Here I am, disguised as Mooninpapa, writing away all weekend trying to finish Finland by Monday. At this point, I'm glueing statistics together, using the words and phrases below, so they resemble prose.
I put this list together a while ago, inspired by Michael O'Donoghue's list of "The Ten Magic Phrases of Journalism" from his funny article
How to Write Good. (Highly recommended.)
Mix and Match Terms to Fit Your Assigned Country
Chapter 1: The Land
use freely: third-largest, concerns, devastating, poisonous; snow-, forest-, sand-covered; seeks to protect
the equator
the North/South Pole
glaciers carved...
drought/floods
the movement of tectonic plates
the power of rushing water
home to...
vast/towering [fill in landform]
world's largest [rodent/stinky flower/salt flat]
endangered
deforestation/desertification
Chapter 2: The Past
use freely: historians believe; settled, waves of, struggle, flared, sparked, raged, conflict, desperation, in response, met with, crushed, oversee, overcome, hope that in the future...
[never, ever say: murdering bastard]
stone tools
rock art
wheat/corn/rice
invasions (horseback, sail, foot)
superior (resources, technology, aim)
dictatorships (Latin America)
under foreign rule (everywhere but Britain)
"-ization"
long shadows
forced labor
independence
civil war
worldwide depression
harsh rule
self-rule
neighbors
Chapter 3: The People
use freely: inadequate, concern, struggle to supply, seeks to improve, proud of, government budget, hope that in the future...
[avoid: "tragically, alas, unluckily, I want to puke"]
ethnic groups
mostly peaceful
malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, dysentery, schistosomiasis (don't look)--or---cancer, heart attacks, bad stress management, unhealthy lifestyles
before their fifth birthday
less available in rural areas
traditional healers
colorful folk dances
hearty dishes
soccer
Chapter 4: The Economy and the Future
use freely: plummeted, rose, increased, fell, predominant, declined, attracted, lost
farming (slash-and-burn, subsistence, cooperative, corporate)
factories (lungs, water, GDP)
tourism (eco-)
human trafficking
interest rates
women and children
hard work
bright future (United States & Co.)
brighter future (sub-Saharan Africa, et al.)
