Say My Name!

Whats in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet.
-Juliet Capulet

      Wow! That girl sure is deep for only being fourteen! And while her and Romeo may not care much for the names they were given, Ill bet Florins to Zeppole's that Billy Shakespeare stayed up late fretting over the names of his characters. How do I know this? Because I have been doing the same thing! Finding the right name for a character is huge, and could be one of the most important factors of a character. 

     So, what is in a name? Is it just something to help you identify someone, or does it go further to define who you are as a person? I have met people before, and after finding out their name, decided that they don't look like that (for example: "He doesn't look like a 'Jim'"). And while the looks may not be so important when it comes to a fictional character in a book, it demonstrates how we associate people with their names. But even in books, we associate certain qualities to characters because of their names.

     So when coming up with a characters name, it is good to think about how the reader will visualize the character based on their name. For example, I have been creating a character named Quillan (pronounced "kill-an"). Now maybe that name wont conjure up any mental images for you unless you know somebody with that name, but the shortened version of it will: Quill. A quill is an olde thyme pen, and if you ran across someone who was called Quill, you would immediately associate them with writing, and books. Of course this is what I am aiming for, because Quill is a journalist. Oh, and his best friend is a crow.

     I have noticed in some books, that characters have names that fit with their personality. Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander is a very eccentric name, and we are not surprised to find out that the wizard attached to the name is as well. Bilbo, and Frodo are very whimsical names, and their owners are likewise playful and quaint. Loial the Ogier is a very trustworthy, and faithful character.

     But this isn't always the case, sometimes characters have names that have nothing to do with their character, but are chosen because they sound cool. Rand al'Thor (From Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series) is a severely cool name. Not only does it evoke images of god-like  power (which the character has), but it easily rolls off the tongue. And if that weren't enough, his nicknames like The Dragon Reborn, and Shadowkiller are pure awesome. I think you could get away with this for a lead character, but if all your characters have names like death metal rock stars, it could be a bit overdone. 

     Some names that are hard to pronounce, and an eyesore to boot. I wont point out any offender, but when you have read as many fantasy and sci-fi books as I have, you will eventually find bad names. Some fantasy books are the worst for this. Long nonsensical names that only belong on a page, because you would never dare to try and speak them out loud.

     So, a name is important Juliet! And picking the right name for each character is a task that requires original thought and inspiration that don't always come easily. I didn't even go into the naming of places and things-which could probably warrant their own blog posts at least-and still we see how crucial a name is to the enjoyment of a story. I will continue to fret over the names of my characters, and hope that I don't do them an injustice with the ones I bestow them with.

What Planet Is This?

     I was toying with the idea of writing a fantasy story about a character I have been living with for a while now. I know everything about this guy. I know his hopes and dreams, motivations and hang-ups. I know who his friends are, and who his enemies are. I know what his favorite food is, his favorite color, his favorite book-heck, I could even tell you about his favorite shirt!

     So I sat down and started to write his story. I start off by showing him in his daily routine to try and establish who he is with the reader. Then, I came up with a little bit of conflict for the character. You know, the kind of conflict where the character wants to go off and see the world, but his family or friends think this is a bad idea and try to keep him from going. The scene builds up a bit, and the main character finally declares that come hell or high water, he is going to... well, I hadn't thought this far ahead. The truth is, I don't know where he is going.

     I groped for the name of a city, finally made on up, but then still didn't know anything about this city. Is it coastal, or land-locked? Is it walled? What is the city famous for? What country is this city in? I could see I had some problems here, I don't have any information on the world that this character lives in. So, I guess I will have to create a world!

     I have always enjoyed the maps that adorn the first couple pages of my favorite books. Before getting into the story, I would always look at the map and make myself familiar with this new world. Even before reading the first sentence, I would try to imagine what the land looked like based on the mountains and rivers and lakes. Sometimes, I would even imagine what is beyond the map as usually all that is portrayed is a continent, or country. And I realize that this is mostly a convention of fantasy books, but I still search every novel I read for a map, regardless of genre.

     So I got some blank paper, some pencils and erasers, and started drawing. I just let my mind wander and squiggled random, meaningless shapes. After a while these shapes began to coalesce into slightly more coherent shapes. And then it happened, as if the event were independent of my will. I looked at the page that was in front of me and realized that the shapes were becoming continents. Truly, I had only meant to make the country-maybe go as far as the continent-that my character lives in, but instead I had started to construct a whole world.

     What planet is this?

     So, yeah, I've finally lost it. I'm drawing maps of fantastic worlds that only exist in my head. But I have never had so much fun being a nerd! While I will admit that it needs a bit more work before its complete, just drawing the world map gave me a ton of ideas.

     And I had almost as much fun naming all the places too! just thinking of names gave me ideas of what the geography was like, and what sorts of civilizations live in these places. Even new story ideas started popping into my head now that I knew a little bit more about the world.

     I didn't stop there either, I drew the continent of Ceren in more detail on another map and started inventing cities and countries for it. I even went as far as to describe the cities in detail. So know I am learning what the world is like, and boy is it a cool place to be! If you like fantasy literature, and the maps that often accompany the books, I would suggest trying this exercise yourself. Even if you have no interest in writing, its fun to create and speculate, and live in a world that is not our own for a while.