What if. . .

Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts

Friday, May 14, 2010

Character naming - part 2?

I was thinking about a prevoious post of mine, on character naming, more specifically about Bliradella tifanreta and Jack. You could pull two completely different names like those off if there was a large enough difference in their stations in life. (How ever, I would advise a slightly less ridiculous name, for the sake of your reader)

That's what I adore about our world, no matter how much we mess it up, there will always be interesting cultures. Take India, in example. The caste system is rather inspiring. Or Mongolia, or just about any culture you want. Mix and match to your heart's desire, just remembering to keep a bit of logic and reality included.


I feel like I've forgotten something. . .

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Character naming - part 1

Names help bring the characters to life and they bring certain prejudices. One must be careful with them! If you have two characters from the same small place and one is called Bliradella tifanreta and the other is Jack, then you have a problem and should proceed with care. You might be able to pull it off, but it's a lot of work.
Keep track of characters that have names that begin with the same letter. In one of my novels, I have Jaden, Jonah, Jinx, and Jaytur. Things tend to get confusing rather quickly. Your reader will have trouble keeping these characters separate. I am (slowly) working on rename Jaden and Jaytur. This, for me, anyway, is a subconscious thing. I don't go out and say "Oh, I want four male characters in this novel with names beginning with J." No.
And a bit of advice: Did the parent of your character(s) have a crystal ball so they could see what would happen in their future? No? Then please do NOT give them names that match their paths in life. The poor parent probably had very little idea what their children would do and so would not have given them special names.
And that's an end to part one of our segment on character naming!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A little help would be lovely.

Alright. It has been brought to my attention by a certain someone that the name Shin-ti could be interpreted as Shi'ite, and that it could be seen as me taking sides of something that I probably don't want to take sides on.
So, I'm trying thinking up new names for the Shin-ti. That's where you come in.
What name would you give a band of the best H'carian warriors, the ones that guard the queen, and serve her and only her? The very best of the best, her personal little army to do her dirty work for her? These warriors kill entire villages, sneak into places, kill innocents in the name of H'car and war.
Well?
Please note that at best, Shin-ti was a working title for them, and if you and I cannot think of a good name, I shall simply keep on using Shin-ti. There really is no pressure.