tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post1873139863061723186..comments2023-10-11T09:22:33.136-04:00Comments on Paperback Writer: By Any Other NameUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-51470127269499722042010-07-19T00:56:57.593-04:002010-07-19T00:56:57.593-04:00This may sound weird, but I do it by color. But t...This may sound weird, but I do it by color. But then I'm mildly synesthesic. Every character has a color and the name has to match. Sometimes shape matters too.Rachel Bichahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03536030655646977398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-31483055495361301622010-07-17T20:01:05.671-04:002010-07-17T20:01:05.671-04:00I love your rose photos. I used to grow a climbing...I love your rose photos. I used to grow a climbing rose variety called 'Golden Showers'. It is a beautiful variety with a lovely scent, readily available back home in England. I'm not sure where it originated though or how available it is elsewhere. Thanks for the memory boost.Paul Andrew Russellhttp://www.paulandrewrussell.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-84646960644198193262010-07-17T13:31:22.853-04:002010-07-17T13:31:22.853-04:00I love roses. Those pictures are gorgeous. I don&#...I love roses. Those pictures are gorgeous. I don't have as many as I did at my old house (well over 100) but I'm getting there.<br /><br />I didn't have much trouble with my Hns. Their first names just kind of popped out of nowhere. The heroes were a bit more difficult and I did look them up. The worst is the last name though. I've changed the last names of my characters in one story so many times, I'm not even sure anymore which one I finally decided on.<br /><br />*sigh*nightsmusichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05984119792540771870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-8941565273526283872010-07-16T22:22:51.427-04:002010-07-16T22:22:51.427-04:00I love the don juan rose! The fact that it climbs ...I love the don juan rose! The fact that it climbs trellises cracked me up. <br /><br />I name my characters based on their personality and their role in the book. I look through baby name websites and go with my gut instinct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-10144552259258224482010-07-16T20:20:56.301-04:002010-07-16T20:20:56.301-04:00I just love my entire afternoon, btw. ENTIRE AFTE...I just love my entire afternoon, btw. ENTIRE AFTERNOON.Shiloh Walkerhttp://www.shilohwalker.com/website/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-72547752537873476602010-07-16T20:15:48.733-04:002010-07-16T20:15:48.733-04:00For me, it's a mix of different approaches. So...For me, it's a mix of different approaches. Sometimes, characters just show up on the doorstep with a name tag already attached, which makes it easy for me. For those that are stubborn, I have a book on names and their meanings. Those websites showing which names were popular at what times are very helpful, too.<br /><br />My current WIP, however, has a character who was really stubborn and just flat out refused to tell me her name. She also nixed any suggestion I made. Then, one day when I was watching TV and the end credits were rolling, the character suddenly popped up and said, "That. That's my name." It was a BBC show and the name was Welsh, which a bit of a problem since the character wasn't Welsh. So I checked whether the name was really female (can be hard to tell with Welsh names) and how to pronounce it. Plus, I came up with a Welsh grandmother for my character for whom she was named.Cora Buhlerthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03868233120931184399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-53260320395600779152010-07-16T16:17:05.036-04:002010-07-16T16:17:05.036-04:00I too grow roses. I have them color coded around ...I too grow roses. I have them color coded around the yard. Red, pink and purple are in the back. White, yellow and apricot are in the front.<br /><br />I dislike having to pick names. I search on meanings a lot of times to get a name that works. Sometimes I'll have a letter of the alphabet I want to use. But it takes hours to pick names for me. (I do try to match historical/ethnicity with the characters as well)Beth Caudillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07822034586213938181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-36128580780023190932010-07-16T13:55:54.758-04:002010-07-16T13:55:54.758-04:00Most names come to me along with the character, fu...Most names come to me along with the character, fully formed and just somehow "right" for the situation. I've had situations where I tried to change such a name for various reasons, going to the trouble of doing a "search and replace" through entire manuscripts only to realize that I couldn't manage to accept the new name. It just didn't hold the same power as the original name.<br /><br />Just this morning I woke up with the idea for a new story in which one of the characters has three older brothers, and all of their names were just there, ready to go. Without knowing anything else about these guys, I knew their names.Lynn Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13444488890483608914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-88604301615267307232010-07-16T12:48:23.517-04:002010-07-16T12:48:23.517-04:00This might sound a bit macabre, but I found my cen...This might sound a bit macabre, but I found my central characters' names in a graveyard. Let me explain before anyone thinks I'm too weird for words.<br /><br />I live in Edinburgh, Scotland. My husband and I walk our dog along the river, then cut up through a wooded area into the local kirk (church). We sit on a bench in the peace and beauty and contemplate our day--and our lives.<br /><br />One day, as we're sitting there, and I'm randomly reading the names on the headstones, I find this gloriously wonderful name that just HAS to be used in my story. Since many of the people in this ancient kirk were laid to rest in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, I realized I had a treasure-trove of authentic names to pick from.<br />For some of my characters, I have mixed and matched first names with different last names, and have ended up with an entire folder filled with brilliant names.terleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13953328625206810683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-91071799036607086262010-07-16T12:23:28.161-04:002010-07-16T12:23:28.161-04:00I always enjoy the plot device where the character...I always enjoy the plot device where the character's name is so inappropriate to their character that they use a nickname and FORBID the real name from ever being mentioned.<br /><br />It's like a little mystery, trying to figure it out. And when they do finally tell you, it is usually at the end of the book and you know the character so well that the name doesn't actually seem inappropriate anymore -- it tell s you something about their inner self.<br /><br />This probably falls under 'cliche plot device' but I always get a kick out of it.<br /><br />As a tech writer all my characters are named with combinations of acronyms and exciting numbers like 9000. The only creative naming I get to do is choose my handle on forums like this one, or name my characters in online RPG games. It is fun to look at everyone's handles and think about what it says about their personality and what kind of conversation to expect from them. <br /><br />For example, when I run into someone called Glorthoriel in an online RPG game I can expect some elfy role playing. Whereas when I run across someone named Chickenhugger I have to think hard about whether they could be REALLY interesting or someone I want to avoid completely.Vorpakshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09593895699568583121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-42585290938773847272010-07-16T11:42:47.987-04:002010-07-16T11:42:47.987-04:00My 4 novels have mostly Irish characters (I'm ...My 4 novels have mostly Irish characters (I'm more Scots). I found an Irish name generator on the Internet which gave "old" names and "modernized" names.<br /><br />Found yet another site which showed the derivation of Irish names. Between the two, I could create a name which actually represented the character.<br /><br />Worked for me; try it with your characters.Bruce H. Johnsonhttp://www.freespirituniverse.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-16054549493777611762010-07-16T11:23:54.914-04:002010-07-16T11:23:54.914-04:00What beautiful roses! I have what I call a "p...What beautiful roses! I have what I call a "purple thumb" and tend to kill off many plants. Even easy knockout roses. boo.<br /><br />I've struggled with names in my last WIP. Poor MC's name has changed four times already and I'm still not sure about it. *sigh*Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03402266791214015301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-68003450969707783702010-07-16T11:23:54.915-04:002010-07-16T11:23:54.915-04:00I don't have any kind of process to naming cha...I don't have any kind of process to naming characters. Most of the time I'll make up a name that "sounds" like the character. I might then at a later stage assign a meaning to the name if it comes up in the story. Part of the reason for this is because most of the time, I create my entire universe from scratch. Why would I then cop out and pick established names? That just wouldn't fit. The other part of the reason is that I genuinely enjoy concocting names. On the rare occasion I do write something where established names would be appropriate, I usually look at some part of my character, then pick a name with that meaning. If he has a fiery persona, I might pick a name that means more or less "fiery". Or if she's an African lady I might pick a traditional name from her culture. I guess it comes down to whatever's appropriate...as long a I like the way it sounds and as long as I feel it fits.Keita Harukanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-6028115506017603862010-07-16T11:01:33.936-04:002010-07-16T11:01:33.936-04:00Um... BTW... I love you. You know why.Um... BTW... I love you. You know why.Shiloh Walkerhttp://www.shilohwalker.com/website/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-51100482460524063702010-07-16T09:57:10.627-04:002010-07-16T09:57:10.627-04:00organic, for the most part...picking names that su...organic, for the most part...picking names that suit the story and the characters.Shiloh Walkerhttp://www.shilohwalker.com/website/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-36994397430458020742010-07-16T08:31:56.394-04:002010-07-16T08:31:56.394-04:00I have the worst trouble with picking names. My he...I have the worst trouble with picking names. My hero in my current work in progress was called "Hero" for about 30 pages before I decided on how to make a name for him. <br /><br />I ended up picking an obscure language, looking up words that described him, then manipulating one of them into something an English-speaker has a chance at pronouncing. It's a fantasy, and I liked the results so much, that I've been using the same root language for other characters that I need to name.<br /><br />And then there were 4 brothers that I needed names for, so brother #1 got a name beginning with A, brother #2 got B, etc. <br /><br />But sometimes a name just pops in my head and I don't know why, so I use it. I had a name for the heroine of my last sci fi/fantasy attempt long before I knew who she was or what her story was.BriteLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09746599921292379358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-35073044418911503482010-07-16T08:29:17.376-04:002010-07-16T08:29:17.376-04:00I'm sure these are not proper writerly sentime...I'm sure these are not proper writerly sentiments, but I have to admit I find naming characters difficult. It's almost as bad as naming children. I wish they just came with a nametag attached.Marinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231656540175892601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-77314180117801018312010-07-16T08:13:52.207-04:002010-07-16T08:13:52.207-04:00Protagonists usually tell me their names. Minor c...Protagonists usually tell me their names. Minor characters are harder. Also, in real life, you can have two friends named Cathy, in fiction this is a no-no. You can't even have a Marie and a Marian. Makes it difficult, sometimes. So, I often change minor characters' names, but the protagonists are usually themselves from the get-go.Margaret Yanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464624057491288244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-50465137379541335612010-07-16T08:13:52.206-04:002010-07-16T08:13:52.206-04:00Sometimes the name just comes to me (usually MC na...Sometimes the name just comes to me (usually MC names), and others I do research to find just the right one (secondaries and villains). I don't know why that is, come to think of it. For this WIP, though, the MC's name was thoroughly researched. I wanted something old-fashioned but strong for her, so I researched popular names of the 1900s for her first name and then tacked on a surname with charm and personal significance. I think the name I came up with works for her. <br /><br />BTW, I love Jayr's name. Thanks for sharing how you came up with it. =o)B.E. Sandersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04336115135400388268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-67466671676412199922010-07-16T05:52:52.266-04:002010-07-16T05:52:52.266-04:00I usually spend a lot of time searching on names a...I usually spend a lot of time searching on names and their meanings and origin to find the right one to fit the character. Sometimes I make them up, especially for alien/other characters. It's one of those things I can't get past until I get it right.Charlene Tegliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01483186891214783397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-84066691363146666672010-07-16T04:26:07.368-04:002010-07-16T04:26:07.368-04:00Good post!
Most names come from the booksheves aro...Good post!<br />Most names come from the booksheves around me, mixed with my feelings for the name and what memories it conjures. Demons, however, generally have --oim or --iel namesRachel Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13048590167153841615noreply@blogger.com