 Fantasy: October 09, 2013 Issue [#5933] |
  Fantasy
This week: Naming Your Character Edited by: Prosperous Snow celebrating  
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"Names are an important key to what a society values. Anthropologists recognize naming as 'one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.'" ~David S. Slawson
"Words have meaning and names have power." ~Author Unknown
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| ASIN: B004PICKDS |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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There are many ways for authors to choose names for their characters. I once heard of an author who picked names for her characters by walking through cemeteries. She would look at the headstones and pick either a first or last name that caught her fancy. Another way to choose a name is to peruse the obituary column or listen to the news both, of which, are good sources for name. I once got the name of a character from the name badge of a customer service agent. There are also online sources for name, such as websites that list baby names.
All names have meanings, so once you decide on the name of the character then you can use that name to help build a character profile. Some websites give you the meaning of the names, while others give the meaning and list attributes that a person with this name can have. Researching a character's name and finding out specific attributes or characteristics that goes with the character assist in constructing the plot the novel. I used this method when I chose the names for my present NaNoWriMo novel.
Because names are important to both society and the individual an author can use the name to suggest many things about a character. The meaning of a name can be used when writing about both major and minor characters. When writing about a minor character, the name can be used as a way to show the individual's career and his virtues or vices. Names can reveal many things about a novel's protagonist, antagonist, and minor characters.
Name is more then a label
It is a part of the individual.
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#1951601 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Ivy felt like she had been in a dream. Somehow, she had gotten stranded in a dark valley and had collapsed under a tree. She thought she had heard voices, as something had lifted her from the ground and carried her up, up, up a staircase. She remembered getting colder and colder as she ascended until there was a bib Slam like a door closing, and she had been laid on a fluffy, warm thing. Then she woke up.
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Excerpt: “It’s finished!” Jill held up the vial.
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#1953388 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: I was enjoying a frozen cappuccino when I felt someone pull out a chair and sit down across from me.
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#1953302 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Everybody has a written path. A journey jotted by a hand beyond human understanding. Except sometimes, there is a deviation, where a smudge sets someone’s path astray; or lets them choose it.... running off the edge of the page.
|  | The Fairy Kiss (E)
The fairy child, Athelwine, has lost her power of flight, and the Goblin boy knows why.
#1953373 by Riss Ryker  |
Excerpt: Deep within the haunted wood, beside the magic brook, far away from harm or hurt, where humans never look. A meeting, there, was being held, for something was amiss. For someone had, indeed, crept in and stole a fairy kiss.The one so bold,to do this deed, stole power from the Fae. She couldn't lift or move her wings, she couldn't fly away.
Excerpt: The stalk emerged from the side of the cliff, and shuddered with the morning sun's touch. Warmth not familiar from its long journey, a trip started as a seed and a spell cast by a Groppler, Timpor, by name. The creature loved to cultivate plants but the dark surroundings of his home did not bode well for healthy foliage. Timpor discovered his spell accidently and enabled certain seeds to thrive in the shadows of the UnderNeath.
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#1954874 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Fanistia floated forward with twenty-nine strokes of her large blue iridescent wings, some strokes were very quick while others were slow, then she turned left and floated another twenty-nine strokes. I will catch up to that no good for nothing wizard Hyndrick, and he will remove this spell or else.
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brom21  writers: That quote by Nora Roberta sums it up for me. It is a timeless mantra in my opinion. I have a story I stared in my fiction class lasts semester. If I do enter, it will be that story. The first chapter is in my port. The level of participation will depend on my school work. Good luck with you premise.
Duchess Laughing Lemurs writes: Yay! Another NaNoWriMist! I'm definitely participating this year, like I have since I discovered it in '06. I plan some if it - the major characters and the title - but I pants most of it. Once, I followed Lazette Gifford's method of using a phase outline. Didn't finish that year, but it's worth using again.
dmckune write: OMG! Thank you so much for highlighting my story! That was not expected, but is greatly appreciated.
Mama Duck >O
You're welcome.
Prosperous Snow celebrating
JaceCar writes: I'm preparing for my first NaNoWriMo this fall, and while I'm not sure what I can offer in terms of advice to others, I can tell you what I do that helps me write successfully.
First, find a place where you can write without distraction, or with as few distractions as possible. Don't let yourself get distracted with other activities. Your writing place can be as simple as a favorite chair, or a corner in your bedroom, or even your garage or basement. Sometimes, it's a 'thinking cap' that you put on, and whenever you have it on, you go into 'writing mode'. Whatever or wherever it is, claim it for writing and remember to write or think about writing whenever you are there.
Second, use headphones with music or background noise that allows you to focus in on what you're doing. Don't try to write while sitting on the couch in front of the blaring TV, with kids underfoot, or whatever it is that distracts you. Privacy is nice, but not always possible, so try to create the privacy internally with music or noise.
Third, set a goal and stick to it. For NaNoWriMo it's easy. 50k words divided by 30 days is 1667 words a day. If you know you're going to have days off, you might want to make it 2000 words a day instead. Try to write to that goal every day, especially if you don't feel like it. Sometimes our down and depressed days provide the best emotional fodder for writing. Note that by getting ahead of your goal actually helps you write more, because then you aren't pressured to perform.
Finally, learn what works when you get stuck. For Stephen King, it's a walk. For someone else, it's a bike ride. For someone else it could be a 20 minute phone call to a brother or sister. Whatever it is, find it, and use it when you get stuck, so that you can get back into writing without sitting there for hours feeling unproductive and bored.
Hope this helps at least someone!
>jace
neophyte novelist
Elle - on hiatus  writes: When I did Nano last year, the prep was a HUGE help. I highly recommend it.
Thank you for suggesting "October Novel Prep Challenge" .
Prosperous Snow celebrating
ember_rain writes: Absolutely. How do I plan? I don't. I find a name I like and build a character around the name and then a story around the character.
Helena Noel writes: Thanks! I'd heard of NaNoWriMo years ago, but quickly forgot because I had no project. This year, though, the name kept popping up, and I began to wonder what on earth the crazy word meant. Turns out, I am nearly done with the planning stages of my novel, and want to begin in a few weeks. Feels like fate! Im really going to consider jumping in this year, if I make it to the goal, or even get close, Im going t have you to thank! Peace!
BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful  writes: I blend things.
Thank you for submitting "Redwall Interactive"
Prosperous Snow celebrating
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