Zompist Bboard Again

I keep getting stuck or losing steam on my conlang attempts before I actually get to the point of starting to figure out grammar, and I'm thinking it might help to try to do, like, a 7-day challenge or something to force me out of being such a goddamn perfectionist. Do y'all have any resources or advice or prompts for that kind of thing ready to hand?

where are you getting stuck or bogged down? the phonology? if that's the case, just start with a premade phonology (from an auto-generator, or an existing language) and commit to not fiddling with it

usually the process goes phonology > come up with an initial lexicon > ...oh god i forgot i hate doing initial lexicon > tinker with phonotactics for three months > never get around to syntax
starting with something randomly generated might do the trick if i'm very strict with myself, thanks for the idea!

spindlestar wrote: ↑Wed Jun 26, 2024 9:34 pm usually the process goes phonology > come up with an initial lexicon > ...oh god i forgot i hate doing initial lexicon > tinker with phonotactics for three months > never get around to syntax

I do this but without the second and third steps. My problem is that phonologies I like are very different to the aesthetics I like. I see an inventory of like /p b k ʔ m l h/ and go all mushy inside but then I start making words with it and it's just like bibibubupamapamapamibubububababa and I hate it and give up and start again.

starting with something randomly generated might do the trick if i'm very strict with myself, thanks for the idea!

Someone once said creativity comes from limitations, not freedom. If you start making a conlang with absolutely free rein, then you'll either be paralysed by choice or head down the path you've always gone down. So theoretically if you impose some arbitrary limitations on yourself, you should be able to come up with something more interesting and more complete.