This post provides a rundown of the prompts you’ll see this week, so you can plan ahead. On each day, I’ll post more information to accompany each prompt.
Day 1, January 1
Goal: Set an intention for your language
Note: Focus on your reasons for wanting to create this language. This will be your guiding force throughout the year.
Tip: Write your goal in a place where you can see it and refer to it often as you work on your language.
Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure
Day 2, January 2
Goal: Set an intention for sharing your language
Note: Focus on your intended audience (e.g. family, friends, a linguistics professor, young adult readers across the country) and medium (e.g. written text, video recordings, lyrics in songs) for sharing your work with others.
Tip: If this is a personal project, your intended audience may be limited to Future You.
Work focus: Organize/Plan/Structure
Day 3, January 3
Goal: Determine your speakers and conworld
Note: You will have five days to describe these in more detail. Focus on the big picture for today.
Tip: Start a “vision board” or collection of images that can inspire you as you fill out details.
Work focus: Learn/Brainstorm/Try
Day 4, January 4
Goal: Describe (or design) your speakers
Note: Focus on your speakers’ physical bodies—what they look like, how they move about, etc.
Tip: Having a clear image in your mind (or having an actual picture) will help you moving forward.
Work focus: Create/Make/List
Day 5, January 5
Goal: Describe (or design) your conworld terrain
Note: Identify the terrain features that are in your speakers’ immediate environment.
Tip: A roughly sketched-out map can go a long way in helping you identify these features.
Work focus: Create/Make/List
Day 6, January 6
Goal: Describe your conworld’s climate and weather patterns
Note: Climate refers to predominant conditions while weather includes specific phenomena associated with the climate.
Tip: Remember to consider any common seasonal shifts in weather patterns.
Work focus: Create/Make/List
Day 7, January 7
Goal: Describe (or design) native flora
Note: Focus on the vegetation that natively grows in your speakers’ conworld.
Tip: You can “prioritize” flora by considering what plant life your speakers interact with most.
Work focus: Create/Make/List