I spent two months stuck on a fantasy map because I refused to use a name generator

Everyone in my writing group said to just use a tool for place names, but I wanted every city and river to have a real meaning in my story's history. I got stuck on a single coastal city for three weeks, trying to make a name that sounded right and tied to local lore. It finally clicked when I looked at old Celtic word roots instead of making up sounds. What's the longest you've been blocked on a small world building detail?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy5644d ago

Totally get that. Spent like a month on a magic system's fuel source. Could not decide if it should be crystals, a liquid, or like, emotional energy. Drove me nuts. Ended up mixing two ideas after I saw how batteries work. Sometimes you just stare at it too long.

sage_fox4d ago

Ugh, I completely disagree! Overthinking is HOW you get it right. @troy564, mixing ideas from seeing batteries is cool, but that's still a result of deep thought. If you just pick the first idea, it's always gonna be the boring, obvious one. Staring at it is the WORK. The frustration means you're pushing past easy answers. Settling too fast makes a magic system feel cheap and forgettable. That month of stress is what makes the final idea actually MEAN something.