05-01-2013, 11:31 AM | #16 |
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Becca, that was Snow Crash. And I cringed when I first saw that name.
Archetype-style names for a human prince? Handsome, Regal, Royal, Worthy (pick only one, lol). |
05-01-2013, 12:11 PM | #17 |
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ah, I knew I'd read it somewhere. And yeah, it was a cringe moment.
I'm half tempted to use Sir Robin... and giggle every time I write it. |
05-01-2013, 04:15 PM | #18 |
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The book I remember where characters had such names is Pilgrim's Progress.
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05-01-2013, 05:34 PM | #19 |
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I'm thinking of the Monty Python sketch
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05-01-2013, 09:10 PM | #20 | |
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The "too short Prince." The "greedy Prince." Saves a lot of description and explanation. |
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05-02-2013, 01:54 AM | #21 |
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And they don't have to be so obvious either. Prince Humperdink in the Princess Bride is an example. The reader gets the idea that this guy is no prince charming lookalike contestant just from the sound of his name.
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05-03-2013, 01:19 AM | #22 | |
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05-03-2013, 05:25 PM | #23 | |
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What I do when I need a name for a role playing character, I think of something that describes the character in some way. Then I use Google Translate to translate it into another language. I'll adapt the word(s) that come out as I see fit, and then they form the name. Let's say, for the human prince has striking blond hair, and his description is "golden-haired".
Translate from English into Finnish: Gold: Kulta Hair: Hiukset Change Hiukset to Hukset so it can be pronounced more easily. There you have it. Prince Kulta Hukset. Pronounciation: KUL-ta HUK-set. Just an example, but this is the way I find names for my characters Names that come out this way are by no means stranger, weirder, or more stupid than the ones the great fantasy authors think up. Quote:
"And his bottom burned off, and his p..." - "Ho! That's enough music for now, lads!" It always reminds me of this scene from Star Trek TNG. Data: "There was a young lady from Venus, who's body was shaped like a..." Picard: "Captain to security, come in!" Data: "Did I say something wrong?" Cracks me up every time :P |
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05-03-2013, 08:28 PM | #24 | |
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05-03-2013, 08:50 PM | #25 |
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You have an absurdly well developed memory for details, Sir.
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05-04-2013, 12:38 PM | #26 |
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05-04-2013, 12:53 PM | #27 |
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I think you watched the clip, looked up the episode, and are now pulling my leg.
As punishment, you must come up with another name scheme |
05-04-2013, 04:27 PM | #28 | |
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"Data, I'm only going to say this once. It never happened." I haven't seen the episode in years. I just have a very good memory. Poor Data looked a bit puzzled if I remember right. He did keep his word though. |
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06-15-2013, 11:17 AM | #29 | |
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Rationalizing after the fact
It has been pointed out to me that, in general, the characters in my stories have no names. I always figured that this was because I'm lousy at finding good names for my characters, and since they're mostly archetypes anyway, they don't need names.
Then I picked up a copy of Bruno Bettlehein's book The Uses of Enchantment, which analyzes fairy tales, and their roles in children's lives. He says (on page 40 in the 1976 hardback copy by Knopf) Quote:
Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. |
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06-15-2013, 11:49 AM | #30 | |
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