Beyond my philosophical and spiritual commitment, I wanted to portray true animism in this book. And that created specific, thorny writing problems that required concrete solutions.
Better Conlang Orthography: Inspiration from History
A reader suggested an excellent change to my constructed language's spelling system.
The Linguistic Legacy of Dragons: A Worldbuilding Case Study
A month or two ago, while writing Crown of Crows, I suddenly and unexpectedly found myself in desperate need of a language for dragons. Not really having time to come up with one completely from scratch, I asked myself if there were some quick way I could create something that sounded reptilian and exotic, but also grounded in linguistic theory and historical linguistics.
Summer Writing Sprint 2025
A bit of a curtain-peek, for those who like them. A little progress report, a little linguistic nonsense, and a few excerpts of recent writing.
Animist AI Manifesto
Everywhere you look, in every nook and niche, from art museums to zookeeping, artificial intelligence is the topic of the day. Should it be used? Under what conditions? Should there be industry standards? Guidelines? Bans? What is the environmental impact? Is it even avoidable anymore? And how can you get reliable information to guide your… Continue reading Animist AI Manifesto
A Discursive Lecture on Late Pizan: a Linguistic Revolution
Professor Eleinn Hahíns and Magister Errícc Cnohrmann discuss the evolution of the Pizan language post-Yḿboldhźh revolution. Late Pizan, known as Kamvlŕsâi, emerged as the official language, marked by significant phonological simplification and a shift from SVO to VSO grammatical structure, reflecting a society's transformation towards directness and efficiency in communication.
Creating Pizan: The Language of Conquistadors and Conquest
In my ongoing development of the languages of the world of my novel Crown of Crows, I've been working on Pizan, a language with a complex fictional history rooted in Spanish colonization and subsequent English influence.
Land of the Witch, Land of the Bear: Naming the Language of a Fantasy World
Why I'm moving from the name "Sagaia" and "Sagaian" to "Artír" and "Artanga." Themes of power, resistance, and cultural identity, highlighting the influence of the Bear and the evolution of language among the inhabitants following the White Witch’s defeat.
Telepathy Tech in Science Fiction and Reality, Part I: On Our Way
Science fiction has always had a fraught relationship with telepathy. On the one hand, it's such a fanciful and magical ability that it's oftentimes not thought of as sci-fi at all, or (especially in Golden Age sci-fi) only as some semi-mystical power that only mutants or aliens have (eg Spock in Star Trek, Xenomorphs in… Continue reading Telepathy Tech in Science Fiction and Reality, Part I: On Our Way
New Words Daily 2025
English clearly doesn't have enough words. Let's make more! I will introduce a new English word daily in 2025 through social media, inspired by Proto Indo-European roots. #NewWordsDaily2025!