 Fantasy: April 04, 2007 Issue [#1632] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Feywriter  
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In the first three lines of Walt Whitman's poem, Mannahatta, Whitman conveys a large amount of information about names.
I was asking for something specific and perfect for my city,
Whereupon, lo! upsprang the aboriginal name!
Now I see what there is in a name, a word, liquid, sane, unruly, musical, self-sufficient;
The world needs fantasy. It can be an escape from daily life, a means for finding the hero within, a landscape to inspire the imagination. Enter the world of Fantasy. In my newsletters you can expect thorough looks at different aspects of fantasy writing, and a publisher spotlight.
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Names are extremely important in fiction. You want to choose a name that is memorable and appropriate for the character. Sometimes the names come easily, but more often you have to work at it. There are many ways to find names. I'll be sharing a few with you that have worked for me or others I know. But whatever your method, there are also a few guidelines to keep in mind.
Names with Meaning
This is one of my preferred methods. Pick a trait about your character and search through a dictionary, a thesaurus, encyclopedia, language dictionaries, or resources with name meanings. For a bard character I searched for names on www.behindthename.com that dealt with songs and storytelling: bard, song, story, tale… The latter came up with "Satu" which means "fairy tale, fable" in Finnish. I liked the sound and meaning, so that's what I named her.
Language or Culture
Another way to look at names is to keep all of your characters within the same type of culture. You could have Japanese names, African names, German names… many possibilities. The fantasy culture doesn't have to resemble the real world culture in any way except the naming system, but it does add to the unity of the created world. For example, Sara Douglass' book Threshold is in a very Egyptian like culture, and she names her characters appropriately. She took many of the names from the Bible and books on Egyptology.
Sounds
Different letter sounds imply different types of characters. Harsh sounding names work well for evil characters – Sark, Cain, Graxis. Softer sounds for good characters – Jaren, Harry, Rohan.
Historical, Modern, or Otherworldly
If you are writing a historical fantasy, you'll want to research what names were common in the time period and location of your story. If it's magic realism or takes place in the modern world, you have a lot more leeway. You can find just about any name in any part of the world, though different names will be more common some places than others. Now if your story takes place in a different realm, anywhere that's not Earth, you can make a name any way you want. DO NOT make them unpronounceable. If some demon must have a name like Jktlomnps (or equally hideous to read) then please give them a nickname that's more pleasant to the eyes (like Jek) or some other way for the characters and readers to refer to them.
Tricks with Words
Here are three tricks to create whole new words which may spark a character name:
1. This one is from Jezz - Lost . "take common phrases and say them really fast and drop a few letters. ie... bird in a tree... birdinatree... bidantre... Bidantre." Great for place or character names.
2. Spell words backwards. Take a regular word or a name and flip it around. You will find some awful combinations this way, but there is a chance for gems. The name Canderyn, for instance, turns out Nyrednac (Nac for short).
3. Keyboard mashing. This tends to be a last resort. Pound some random keys, then try to make sense of it. It takes creativity to turn al;sdiufaoei into Alsifa (real time example  ).
A few things to remember:
 Make names readable.
 Don't have too many similar names. If two character names sound/look alike (Jaren and Jaiden) then your reader may get confused. You don't want them backtracking or looking for clues to figure out which one you're talking about.
 Keep some consistency. Don't have K'latho'ras and Selena from the same region. If you have multiple countries/realms/cultures in your world then give them some general naming guidelines.
Resources:
Real Life. Be observant! If you work with people, you have a great resource for names. My husband enrolls college students, so he'll make note of any interesting names he comes across and pass them along. Also use phone books, spam, cemeteries, etc.
Random Name Generators. If you search online there are tons out there. One of my favorites is https://www.seventhsanctum.com
Name Meaning Sites:
https://www.behindthename.com
https://surnames.behindthename.com
http://www.babycenter.com/babyname/meanings.jhtml
Baby Naming Sites:
Popular baby names, searchable by year: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
http://www.babynames.com/
There are plenty of books on naming as well. Check your local library.
** Image ID #1092573 Unavailable **
 Publisher Spotlight
Publisher: Ace and Roc Science Fiction & Fantasy
Location: USA
Website: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/scifi-fantasy/index.html
About: Ace and Roc are imprints of the Penguin Group, the second largest English-language publisher in the world. The Ace imprint is more literary, whereas Roc is more edgy and experimental.
Guidelines:
 Prefer email submissions: Email a query letter w/ first ten pages of your book pasted in the body of the email, NOT an attachment. Address is sff@us.penguingroup.com.
 Alternatively, can mail a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages to:
Ace/Roc Science Fiction & Fantasy
Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014.
 Allow estimated three months for e-mail query, and 12 months for hard copy submissions.
 Always check the submission guidelines on their site for changes and additional details.
Length:75,000 to 125,000 words
Payscale: Professional
If you have a particular publisher you're interested in, let me know and I'll be sure to spotlight them. 
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Some members describe the pronunciation and meaning behind the names in their stories:
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Check out this contest exploring the darker side of fantasy:
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Note from contest host: "Hello, this is Deany, Chronicler of Yadout, and I have just opened a new contest. The Idea is that fantasy has two sides, light and dark. For some odd reason the light side, the heroes, the paladins, the happy I have to save the world from the dark Lord things. I'm not saying that this is wrong but we have the dark side to explore as well, the necromancers, the death knights and such. Why aren't these people noticed? That's who this contest is dedicated to.
Also the other reason I wanted this contest is because of our twin genre, Sci-Fi, always saying that we are the happy go lucky annoying sibling they never wanted. I say we need more writing about the bad guys to show our diversity as a community within a community. Show that we arent' the airy-fairy loosers that they take us to be. Show the other side that is always left in the shade."
A word search with names from a popular fantasy series:
Some more fantasy items for your perusal:
Lots of great description and personality right from the start. "A courageous teenager attempts to thwart conflict with a magical world by confronting another reckless teen who is determined to capture an escaped unicorn."
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A Fantasy romance collaboration. Will Alwyn the bard be able to overcome opposition to be with his princess?
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Ordinary life is interrupted by the unexpected. What would you do if a sick girl showed up on your doorstep?
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Not one dragon story, but many!
A story told in the form of a patient's file – diary extracts, research notes, and reports. What's the scientific take on these supernatural creatures?
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
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My question for you: What's your favorite name from a fantasy story and why?
Reader Comments
From exasperanza:
The Publisher Spotlight is a really helpful feature of this newsletter! I have started a file to keep publishers' contact information, and I appreciates this feature. Please post more of these in future newsletters!
Glad to hear my research has been useful. I'll definitely continue to provide a Publisher Spotlight.
From Pen Name :
Dear Emerald Enchantress,
The interview with David Keck, author of In the Eye of Heaven motivated me from zero to sixty. By his honest and revealing answers, David really cares about helping other writers of fantasy. The questions you asked were great as well. Thank you so much for conducting this interview. I now feel ready to tackle my fantasy novel.
Sincerely,
Lotusneko
That's great! Good luck with your novel. I passed your comment on to David and it made him smile. We all want each other to succeed.
From lhachril:
The interview with David Keck in this last newsletter was wonderful. It was very helpful and interesting to hear how a published fantasy author made his way into print. The questions you asked David were ones that I wanted to know. Especially the section on publishing. He had some very detailed answers and I was impressed with the quality of the interview. Very well done and very informative. Thank you!
 
Thank you for all the comments. Remember to leave feedback or ideas for future newsletters. We editors love to hear from you!
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Product Type: Kindle Store
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