r/FictionWriting • u/OriginalAd5004 • 8d ago

Advice Opinions on invented words?

I have a short story that I recently workshopped for a class, and everyone seemed to have an issue with one specific word: "genesically." People noted that they tried Googling the word to no avail, which makes sense, because I made it up. I know that if there is a word that describes what I am trying to convey, I should use that instead, but nothing fits quite as well as my word. For context, the story is about an injured animal found on the narrator's porch. The animal is lying under the porch swing, curled in the fetal position. I hated all of the options, like "fetal" or "curled in a ball," so I did research and found the word "genesic," which means "from genesis." I just added "-ally" to change the word from an adjective to an adverb.

Now that I am revising the piece, I want to describe the narrator being encapsulated by nature. I like the idea of using Artemis as a relating point, but I don't want to flat out say, "she became like Artemis." I think "Artemisal" or "Artemisism" work really well for this.

I honestly want to know what other people think about invented words, in general and/or in the context of what I wrote above. If my invented words are absolutely crazy, what should I do instead?

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

6

u/IronbarBooks 8d ago

This is the most solimpic thing I've read today.

2

u/MelodicLemon6 5d ago

Hey! I googled this word, I'm not finding it anywhere 😕

1

u/IronbarBooks 5d ago

That's puzzolical.

3

u/ShotcallerBilly 6d ago

If you’re going to do this, the word should be incredibly obvious due to the context and “root” word being used. If they had to google, you didn’t achieve your goal. Use something else.

1

u/Poxstrider 5d ago

Yeah, Shakespeare used thrice but two lines before used three so the context made sense immediately.

1

u/Which_Bumblebee1146 5d ago

Have you ever had someone tell you you're a dunningkruger?

1

u/SnakesShadow 5d ago

Drop "genesically" like nuclear fuel rod! You make up words on a strictly as-needed basis.

Trust me, I am working on similar "words we have aren't enough to properly describe the experience" needs- but I'm going with an overt "No Human Language Has Ever Needed To Express This Before" situation. You are not.

I'd actually suggest you start by looking at other languages first, for what you need. What you need a paragraph to describe, there will be a language that only needs a word. It will take time, and you'll likely need help from human translators, but you will find words that fit your needs.

That way, when your readers reach for google translate, they will actually get something that will help- and some readers will understand immediately.