Comments | anghara: The naming of names...

anghara

The naming of names...

Jan 28, 2007 12:11

There's been another go-round on the subject of the Naming of Names on my home newsgroup recently. We hold to the "nine and sixty ways" rule in that place, which is a quote from Kipling: "There are nine and sixty ways/of constructing tribal lays/and every one of them is right" (or something close to that - I haven't gone on Google to dig up the ( Read more... )

writing, writing craft, writing life

Comments 23

mmerriam January 28 2007, 21:59:17 UTC

I told careswen during a recent conversation that it was no accident my protag's name was Maeve.

wrathchylde January 28 2007, 22:37:47 UTC

Great post. Ironically, I saw this while taking a break from naming minor characters. I keep a stack of 'baby names' books on hand, and have bookmarked several name sites for the purpose, and hold no qualms about making up my own either. But even for the little guys that only pop up once or twice, the names have to resonate. I find it interesting how the meaning of some names resonate, and 'fit', even before you find the original meaning of a name.

A character is not real to me until he/she has a name that fits.

There have been times when story comes to me before character, and in those cases I've used 'temporary' placeholder type names for a while, but this is done knowing that in time the true name will come as the character develops.

shana January 28 2007, 23:04:00 UTC

Due to the law of perversity, I predict that a character with a penchant for lying and assuming aliases will show up and insist that you write his or her story.

pariyal January 29 2007, 08:24:26 UTC

Oh, but aliases are real names too! Context-sensitive, true, but still. I have several online handles, as well as the name I use in daily life and a legal name that nobody except authorities ever calls me by, so I'm not inclined to think that only one's "real" name is valid.

a couple quick thoughtless responses... dendrophilous January 28 2007, 23:05:03 UTC

...not completely in disagreement:

1. True Names Have Power...
My characters aren't real in the same sense that you and I are, so that doesn't really apply. And I don't take Faerie lore as particularly useful for my reality.

2. Could you possibly imagine an Orc called Legolas or Luthien?
Boy, would he have gotten teased at orc school!

3. My characters don't get begun unless I know them well enough to call them by name - their real name - their TRUE name.My characters don't become real to me until I've been writing them for a while, and to write them for that long and not confuse myself, I have to refer to them somehow. I have to know the character before I can pick a good name for them ( ... )

kaigou January 29 2007, 00:22:14 UTC

I absolutely agree -- the only placeholders I can handle are the tertiary characters -- the people that fill up the background, are always off-screen, that sort of thing. Once I find the 'right' name for a character, there I go.

Except that I found two character names that were just 'right', and had them separated in my mind (and it was before I wised up and started listing these things). So now I have Marcus, who always gets called Mark... and Etsuko, who always get called... Spark.

Mark, and Spark. A supporting character (but of great emotional value to the main protags), and Spark, a main character.

Desk, meet head.

I've been absolutely unable to change either. Changing Spark is out of the question; a great deal hinges not only on her nickname but on the metaphor/history behind it. Changing Mark might be possible, but I've yet to come up with anything that fits because he's, well, a Mark.

Sigh. I'm hoping no one finds that really confusing, or tells me I *must* change it.

anghara January 29 2007, 04:48:42 UTC

You DO know that the British retail icon Marks&Spencer has always been colloquially known as Marks and Sparks, don't you...?

(sorry! Sorry! But IS, and that's been around forever, and it would WRECK those two characters in the same scene for me!!!)

kaigou January 29 2007, 05:07:09 UTC

Uhm.

No.

I didn't.

*stares*

Err... you are joking... right?

Would it help that Mark always refers to Spark as Etsuko in speech & thought? ...and Spark mostly calls him "my brother's best friend" -- sees him one step removed?

*looks pitiful*

anghara January 29 2007, 05:11:39 UTC

I wish I were, my friend, but if you don't believe me go type "marks and sparks" into google and see the first entry that comes up...

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but, um, there it is...

Could you have ANY variant on "spark"? At all?Flash? Shimmer? Even Sparkle? Jsut to break the rhythm...?

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