finished chapter 41; 73,090 word count
Writing Tip: How does one find names, or create names for characters and locations? I have several methods.
Phone book. I open the directory to a page and look for long names. Then I separate two or three into lists of syllables. I scramble the syllables and put them back together until I find a combination I like.
I do the same with names in a friend's family.
I take off the first letter of a friend's name and use what is left.
I do a modified pig latin thing with friends' names. For villains, I use celebrities I am NOT fond of.
I look up meanings in the website that gives you the word (like light) in dozens of languages.
I call my language professor friend and ask him to think up a cool name for something. That's how I got Wulder, which is an anglo-saxon word used for God. Actually it is only part of the word.
I had a friend who worked at Compassion bring me a list of names of children around the world. That's how I got kimen.
The one thing I avoid like the plague is alphabet soup names. Things like A'argriotisdaree'motarbtusnottabyph. Even my tumanhofer names are pronouncable by standard phonic rules.
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Mrs. Paul is a fantasy author and grandma. 
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Thank you so much for posting this! I have struggled in naming my characters and have always wondered how great authors (such as you) came up with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for this tip.
Hmm. I've used the 'scramble a friend' method before, but I can't wait to try out some of the others!
ReplyDeleteI had always wondered how you got 'Wulder'. =)
Is there a specific website that you use when looking up meanings in different languages?
Thanks for posting this, and satisfying my curiosity!
ReplyDeleteI did the scramble-a-name thing for two characters--both characters are based on real people and I used those people's modified names (and the one is a villain based on a celebrity, too--I didn't know others did that, too). I've never thought of using the phone book, though. Great idea.
I know this question was aimed for Mrs. Paul, but I'd like to share a website I love for names and their meanings/origins:
www.behindthename.com
I love choosing names for my characters. If they are from a specific ethnic group I look up a website with baby names for that culture: eg. Irish baby names, Jewish baby names, etc. I do also use friends' names too. But what I love most is just making a name up from scratch.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm passing this on to my daughter, who is writing a "short story" for her fantasy lit english class (I am the teacher) that has turned into a novel.
ReplyDelete