activities in this world?
25. how is long-distance communication done?
26. what is the main/Universal tongue?
27. what are some funky/different trends in this world?
28. how has technology advanced?
29. draw out one of the most important places in this world
30. are the names different? made up, for example
31. what drives the people in this world?
32. what is something about this world that is better than ours?
33. what difference of this world makes it worse?

business writing prompts - requested by anon

• rival companies
• competing for a single job
• grumpy superior / cheerful worker
• rivalling workers put together for a job
• friends to enemies
• business heir
• ~distrust~
• working to get fired from job under parent
• business moguls
• trying to outbid [something]
• sabotage from inside the business
• self-sabotage
• experienced and tragically horrible…at everything
• startup businesses
• small business
• rival businesses but in a school
• old money vs new money companies
• the annoying business associate
• sabotaging your associate to get full control of the company
• teaming up with the company’s biggest rival to defeat a newcomer in the business
• small business that makes the international news and is thrust into fame
• siblings rivalling for a coveted job
• [^ in parents’ business]
• trying to rebuild a ruined company
• business that is cursed
• local business by day [flower shop, restaurant] magic shop by night
• any of the above but restaurant edition
• ~food~
• earning a position in your rival’s business to sabotage
• old family enemies

making a character in thirty questions but it becomes increasingly more personal

1. what is their name?
2. do they have a nickname?
3. do they have other names?
4. what is their age?
5. what is their eye colour?
6. hair colour?
7. what languages can they speak?
8. what is their favourite food?
9. least favourite?
10. who is someone they would die for?
11. who is someone they would kill?
12. do they have any family members?
13. did they go to school?
14. what was /would be their favourite class?
15. who was their childhood friend?
16. what is their clothing size?
17. shoe size?
18. height?
19. gender orientation?
20. sexual orientation?
21. do they have a sworn enemy?
22. do they have any tattoos?
23. have they ever smoked?
24. what is their mental state?
25. what is their darkest secret?
26. who is their sacred confidant?
27. what is a lie they tell everyone?
28. what is one lie they know is not true but continue to believe?
29. if they were under different circumstances would they stray from their storyline?
30. what makes them hurt?

naming your characters - writing tips

• name them after someone important
• give them a name from their time
• choose a name with a meaning that matches their personality
• a name that foreshadows their future
• name a character after someone you love
• give them an unremarkable first name and call them by their last name
• don’t name two characters the same name, even with most reason—it gets confusing
• avoid names that are too similar—"Anne" and “Anna”, for example
• choose names the audience will remember
• research the meaning beforehand
• choose a plant name
• choose a colour name
• invent a name by putting vowels and letters together
• pick either a very unconventional name or very plain name
• generally don’t make too many characters or it could be confusing for the reader
• choose a name associated with the character’s personality
• name them after a celebrity (with meaning)
• name them after yourself!
• pick a name you would want yourself to be named
• go nameless until you find the right one—or keep switching when you feel you do
• ^^ try out many names
• think of names from that genre

aww-canon-no:

I’ve seen a lot of fanfic writers ask for tips to write Deaf characters so I thought I would write some out to help make authentic.  Also feel free to send ask for any questions! 

• Deaf characters exist on a spectrum- it’s rare to have no residual hearing.
• Deaf characters can’t magically hear perfect with assistive devices. Hearing aids are in the name- an aid.  They make it easier to pick up some sounds.  They are also expensive and a lot of insurance won’t cover.  
• ASL- American Sign Language.  Deaf characters raised by hearing family might not have access to ASL until later in life.  Percentage of Deaf kids educated in fluent ASL is low.
• ASL has own grammar and syntax totally different from English,  But! It is okay to write ASL in spoken English grammar, especially if you don’t know ASL.  We know what you mean!
• Avoid Deaf and hearing characters signing and speaking long sentences at the same time. It’s called Sim-Com and ASL users who can do it are rare because sentence structures are totally different.  It would be like trying to write a sentence in English at the exact same time (word for word) as someone speaks it in French.   Sim-com usually used with SEE and still hard for fluent ASL Deaf to follow.
• Deaf characters can be dizzy!  Many many Deaf have tinnitus and vertigo.  Comes with many hearing loss conditions.  Vertigo can also be triggered by flashing lights, heavy bass sounds.  (very annoying in the car when driving and someone has loud, shake your car bass)
• Deaf characters can also can have balance problems from inner ear issues.
• Deaf characters can enjoy music!  Many ways to enjoy music besides hearing all of it.
• Lip reading is hard.  You need to start at the beginning of the conversation, need constant context, and when you lose the thread it’s hard to get back.  Many many words look the same on lips that sound totally different.  Avoid magic lipreading in characters.
• Character doesn’t need to have a Deaf accent.
• Deaf character doesn’t need to talk loud.  Many Deaf talk very soft because they feel vibrations before the vibrations make audible noise.
• Deaf characters can be very fluent in written English and great writers but still have very poor sentence skills when being casual in texting or conversation (like me!)  Hard to go from ASL to English brain, and makes you tired.
• Deaf characters can use ASL Slang!  ASL has colloquial signs that have no direct English translation but we use all the time (peh peh, train go sorry, champ, etc etc)   Here are some examples!

That’s all I have for now.  Hope it helped!

put in the tags your favourite line you’ve written. I’m curious.

the writerish urge to start a new wip at every given moment then leave it unfinished twenty words in because we won’t finish it anyway.