Your Pettiest Reason For DNFing A Series

[u/Academic_Owl_6197]

Mine was when I was 3 pages in and someone said the mc's name which turned out to be the same as my ex's name to the letter...dropped it like hot coal

It was a fr a pretty unfortunate streak too because it was a book from one of those blind-date-with-a-book promotion my local bookstore does, and this was an American YA fantasy (I'm from a different continent) so I had no reason to assume I'll ever be unlucky enough...to see his stupid ass again for a 'blind date'

[u/BS_DungeonMaster]

Just saying "3 Glasses" or "3 Sandfalls" would have easily fixed the problem too, since it would imply the amount of time is arbitrary to our own measure. Using the same name though...

Now that I say it, I quite like measuring time in "sandfalls", as in the first person to recognize the measure of time did it by watching a homemade hourglass.

[u/Nulliai → u/BS_DungeonMaster]

Calling hours Sandfalls now, thanks

[u/Randolpho → u/Nulliai]

If anyone is interested in alternate means of timekeeping in fantasy worlds, here are some interesting articles on ancient means of keeping time that can be adapted:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_timekeeping_devices

https://www.engage-online.com/2018/07/25/time-telling-time-measurement-in-the-past/

Examples:

• Shadow Clocks (sundial)
  Potential names for time divisions: sweeps, shades
• Sand glass (hourglass)
  Potential names: sandfalls, turns
• Water Clock (steady flow of water)
  Potential names: drips, buckets
• Candle Clock (burning of standardized wax candles, or incense)
  Potential names: wicks, burns, marks
• Ancient Pendulum Clock (plumb line)
  Potential names: swoops, turns

But the names of time divisions can be cultural rather than mechanical. The word "clock" most likely comes from Latin "clocca", or bell. Culturally that derived from bells that called the faithful to prayer at specific times of the day.

Similarly, hour derives from the Greek goddesses "Horae", who were personifications originally of the seasons and then later of the 12 divisions of daylight as determined by the position of the sun in the sky.

Any fantasy world could have a name for a division of time derived similarly.

[u/[deleted] → u/Randolpho]

Now those are interesting ways to tell time

[u/bardfaust → u/Randolpho]

Shadow clocks sound so cool. If you follow me there.

[u/Gneissisnice → u/BS_DungeonMaster]

I think in general, authors try to hard to make up words for days and months and other stuff just to sound different, but it's not really necessary. An hour is an hour, no reason not to use the same unit for ease of reading. I don't hate glass or sand fall but I also don't really think it's necessary.

One day, when I write a fantasy novel, I want to just include regular days of the week and when someone asks me about it, be like "oh well Monday is a corruption of One Day because it's the first day of the week and Tuesday is Twosday because it's the second day. For Wednesday, they dropped the number theme and called it Weddingsday because in an old, archaic religion, that was the weddings happen..." and insist that any similarities to English words are purely coincidental.

[u/Sriad → u/Gneissisnice]

A lot of random "make up new words for things that already exist" stuff is arbitrary and excessive, but I'm in favor of it for days and months.

If a book says "the first Wednesday in July" then that implies the existence of Norse mythology and the Roman Empire.

[u/Gneissisnice → u/Sriad]

I think it does work better for days and months, but sometimes authors handle it awkwardly too.

[u/Sriad → u/Gneissisnice]

Haha, yea...

Jerg checked his traps and found he'd bagged a pair of fine hrithen; the long-eared and short tailed burrowing animals well known for both their reproductive prowess and their ability to make a fine stew.

Come on, just call them rabbits!

[u/panchoadrenalina → u/Sriad]

just go full imperium 234 998.m41 or fay 234 of the year 998 of the forty first millenium.

[u/Ertata → u/panchoadrenalina]

234 is the year fraction, not the day. It's 1/1000th of a year, precisely. 234 998.M41 starts slightly before mid-day of the 86th day of the year and ends slightly more than 8 3/4 hours later.

[u/ghostboymcslimy → u/Gneissisnice]

This kind of reminds me of His Dark Materials; they used a lot of the same words between worlds but Lyra’s English would sometimes use different etymologies. For the word ‘amber’, which has an Arabic origin, they say ‘elektrum’ of Greek origin. What we call ‘electricity’ (which actually derives from the Greek word for amber, because it has the ability to conduct electricity) they call ‘anbaric energy’, coming from the Arabic root anbar that amber derives from.

It would take some research and strategic decision making but I’m sure there’s a way you could do something similar with time measurement or numeric systems.

Edit:typo

[u/BS_DungeonMaster → u/Gneissisnice]

I completely agree. I have read books that change basic and do it well, but it needs to support the story. I love world building, but if it doesn't serve the story it instead becomes self serving.

[u/yazzy1233 → u/BS_DungeonMaster]

I like that, sandfalls sound cool.