Re: Tell your conlang story!

1) How did you get in to conlanging? What was your inspiration?

I don't quite know how it happened. Like many others, I read Tolkien (among
many others) as a child, but I wasn't touched by the language bug though I
did try to create langauges with no success. As I aged, my interest in
science-fiction began to wane as all the alien cultures started to blend
together. I turned to fantasy and started studying a lot of languages at 16.
I was curious to see how a language would influence thought or behavior. It
was Lidaan that led me to make a serious attempt at creating my own
lanaguage for use in my novels.

2) What is your purpose in creating languages? Is it a personal art, an
anthropological experiment, a pasttime...?

It is both. I enjoy doing it as it's a very fulfilling activity even if
others don't find it particularly interesting or useful. I've found that
working with ideas, words, or phrases in a language of mine, or others, gets
me in a creative mood.

3) How have people reacted when you tell them about it?

Most people don't know. The one girl I shared it with is now building her
own; she enjoyed learning what I had to teach her that much.

4) Did conlanging lead you places you never expected it to take you?

Absolutely. I've grown as a writer and been able to hone my imagination
where it was once scattershot. It's been an extraordinarily helpful skill to
have and has payed off in some very surprising ways.

-J.

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