What’s in a Name?

I write fantasy, which means that I like to use unique and different names to help create that setting. 

I began writing in junior high, and I created what I called the ‘Random Namer,’ something that I still have and that has served me well over many, many years.  (And amazingly I still have the original.  I’ve kept it well preserved.)  It’s just a simple notecard, I’ve cut to create two sliding numbered bars.  I choose a random number, say 12 and write down the letter associated with that number (in the picture below, it would be 'b'.  Then I set number one to the letter I just used (b) and write down the next number twelve.  

Random Namer

 I separated the consonants and vowels so that I can be sure that there are vowels in the names. 

With this small device, I’ve created hundreds of names.  Not all of them are good, but there are some that are absolutely perfect.  In fact, this created a name that my husband wants to use for one of our children.  (We’re still debating about that.  Denego’s pretty evil.  I don’t really want to name a son after him.)

I’ve also used the first letters (or two letters) in words during class lectures when I got bored.  I’ve taken several names and mixed them together into a final one.  I’ve taken names of drugs (because I think they sound funny anyway) and turn them backwards.  You’d be surprised how many ways there are to find unique sounding names.

And I feel that I’ve gotten to the point where I know when a name sounds ‘right’ and when it just sounds foreign.  Some of my favorites are Kanya, Denego, Larzo, Hanen, Pazdina, Sitna, Aydra, Karvid and Edric.

When I’m first plotting out a story, letting it spin around in my brain, I don’t choose their names automatically.  I’ll use generic names while trying to figure out plot points so that I don’t have to worry about that until the story is being written.  Then I’ll change them.  I’ve only had one instance where I had a character who refused to let me change his name.  I tried several times until I realized that he is and always will be Benji, even if it’s a fairly typical name.

I have no qualms about changing a character’s name over and over until it feels right.  I had one character change names three times until it felt right.   He started as Onispa, then became Vikezany, and now he's finally known as Onis.  I’ve even changed a character’s name, not because his name didn’t fit, but because in the sequel there were too many characters with names that started with the same letter.

For me, the name has to fit.  Otherwise, it just doesn’t feel right, and I can’t stop obsessing over it.

How do you find names for characters?  Have you ever read a name that rubs you the wrong way or do they even matter?

Good Conflict

I’ve never been a big sports fan.  When I was younger, I walked in on my family and some friends watching a hockey game, and I spent half of the time wondering why the Colorado team had an A on their shirts instead of an R for Rockies.  I still can’t remember the difference between the World Cup and the World Series, and my husband watches soccer nonstop.  Ask me which sport has periods, versus halftimes, versus quarters, and I couldn’t tell you.

My mom loves college football.  She made my dad take her to watch the Rose Bowl for their 21^st wedding anniversary.  Growing up, we always watched her university’s football and volleyball games, and when they were important games against well-known rivals, she would invite all of our friends over. 

Of course, since I don’t know much about sports, and I never really felt any special affiliation with my mom’s teams, I had the tendency to cheer for the other team.  Just because no one else was.  It made the games more tolerable for me.  I enjoyed riling up the others whenever the ‘other’ team scored.  (Made a touchdown?  I’m still not sure).

Now that I’m married, I watch a lot more of the other football – soccer.  My Bolivian husband watches little else.  When I was living in Madrid, I accidently bought my brother a Barcelona jersey, and my in-laws couldn’t believe that I could do anything so terrible.  One of his uncles gave us a Real Madrid pillow when we got married, to remind us to remain loyal to the best team.  For the first few years, I cheered for Madrid, but I soon got bored.  What was the use?  We were both cheering for the same team, and we were both happy when they won and sad when they lost.

What fun is it to watch a game where everyone’s on the same team?  Aren’t the best games when the two rivals are equally strong and where any outcome can occur?  

That’s when I started to cheer for the Barcelona team.  I even got a Messi jersey for whenever my husband wore his Ronaldo one.  But whenever I watched games with friends who were Barcelona fans, I’d switch to cheer for Madrid.

Viva Barcelona!

Why?

I like the conflict.  I enjoy the ‘trash talk,’ when one player makes a good play and the others get mad.  And I enjoy receiving it when my team deserves it.  A 90 minute soccer game can fly by when there’s the interaction and conflict between those watching.

Conflict is the spice of life.  We always need something to block us to make us push forward.  And that’s what our characters need as well.  Every chapter, every scene should have conflict to push the characters forward toward their goals and whatever ending they’re racing toward.  

Picture taken by me

Maybe it’s not a physical conflict.  It could be an emotional one.  

I have a character who seems like the ‘bad’ guy because he’s having a hard time keeping up with the young kids and isn’t dealing with it well.  It’s not very obvious, but it’s there, in every scene and in every interaction he has with the kids.  So even a normal conversation sounds like a confrontation.  

Like we learn in school, there’s many, many different types of conflicts, but each one can almost be broken down into three or four different types.  Man v Man.  Man v Environment.  Man v Self.  Can you think of any others?

Put yourself and your characters in conflict and watch them blossom.  Without conflict, we could very quickly get bored.

Setting the Mood

I’ve always been a Little Mermaid fan. In fact, growing up, our bathroom had Little Mermaid décor hanging on the walls.  One of my favorite parts of the movie is the song “Kiss the Girl.”

Recently, I’ve realized how Sebastian creates the mood, starting with the environment, and THEN the words come.

Picture taken by me!

I’m the same way.  I have to be in the right environment so that the words can come when I write.  Especially at home.  There’s too many distractions that I’ve had to learn to ignore.  And to do that, I’ve conditioned myself to want to write in a certain environment.

It’s like Pavlov’s dog.  He was fed every time a bell was run, and after time, he salivated when he heard the bell – even when there wasn’t any food.  I did the same thing to myself.  A specific environment can make me want/need to write, even when I’m not in the mood.  

I start with the music.  I’m not saying that I listen to the same music every time.  My tastes have differed over the years, and right now over the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to the Josh Groban channel on Pandora.  I love the creative feeling that that kind of classical music creates.  There are also the days when I need a different kind of emotion, especially when writing fight scenes.  Music can set that mood for me.

Years ago, when I was in school, I had a hard time concentrating on my studying.  I found an article online that talked about the importance of smells.  I went to the dollar store and I bought the cheap liquid potpourri.  I used vanilla when I studied and black cherry when I wrote.  And after time, I was just like pavlov’s dog.  I smell black cherry and I have the burning urge to write.  My creative juices start flowing and I can’t turn them off.

And now, I have the creative space to write!  I bought a desk years ago, but now, I have an office.  Complete with a bookshelf, liquid potpourri and music.  I’m pretty excited to use it now.  I just need a day off of work to be able to use it fully.

My new writing space

How do you set the mood?  What do you do to get the creative juices flowing?