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Post by firestorm78583 on Apr 7, 2012 21:16:12 GMT -5
Here's to the success of your book, and that the winds of name recognition will blow your way.
As I posted earlier, I am renaming the characters that have questionable names (porn stars, sex offenders). I'm using a baby name website, then verifying against Google.
This process of renaming characters reminds me of the twist on the old line from the Dragnet movie; The names have been changed to protect the innocent. For example, Wayne Preston is now Brandon Garnet".
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Post by myrthman on Apr 8, 2012 21:28:18 GMT -5
Just had a spec-fic idea: witness protection program in a fantasy setting. Sounds like a good read!
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Post by j2starshine on Apr 9, 2012 12:00:40 GMT -5
That does sound like a good read, Myrthman. Becky, I do hope your books gain the recognition they deserve. I find it interesting that I couldn't find any information on that author except he/she contributed to a short story anthology called Prom Night and a facebook page for the windriders saga book. I've noticed that some of the baby name websites don't always agree. (my favorite being the old www.babynamesworld.com which is now connected to parents connect) I also crosscheck with The Complete Book of Baby Names, but who knows. Names are such a fickle thing. Cultures borrow from each other so a name could have several different meanings or adaptions. On a slightly different note. I've tried to keep the names within distinct races similar. Like the dwarves have German names, the elves Irish, etc but even those lines can get blurry. When I first started writing, I would just pick names that I liked the sound of and their meaning. But as I'm world-building and naming things, I'm wondering if I'm going overboard on trying to be too realistic. In our real world, our languages are connected to each other, many evolving, borrowing, etc.... like Latin being the base for so many languages. I'm not a linguist by any means, so maybe I'm getting in over my head. So...how do you choose the names of your characters? Do you try to group them together according to ethnicity? I know in our real world, those lines are blurred... As a reader do you even notice the ethnicity of the names? |
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Post by firestorm78583 on Apr 9, 2012 14:53:22 GMT -5
I like the witness protection idea! Run with it.
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Post by Kessie on Apr 9, 2012 16:33:22 GMT -5
J2: I'd stick with your "theme names" just for the sake of consistency. I have a world where one faction is Asian themed while their mortal enemies are Scottish. I've been picking names off babynames.com for them and having a great time. It's so much better than making up something unpronounceable.
Also, fantasy witness protection program sounds awesome. Witness of what, and protection from what, I wonder?
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Post by firestorm78583 on Apr 9, 2012 17:29:25 GMT -5
Goldilocks comes to mind.
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Post by j2starshine on Apr 12, 2012 21:25:27 GMT -5
:-) You might be on to something there.
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