Neologisms: Good stuff or Woebitten?

Do you mean neologisms invented just to sound different and used in the narrative by the author, or neologisms used in the society of the story by the characters?
There are bound to be new words describing new inventions or devices in futuristic SF or different items not used in our history in other-worldly fantasy. I mean, I didn't want to call the communications devices used in my series "cell phones" or even just phones because they were more than that. I used datalinks and 'links as a colloquialism.
But if you mean just different words to describe familiar things, then no, I think it's just confusing for the readers.

Making up a new word for something that already exists? No, it doesn't usually work (see Smeerps)

For a new concept/thing? Go right ahead

From your example, I actually quite like both warscape and bloodmemories.

I don't mind them, really. They have their place, and I probably grant them a bit more space than they're due.

I actually didn't mind warscape. It's pretty clear what it means and it's not overly-"clever" sounding.


Blood memories would have to have a bit more context, I think.

'Warscape' should be a word: for images of battlefields, or burnt out villages with lines of refugees heading into the distance.
'Whistleknife' is what? A knife that whistles as it flies through the air? For really showy assassins? A knife with a whistle in the handle? For summoning the police? Or a waiter?
Does it need more explanation, or less name?
I realize the sentence you posted was only an example, put if you were to continue at that pace, three neologisms per sentence, it had better be a really simple and short story, or I'll get tired of translating as I go.

I think it's very important to make sure the word you're inventing are easy to understand. It should be no more or less jarring than coming across a strange character name, really.
Something like whistleknife isn't really that clear; there's a lot of ways it could be interpreted, as has been said.

Again, though, I like etymology a whole lot, so I'm probably willing to put up with slightly more obscure words. When I noticed the connection between the English thatch and German dach through Old Norse/Icelandic þak, my brain damn near exploded with glee.

Treat them like whole chillies in cooking. One or two can add piquancy and flavour, although not everyone will like them. On the other hand, too many ...

I sometimes find that a new word creates itself. New words are generally (but not always) created when something doesn't fit existing words. When some clever sod invented the digital watch we needed to invent new words for both digital watch and analog watch, because up to that point we only had one word.

A Jedi's weapon is a light sabre because ... well, what else are you going to call it?

New words can also happen if the society changes. Think a Clockwork Orange or a post apocalyptic society trying to understand technology that they only distantly remember.

Just don't overdo it or make it sound too corny. There is a fine line between believable and cartoony. It is all too easy to make a new word sound like an autobot or a character from GI Joe, especially if you are gluing two existing words together - starscream, thundershadow, etc

Once! said:

A Jedi's weapon is a light sabre because ... well, what else are you going to call it?

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All sorts of things, as it's a straight "blade" usually wielded with both hands and therefore not actually a sabre of any description.

Precisely. Because it is an imaginary weapon for which no conventional terms exists you are just about forced to invent a name for it. Incidentally, the other term used was "laser sword". But it's hard to call it just a sword in a universe which also includes conventional metal swords.

Once! said:

Precisely. Because it is an imaginary weapon for which no conventional terms exists you are just about forced to invent a name for it. Incidentally, the other term used was "laser sword". But it's hard to call it just a sword in a universe which also includes conventional metal swords.

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Also, Laser Sword just sounds a bit naff.

I once got snapped at for using the neologism "datapocalypse" in a college creative writing course.

So, I've decided to use even more of them, just to annoy that annoying person.

NRoach said:

Also, Laser Sword just sounds a bit naff.

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True. Then again it was used by Anakin Skywalker in Episode One, who was himself a bit naff!

JRTroughton said:

So... thoughts? Are neologisms in your fantasy absolutely ultragreat or not? How do you feel when you come across them?

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When they give me a new perspective, or a new word to apply where formerly there wasn't a good one, then I love them. I love many of the examples in this thread.

Made up just to Sound Different, not so much.

Disclaimer: at one time I spoke both Nadsat and Newspeak.

I rather like neologisms personally. I've utilized them in my manuscript series––however I have culled them a bit since editing. It makes sense to invent new words/ expressions/phrases/etc., or to even repurpose a word for it to have a new meaning (I rather like this method when the meaning is obvious), for a new world. That said, going overboard and making numerous new words just to replace the ones we already use––that I don't believe is a good idea.

My all-time favorite, coined by Kurt Vonnegut to describe a character's uncontrolled jumping back-and-forth in time:

Chronosynclastic infundibulum

It's in his early, and hilarious, novel The Sirens of Titan.

Then there's always Joseph Heller's "catch-22", which wound up the title of his classic first novel and has entered the common English language. Not SF, I realize, but neologisms crop up in a lot of writing genres. Philip K. Dick and Terry Pratchett are adept at using such inventions effectively.

caw