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Invented Words

third man girl

third man girl

New Member
What are the thoughts on 'invented words' when writing a novel?

Is this unacceptable?

I'm often tempted to do this, as long as the meaning of the word is clear within the context it is written.

Example: The boy stole a peashooter, and peashot his dog.

Third Man Girl
 
Depends on the context and genre I guess. If there's a real, sanctioned word that could work as well, I'm guessing the made up one wouldn't get past the editor.
 
Screw the editor. You're the writer, right? You make up your own rules, thus you can make up your own words.

If you actually want to get it published, now that's a different story altogether.

But still, screw the editor, just for the fun of it! :p

Cheers, Martin :D
 
Ever read Lord of the Flies? Just be confident with the words and no-one will question you. I regularly make up words (though not actually in writing, but in conversation).
 
In regard to the peashooter thing it depends on the character. If its a habit of the character to create new words or uses for words then its OK--to me, whatever thats worth. I've seen the narrator get away with it but the writer has to make sure that the words are explained as to their meaning or new meaning. As far as the writer using made up words...I can't say thats very good writing.

When you're writing Sci-Fi you often have to make up new words and terms, define them in context, and them remember to use them throughout the piece or explain why at some point. If a peashooter was a new type of weapon that did something different that expel a projectile with great force and the general term for what it did was 'peashoot' then it would be OK.

"All of the dead guards were peashot, I knew, for I had seen the devastation a peashooter could work in experienced hands. I drew my sword knowing that it would do no good against that type of weapon but unwilling all the same to face it empty-handed."
:rolleyes: See?

Heinlein did it quite a bit in the name of keeping up with language changes that had to happen with the passing of time. (particularly with profanity and curse words. Interesting that.) For example: Heinlein changes the meeting of 'host' in one of his books to mean something quite profane and invents several new words with profane meanings in others.

Really its pretty much a free-for-all and if you can get your audience to understand what you're writing who cares if its grammar book perfect?
 
I say go for it - although you may get some criticism from purists if the book is ever published. But I still say go for it.

"The boy stole a peashooter, and peashot his dog."

'Peashot' - you've got to love that word. :)
 
I read many poems, which were full of words invented by the author for this one particular poem - and which is regarded by critics as a sign of artism, new way of expressing yourself, etc. So if invented words can in fact improve a quality of a poem, than why not use them in a book? They may as well add something exceptional to the story and create an original atmosphere. I'm for!
 
Originally posted by Oponn
Ever read Lord of the Flies?

Yes :( A maggoty book if ever there was one.


I regularly make up words (though not actually in writing, but in conversation)

Ooh! Do tell us some???

Third Man Girl
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Oponn
Ever read Lord of the Flies? Just be confident with the words and no-one will question you.
Click to expand...

Flink immediately springs to mind; I don't know if coign was invented.
 
I use made up words all of the time. As someone pointed out, if they are used in a context in which they will be understood, it works. For instance, if you have a character who is mad about something, and he says: Aces! You're an idiot - you can probably guess that Aces is a swear word or a epithet of some kind. I also developed an elvin alphabet of a fashion. I'm no linguistics master so I just did a few words scattered here and there for flavor.
 
I think we should invent words, because a dictionary is only a collection of words in use by human beings.

There's all sorts of kinds of non-dictionary words. And you can argue the "right to make them" because the structure that permits new words to be made is inherent in the English language

One is the (classic German) move of putting two words (or more) together to create a new word that is more than the sum of its parts. One of my favourites is "whirlwinged". A version of that is to take a dual word and replace one of its components such as shadowfall.

There's all sorts of things like turning nouns into verbs (the caravan rivered slowly through the valley), verbs into nouns (He could see she was a dier), and all sorts of variations on the topic. Using adjectives for nouns is also fun. The green extended to the far horizon. This move of using a word in a different version of itself is called transderivational morphology and that's a word I really like to drop into conversations once in a while - LOL!

Structurally, the precedence for things like, she was sung, exists in the fact that you can also both hang and be hung - the structure of language doesn't care for either content or meaning, nor even for what is in the dictionary. It allows all sorts to be done with it - you just have to be brave enough to do it!

And stand up for yourself if or should I say, WHEN proofreaders and editors go absolutely ballistic :)


Silvia
 
I'd say you can invent words, only be careful that it doesn't sound like you're writing in a new language.
 
Lots of authors invent words.

For years I was an acquisitions editor for science and technology. In those fields you HAVE to invent words now and then. It's one of the cool aspects of science writing.

Some really good books are full of invented words. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban is one. SF is full of examples. And of course Will Shakespeare did it as a matter of course. The anonymous author of Primary Colors (novel during Clinton administration) was unmasked because of his frequent use of invented multi-compound words, e.g., " a flying-by-the-seat-of-his-gray-flannel-trousers maneuver."

Any good writer of fiction will stretch usage, turning a word in a new way. It's a way to avoid cliche and bring the reader something new.
 
StarFields said:
One is the (classic German) move of putting two words (or more) together to create a new word that is more than the sum of its parts.
Click to expand...

The Finnish language also does this. Sometimes the word combinations are longer than those produced by German concatenations.

The writer Caitlin R. Kiernan produces an enthusiastic number of joined words throughout her fiction.
 
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