So, I'm not sure why I'm on this science fiction kick other than I've been reading some of the authors known and thought of as the masters. And I enjoy this genre in short story and even longer short story form. I've dabbled in this genre, but I don't think I've gone deep enough with it. So, now I am attempting a more hard science fiction story. It takes place on another planet and there are some crazy life forms there that my humans have to face. What I have down of the story so far is okay. I know it's only my rough draft. And, for me, science fiction means a little more clean up and probably a few more drafts until I get a better handle on it. But I'm okay with it. I do find myself struggling with this genre more so than with other things I write. (But this genre is kind of fun). I don't know what to name my planet. Everything I think of sounds stupid. And I don't know where to put it or how far from earth it is. I figured I would put it far away. I made it take five years for the humans to reach. Does that sound realistic? And I have no name for my alien creatures. This is another one I'm struggling with and worried it will sound stupid? How do you guys name these things? Also, as much as a pantser as I've been, I think genre plots might need a little more planning in my case. I'm trying to run through the idea in my head and kind of figure out where I want to go with this. When you were new to writing science fiction did you struggle with similar things and second guess yourself a lot? I want to make this story a good one. I promised myself this is the last short story I write before returning to my novel in progress. Any tips for coming up with cool names for things or plotting tips for this genre are totally appreciated. Thanks, guys.
All I can really say is, read and watch lots of sci-fi with aliens in them, along with strange planets. It might help get the juices flowing on ideas for species names and planet names for your own piece. Or try finding a Sci-Fi forum and asking about those elements to see what they can cook up for you. Good Luck.
How about this: Pick a non-English Latin-alphabet language from those available on Google Translate. Think of a word (something that has something to do with your planet, or simply something like "table", "chair", "window"...) Translate it into the language you've chosen. Play around with it – write it backwards, alter some letters – until it sounds right to you. There seem to have been several discussions here that deal with creating a language. They are (mostly) not really about creating a language. They're about the same thing you are asking – finding credible names for alien things. Search. You will surely find useful ideas.
Some spaces and paragraphs would make reading your post my easier, just saying. In regards to your post - and other than cave troll's feedback - don't be too scared with your names and plot. It develops over times. I can only speak for myself here, but I've had some horrible names, ideas, plot points, or otherwise over the times (some of there were really bad). Get an idea of what you want to do, even if it is stupid and try refining it. In regards to naming, I think coming up with a 'style' is better. For instance, if a planet is called "Aaleejwas" then I would find it strange if the next one was called "Krakrivok". One has a lot of vowels, and softer sounds like Ls and Js, whilst the other has a lot of consonets, few vowels and lots of 'harder' sounds like Ks and Rs. What i'm getting is that language typically use the same 'type' of word and word structure. For instance, russian uses a lot of the harder sounds whilst languages like french uses a lot less. Germanic languages is somewhere in between. If i am not mistaken there are even languages using only vowels. Hope this helps.
Who is doing the naming - the humans who have arrived? in which case, they'll probably follow the old and trusted methods of naming things (both planetary, topographical and yes, alien) after family, friends, home, pretty much anything they are fond of... so you can use ordinary names and just twist them, and for the aliens, whatever Earth animals (real or imaginary, just how many space dragons/drakes/dragyns/wyrms have I come across? - don't answer that) they put the humans in mind of, also twisted. If it's the names the locals use themselves, the main thing is to make them sound odd and alien but timeworn (archaic forms of words or names are a good source, I would think) and above all do NOT explain why they are named that way, the locals probably don't remember if they've done it for centuries and the visitors almost certainly don't care. (Although I admit, a piece of probably apocryphal lore I am very fond of is about Gabo Island, so named by James Cook because when asked the name of the place, the natives said "gabo." What they meant is "we don't understand". And there's probably places all over that mean a local variant of "err, what are you talking about???" So why not in space too?)
I don't know what to name my planet. Do a Google search for random planet name generator, there are a bunch out there and they spit out a ton of options with each press of the generate button. I made it take five years for the humans to reach. This all depends on the level of technology involved. With what he have right now in modern society (2018) a manned mission to Mars is estimated to take five years, one way. I don't know where to put it or how far from earth it is. It's not always important to be honest, what is important is figuring out of they can get help quickly, or will it take anyone a long time to reach them for instance. Distance is relative to the level of technology in the story. It would take up five years to reach Mars, where as the USS Enterprise-D could reach Juiptier in something like 16 seconds I think. I have no name for my alien creatures. Refer to first answer, there are plenty of alien name generators as well. How do you guys name these things? I literally make sh*t up that I like the sound of. Hy'verka, Shenikar, Metreos, Zazani, the name of four races in my sci-fi story. When you were new to writing science fiction did you struggle with similar things and second guess yourself a lot? To be honest I had something of a head start, my mother was a Trekkie, so I was watching reruns of Star Trek TOS since I was old enough to know what television was. I felt fairly comfortable from the start, it was just a matter of working out details, which I'm still doing. There's always something new to discover. Stupid sounding names. If a name sounds stupid or not is a matter of opinion, meaning some people will think a name is awesome, others will hate it. Unless you go off on a real bender and name your warrior race of aliens something like Purple Smurf @$$ Kickers, you should be alright. Learning more about the sci-fi genre Find a sci-fi TV series you like on the internet, then spend a day or two binge watching. I'm currently doing that with Stargate SG1 just because I like the series. It's really good because if you watch it, and listen to what Dr. Daniel Jackson says, you'll see how the show writers wove a lot of real Earth mythology into the premise of the show. That made their sci-fi lore more believable for the fictional setting they established.
