Languages

Okay, so you're not Tolkien. This is something we understand. But you want to do something special with language. This is also something we understand.

The basic tip I have for you is: don't.

Tolkien was first and foremost a linguist--that's why some of his plotting doesn't make sense to us mere mortals; he wasn't a writer. He knew his languages, though. And it's pretty obvious to your readers if you're trying something you don't really know. Can you explain relativity in a paragraph? If you can, then go ahead. If you can't, should you try? For the same reason, don't try making a complete language unless you absolutely know what you're doing.

That isn't to say you shouldn't try to make your new words coherent. Do, definitely do. Nothing is more distracting than two alien trees named the Sh'portli'nfffghxxxxxy and Dode, if they're named by the same culture, anyway. Look for ways to make them sound alike, showing a common ancestry. But grammar and an entire vocabulary are more than you need to do. Plus, once you've made it, you're going to want to use all of it; unless you plan on writing something the length of the entire History of Middle-Earth, you're never going to have enough material to support a linguistic system of such depth.

	Some of the best naming conventions I've come across in my reading are simple, but memorable. Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon Trilogytakes place on a former penal colony world. All criminals were branded with the letters kk. As a result, all descendants of criminals have the kk in their names: Jakkin, Akki, Likkarn. Some of the plant life and cities take the kk as well; I'm reminded particularly of the spikka tree, which not only uses the letters but also has a lovely sound similar to spiky. In fact, this omnipresent use of a simple system really highlights the places where it's not used, such as a rich senator who has no criminal blood in him at all.

Basically, you should want your readers to think you've got a language worked out, but you shouldn't give them enough information to confirm their suspicions. Your words should be similar, coherent, but if you use a whole language, people will notice enough errors to throw them out of the story. Of course, this doesn't apply if you're a linguist--and if you are, why are you reading this anyway?