springkawa

[springkawa]

GUIDE: NAMING A TOWN OR CITY

This post was originally from a FAQ, but since the original link is now defunct, I am re-posting it here.

There are many things to keep in mind when naming the town or city in your novel:

1) Genre/Theme/Tone

It’s very important to consider the genre and theme of your story when choosing a town name. Take these names for example, each of which indicates the genre or theme of the story: King’s Landing (sounds fantastical) Cloud City (sounds futuristic) Silent Hill (sounds scary) Sweet Valley (sounds happy and upbeat) Bikini Bottom (sounds funny) Radiator Springs (sounds car-related) Halloween Town (sounds Halloween-related) Storybrooke (sounds fairytale-related) 2) Time/Place It’s also important to consider the time and place where your story takes place. For example, you wouldn’t use “Vista Gulch” as a name for a town in Victorian England. You probably wouldn’t use it for a town in modern day North Carolina, either. Vista is a Spanish word and would normally be found in places where Spanish names are common, like Spain, Central and South America, the southwest United States (including southern California), Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Florida. 3) Size/Settlement Type An isolated town of 300 people probably won’t be Valley City, but a sprawling metropolis of 30 million could be called Windyville, because it could have started out as a small town and grew into a large city. 4) Geography Words like gulch, butte,and bayou tend to be regional terms. You probably wouldn’t find Berle’s Bayou in Idaho, or Windy Butte in Rhode Island. Words like mount, cape, and valley are dependent upon terrain. Most of the time, you won’t have a town named “mount” something unless there are hills or mountains nearby. You wouldn’t use “cape” unless the town was on a cape, which requires a large body of water. 5) History Is there a historical person or event that your town might be named after? The Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield is ironically named after its founder, Jebediah Springfield. Chattanooga, Tennessee is named after the Cherokee town that was there first. Nargothrond, in The Lord of the Rings, is an Elvish town with an Elvish name. 6) Combination of Words

person name + geographical term = Smithfield, Smith Creek

group name + geographical term = Pioneer Valley, Settlers’ Ridge

descriptive word + geographical term = Mystic Falls, Smoky Hill

person name + settlement type = Smithton, Claraville

landmark + settlement type = Bridgton, Beaconville

Word Lists

Types of Settlements

Geographical Features

Place Words

Common Suffixes

Other Descriptors

[springkawa]

the suffering never ends

[springkawa]

It's been a week since I moved to Taipei (!!) for language school and it still feels like a dream. I've been studying Mandarin for half my life at this point and it's exciting to have so many chances to use what I've learned on a daily basis.

I've walked past this cafe the last three days on my way home and today I finally built up the confidence to go inside and order something 🥹

Without a doubt, I'm living the life I manifested in a now defunct studyblr over a decade ago 🖤🖤 I hope all the high school and undergrad students out there know that the long hours they're putting in will absolutely be worth it in the future 🥹

[springkawa]

language resources on the internet i love you. i cannot believe i can just start learning a language like that. i can lookup any word in seconds. i can find grammar explanations. there are teachers who put out whole videos for me to learn. amazing. i am so lucky.

[springkawa]

this was fun to make I love sad quotes 🔥

[springkawa]

there's this word in Serbian 'vukojebina' which literally means 'the place where wolves go to fuck' but they use it to mean 'in the middle of nowhere'. it sure does the job well, but the visual stayed with me longer than I would have liked it to.

[springkawa]

free arabic language tools (online)

Desert Sky Arabic

Caravan Languages Tumblr Arabic “Course”

Aratools Arabic-English Dictionary

Arabic Langblr Tumblr Resource List

Arabic Language Masterpost

Arabic to English Transliterator

Transparent Language’s Arabic Language Blog

the best Arabic/English online translator i’ve found tbh

[springkawa]

A head to head battle. Like literally.

WTF IS THIS COVER TACTIC Y'ALL AHAHAHJJKGKLFL

[springkawa]

I very much agree with these suggestions. Forcing myself to write was the way I could finally start to become an active rather than a passive user of the target language.

[springkawa]

I very much agree with these suggestions. Forcing myself to write was the way I could finally start to become an active rather than a passive user of the target language.

[springkawa]

I don’t know if I agree with the idea that you must have a good reason, a strong motivation, to learn a new language. Yes, I agree that this helps, of course, but that’s nothing wrong with learning a language just because. Learning a new language is fun! It gives you the opportunity to know other people, to know different cultures, to learn new things!You don't need to learn it only if it's going to be useful to you. So, if you want to learn a language just because you think that language is cool, beautiful or interesting, there’s no problem with that. Also, you don’t have to, I don’t know, reach C2 level (or equivalent) in every language that you learn. Just do what you want to do, there’s no rule for that. Like, I want to learn Japanese someday because I love anime and mangas and I want to have a better understanding of what I watch/read. I don’t if that’s a good reason, but who cares? 

[springkawa]

𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔶 𝔠𝔦𝔱𝔶 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 🌧️🏙️☕️🚕

[springkawa]

[springkawa]

As this is @sleepyconfusedpotato first time making fanmerchs, this is also my first time buying fanmerchs online. I can't go to CF19, so ofc I thought I wouldn't get the chance to buy these merchs again, but lo and behold, two or three days later Sleepy announced that she'll also be selling it online.

When I was ordering it, I was in a dilemma on what to buy. My budget had been super tight around that time, and I had a dilemma between buying the menacing looking poster with Jade and Ghost and the cards (the cards have captured my hearts ever since I saw the digital artworks a few months ago, and I did wonder if Sleepy would make them into cards someday because those artworks look sick as hell). I love all the cards, they all look so mesmerizing and awesome, the prints feel nice to touch, and the bonus artwork is also top notch! I swear I'm gonna keep them and make these into a family heirloom.

Love these cards! I hope you'll get the chance to sell fanmerchs again in the future, @sleepyconfusedpotato !

(And man, I love that the merchs came in a really secured and non-transparent packaging. Less questions asked from mi familia)

[springkawa]

Little things to be more charming ౨ৎ

holding eye contact when speaking to someone. takes some practice but so so worth it <3

don't be shy about your niche interests!! even if people don't fully get it, it makes you interesting!!

remember people's names!!

accept compliments, don't go "oh noo you're too kind I'm so ugly I look awful blah blah blah" when people say something nice to you.

signature pen. Don't question it. every cool girl has a signature pen.

always look out for others, make sure no one feels left out when you hang out with a group, check up on your friends, etc etc

listen closely and think before you speak, that way you won't stumble over your words and appear more collected and calm! :)

"please" and "thank you" ALWAYS.

you don't have to be perfect at something to have fun. I'm terrible at golf (a danger to myself and others) but people don't mind and think it is cute and fun... a win-win for me lmao

dressing up? normal to you. Don't save your cute outfits for "special" days; every day is special and you deserve to look gorgeous. <3

Oh and sit up straight ;)

As always, please feel free to share your own suggestions and tips in the comments! <3

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩

[springkawa]

[springkawa]

this is your sign to start reading nonfiction books on topics that interest you so you can be grossly overeducated and make the people who hate you feel stupid