tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post701054401986827448..comments2023-12-02T05:59:27.143-05:00Comments on YAtopia: What's in a name?SM Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-59030734727644444752014-11-18T18:06:14.701-05:002014-11-18T18:06:14.701-05:00I wrote a little piece about this a while back tha...I wrote a little piece about this a while back that I think you might find useful.<br /><br />This applies most especially to characters in fantasy and Sci-Fi settings, but I think it might serve as a point of inspiration for you.<br /><br />http://www.grauwelt.com/naming-fictional-characters<br /><br />Hope it helps!<br /><br />Regards,<br />—Vic S.—Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407632482378833331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-2650983511495433262014-10-09T08:59:45.153-04:002014-10-09T08:59:45.153-04:00I'm very picky about names. However, I usually...I'm very picky about names. However, I usually get the names squared away from the moment the reader meets the character in the story. Since I'm a panster (nine times out of ten) any vague outline generally goes something like 'Blond girl, introvert, birthmark, finds out she's half unicorn, choose which world to live in. Bad guy might be a good guy, best friend betrays her.' and that's all I have to start with. Once I'm involved, I might go back and fill in the outline better. But as I'm writing, and characters appear, they're named, and virtually always, those names are permanent. <br /><br />Unlike a lot of writers, I don't much care about titles. I stick one on, but I'm always game to change it. Character names, and first lines, however, almost never change. Sometimes, I'll take a while to figure out the right name, but that's fine. I don't ever just stick a name on with the intention of fixing it later. Even if (as is the case in at least one of my manuscripts) the character goes by a nickname for most of the book, and their real name doesn't come into play until near the end, that real name is already sorted out when you first meet the character. <br /><br />I write a great deal of fantasy, so those names I will just make up (though I take pronunciation into account and try to make them easy because while I LOVE fantasy, I'm not a fan of weird names I can't pronounce in my head) and in the contemporary genre, I tend toward older names, that aren't necessarily super popular. Mostly, I go off gut feeling. The names are as much a part of my characters as their mannerisms and features, so once they're in place, they don't change. <br /><br />Obviously if it was the difference between getting published or not, or I had an agent and editor both suggesting that I make a change, I'm not so dumb or stubborn that I'd still refuse. But unless it was that major an issue, the names don'e change. Artemis Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10849091563671031929noreply@blogger.com