tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post1449130465022053257..comments2024-03-18T17:05:21.126+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: What's in a name? --- by Linda StrachanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-1949301911571317092016-08-18T19:23:16.994+01:002016-08-18T19:23:16.994+01:00Susan (Sue- I do think it suits you better!) Isn&#...Susan (Sue- I do think it suits you better!) Isn't it strange how different versions of the same name can build expectations, even when it is the same person. Glad I am not the only person who gets names wrong!<br /><br />Nick, yes character names can be a minefield, but it is that thing about truth being often so much stranger than fiction. We have all heard of a story that is such coincidence that if it was ficiton everyone would say it was ridiculous and was not credible, which is why fiction sometimes has to be a modified version of (often weird) reality, so that it becomes more credible. Who said being a writer was easy! :)Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-85801376928860431102016-08-18T19:15:34.612+01:002016-08-18T19:15:34.612+01:00Pixie, I have to say I am now so curious about wha...Pixie, I have to say I am now so curious about what your original name was, but I can understand how important it can be, to feel comfortable with your name.<br /><br />Cat, I love it when a character walks in and is so well defined that their name is just there. But I have found myself feeling increasingly out of sorts with a character's name until I eventually have to change it, usualy as I get to know the character better.<br /><br />Sue I love it that you discovered that she was named after a character from Blake 7. I can fully appreciate what a problem a difficult surname is, before I was married my name was always being pronounced or spelt wrong, although I am considering using again for some of my writing! Names that are different are sometimes more memorable...Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-33531651901872717042016-08-18T19:07:07.807+01:002016-08-18T19:07:07.807+01:00I love the idea of using letters until you are sur...I love the idea of using letters until you are sure of your characters' names, John Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-28476520173680141412016-08-18T13:06:56.218+01:002016-08-18T13:06:56.218+01:00Character names are so hard - I think because they...Character names are so hard - I think because they are obviously intentional. A real-life person can be called Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but no-one would believe in a work of fiction that had two such unlikely names for action heroes. I always smile in Back To The Future 3 where Marty (stuck in the Old West) tries to bolster his own morale by introducing himself as 'Eastwood. Clint Eastwood.' The response? 'What kind of dumb name is that?'<br /><br />In my first Firebird book I had over 25 named characters (not including the adults) so I admitted defeat and picked more or less at random from a list of popular names from the current year.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-21619949416020608332016-08-18T12:31:56.464+01:002016-08-18T12:31:56.464+01:00I sometimes think I should have had a pseudonym. N...I sometimes think I should have had a pseudonym. No one can spell or pronounce my surname which makes it harder to look me up online. As you say, it might be confusing if you went to a book signing. My characters are named according to the world in which they appear. All my fantasy stories are set in a country loosely based on one in our own world. Once I've established the background, I then think about the characters, eg I had a woman who was meant to be annoyingly soppy, so I picked a soppy name. In fact, I gave her the name of Chaucer's Prioress, and late in the book she decided to enter that world's version of a convent. As a teacher, I can usually tell who was popular on TV or films when my students were born, eg there were a lot of Lukes in our classes some years after the release of Star Wars. One young lady at my last school was named Dayna; she was startled when I asked if her parents were Blake's 7 fans - they were. :-)Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-90870480951976075732016-08-18T11:24:06.139+01:002016-08-18T11:24:06.139+01:00Great blog, Linda! You're right about a slight...Great blog, Linda! You're right about a slight change in name making a big difference. I am called 'Susan', 'Sue' and by one person only, 'Susie.' These do seem like three different people! 'Susan' is, I feel, very grown up, poised and in control and I have never felt it fitted me well at all. I've never liked it. - 'Sue' is better: Sue is much less grown-up and rather scatty and slap-dash. As for 'Susie' - I'm not sure I know her at all. She sounds like she should have bunches and a ra-ra skirt.<br /><br />And I, too, am terrible at fitting names to clearly remembered faces.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-15847662858929394032016-08-18T10:34:07.221+01:002016-08-18T10:34:07.221+01:00My characters name themselves - something I someti...My characters name themselves - something I sometimes find extremely annoying! I do however own quite a number of those baby name books as I sometimes need to use them as tools to find out whether I am corresponding with a male or female when I am working. The odd thing is that they don't seem to have an impression on my characters.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-90293682819345704452016-08-18T10:17:26.291+01:002016-08-18T10:17:26.291+01:00Hi Linda,
I know from my own experience names can...Hi Linda,<br /><br />I know from my own experience names can be spelled a thousand and one different ways now, its always fun especially at children's parties haha.<br />I changed my name, my birth name was never a good fit for me so once I decided on a more fitting name I made the leap to officially change it and for me it was the best move I made, now my name feels like mine and I am really at ease with it, though people still ask me how to spell it just in case, and I also get a lot of people same, no that's not your name is it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-33431282305360295002016-08-18T09:46:32.711+01:002016-08-18T09:46:32.711+01:00Enjoyed that, Linda - odd how some names stick and...Enjoyed that, Linda - odd how some names stick and others don't. I developed the technique of just giving characters a letter till their names 'came along' in order to avoid being held up; yet some characters are names before they are anything else, even before there's a story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com