Characters: What's in a Name?

Have you ever been writing along, really into your story, and then, all of a sudden, you stop. Bewildered, you start scrolling back up your document, desperately checking. Then you realize: the name you were going to use for the character you just created you've already given to some throw-a-way background character.

Yeah, it happens. And one thing is for sure: DO NOT under ANY circumstances give your MC (main character) the same, or a similiar, name to someone else in the story, throwaway character or not. It's some advice I came across one day--and I would link you to the article, but I honestly can't remember where it was--and it makes complete and utter sense to me. After all, do you want to confuse your readers, on which the balance of success and failure hangs on just as equally--if not more--than you? Heck no.

However, I'm sure that many of you have come across the tiny problem this little rule creates. There are probably an infinite number of names in the world. And if it's not infinite, it's pretty damn close. But we aren't omniscient. We, as perfectly fallible creatures, run out of names! I've done it, my best friend has done it, and I'm pretty sure you have too. So what to do? Do you stretch your horizons and maybe give your MC--or any character--a name that may not match their ethinicity, country of origin, etc.? Well, sure, you can do that. There's nothing stopping you. Except that, unless you just leave it like that God-awful giant elephant in the corner of your living room, you have to give a good reason for your character to have that name.

"Hi, my name is Fatima. I was born and raised to Irish Immigrants in the United States."


See what I mean? Now, Fatima is a perfectly good name. In fact, I've always liked the way it sounded--don't ask, I don't have a good answer to that. But I think it's safe to assume that your adverage joe would think, "Huh? Wonder why?" And they might get a little peeved if no answer is provided. It doesn't have to be an elaborate one, if you go this route of naming, but it has to be believable.

So maybe you decide that you've thought up enough for your character's world, and you just want a name that you like the sound of, has no real special meaning to the plot at hand, and that you haven't used a million times before (I'm guilty of all three of these, by the way). What do you do?

I hit the naming problem early into my writing adventures--which began in the 8th and has since improved greatly, I think. I came up with a solution that might be obvious to some, not so much to others, and got me a lot of really weird looks from my teachers. I bought a baby name book. A whole book of names, meanings, origins, and if you really shell out the bucks, the year they first came into usage. I was in the ninth grade by the time I had my first baby name book... can you guess how often I had to answer with, "No, I'm not pregnant."

And if you don't want to put out the money, there's always the internet. Anymore, this is the medium I use to find names. I'm usually typing out my stories, so it's already right there at my fingertips. I offer only one bit of advice for this otherwise great way to find names: do some double checking. If you find a name you like on one sight, try to find it on a few others if you want to use it for a specific time period or meaning. If you're just using it because you like the way it sounds, then by all means, just stop when you find it.

Other than that, I have only one other suggestion for finding names to use: mix and match the names of people you know or have known in your lifetime. My best friend started me on this. We both generally try not to use exact names of people we know--just in case they don't like their character or the fact that you didn't ask for their name--but we do take two people we've known and used the first name of one, and the surname of the other. Old classmates, co-workers, distant relatives, or even names you catch on a cemetery's tombstone (yes, done this too) can work.

And now that I've shared all my methods on getting new names, I wish to ask: what are some of yours? Got any new tips for me? Feel free to comment and let me know!

I'm off to go tackle this problem at this very moment. But, as a parting gift, here's the link to a website I use quite often for names: www.behindthename.com


Until next time! This is Patricia from the Guild! Viva la quill!


--originally posted on my personal writing blog on my site here.

Yet Again...

We're busy, busy, guys, so we have to apologize for not being here, issuing challenges and whatnot. I actually did a post about character names on my website here, but I might copy/paste it as a post here, as it is helpful advice--I think.

Meanwhile, Ariyana has turned her blog into her writing site here. And the both of us have been redesigning our blogs including my personal one here and my craft one here. Please, take the time to drop in and check those out.

I'll also hope that you've noticed the slide at the upper, lefthand corner of the blog. Those prettyful covers? Yeah,either Ariyana, myself, or both have been published in those books! If you have any book covers that are that of anthologies you've been published in--or novels, novellas, etc. that you've had published--let me know and I'll add you to the GFQ slide!

Also, I know we were promising vlogs, but things have kind of been topsy-turvy in all the Guildmistress's lives, so maybe we'll get some out in the near future. But, if you have a writing related vid you'd like to see up, let me know and we'll get that worked out to be put up on our youtube channel.

Now, going back to the redesigned blogs. It's been so long here, so how about some change? I open the floor. Got any suggestions?

With that, I'm signing off.

And, as always, viva la quill!

First Video Up!

It's only a little intro, but our first video is up over at our youtube channel! Please subscribe and comment!

View it here!

Challenge Twenty-Six : Horror Flash Fiction

See full details here!

But here's the skinny:

In 500 words or less, write a horror flash fiction--which, by definition, is a whole story in only 500 words!

Is is difficult? Is it challenging? You betcha. But is it crazy fun?

Hell yeah.

So, this, as you can see from the link above, is inspired by a contest that is open to all authors--published or not--and there are even cash prizes. For the sake of the Guild, you don't have to submit, but if you get one done, why not? If you need any help on what to do should you want to, feel free to contact either myself or Slinky, who have both done this process for a little while now.

Deadline: The link says July, but for this challenge, how about the end of Feb? After all, the earlier you get it in, the better.

Happy writing and viva la quill!

Winter News: Upcoming Vlog, Challenges, and More

I hope each and every one of you enjoyed your holiday, followers of the Quill. In order to revive our precious Guild, your friendly Guildmasters have planned out a jam-packed Winter.

Guildmaster, Kimmi Gray, has talked Patricia and me into a Youtube vlog--can you believe it? In the vlog we shall be recognized by our nicknames Blitz (Kimmi), Squeak (Patricia), and Slinky (Ariyana--that's me). The first video will be a quick intro, but from there we'll be updating with helpful hints for fellow writers, challenges, and useless off-subject nonsense. Videos will be posted on a Guild channel, then, likely, uploaded onto the blog. Hope you all enjoy.

Upcoming challenges will be issued soon enough. For the original fiction and poetry challenges, we'll be listing publishers as well who might be interested in your content.

What's the "More"? Well, how would you feel about updates on our publishing successes and failures? We're also planning to provide you with info on some of our favorite Indie presses and useful websites.

Until next time,
Viva la Quill,

Ariyana

Apologies from the Guildmasters...

We're all still active here, whether we're posting or not. But Ariyana and I do have to apologize for the lack in updates. We're both busy trying to get our writing careers off the ground, find day jobs, and I'm personally planning a wedding.

The good news is this: both Ariyana and I have stuff published out in the world now, and I'd like to say that ALL of the challenges are still open, with the exception of the "submit something to a publisher this month" challenge in June. But, if you have started to work on your own writing careers, drop by and give us a shout!

Fanfiction, original fiction, and poetry shall always be constantly being produced. August is a little busy for the two Guildmasters here, but we'll try our best to get out--and actually do--a challenge for September. Until then, make sure your inkwells are full, and your quills as sharp as your wit!


Patricia
Department of Backstory





Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Five: June's Challenge

Okay, so I know that nobody's been real active on this site recently. Which, believe me, I get. I mean, I haven't been here in a while either. The challenges have gone nearly neglected with several birthday challenges left to be done. But I have fallen off the challenge wagon myself.

So, here's what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to issue a new challenges (details to follow in a moment) and secondly, I'm reopening all old challenges. That's right! Even the ones that were met! So folks, look back through our archives and pick a challenge. When finished, post here to tell is what challenge you did and if you posted it somewhere, leave us a link.

Now, as for June's challenge... this one is a whopper, in its own way. Now is a time for action. If you recall in a previous post, I mentioned duotrope.com and its deadline calendar. Here's the challenge: pick a deadline, write a story to meet it, and submit. That's it! Now, Ariyana and I have both already submitted stuff this month. So, and I'm sure she won't mind since we both have several deadlines we'll be meeting this month, we won't considered this challenged finished on our parts until we submit another.

The deadline? The 30th of this month. Once you've submitted, comment here and tell us all about your experience!

Good luck, everyone!


Patricia
Department of Backstory



Viva la Quill

Ariyana's Birthday Challenge

What? Two Guild updates in one day? Indeed, my friends. Indeed.

My 23rd birthday is April 3rd, this upcoming Saturday, so I guess it's about time for me to set my own birthday challenge. I'm going to give you guys a few different things to choose from, so free free to take whatever plot bunny you like and run wild with it.

In the category of Fanfiction:

• Winchesters in Castlevania/Dracula's castle.
  

Ok, so if you don't know what Castlevania is, than you could just set this in Dracula's castle and work with your own monsters. But you really have to know Supernatural for this one. I want the Winchester boys to find themselves in the bowels of Castlevania. There's plenty of material in the show for you to use to explain why/how they got there. I want to see my giant, shotgun toting cuties kicking butt and taking species name. Does Dracula have an evil plan for Sam? Is Dean having to fight his way through to get to his brother? Or vice versa? Is John there? Is there a kinky succubus scene? It's all up to you. . .

• Hermione and the Movement for Wraith Rights

Harry Potter/ Stargate: Atlantis crossover. I have a hard time finding fun SGA/HP xovers to read, so I'd love to see one written by one of you guys. My bunny for this one is that Hermione somehow finds out about the wraith and tries to find a way to help fight them without eliminating them. My only requirement would be for Todd the Wraith to appear, either as a special guest star or the main wraith character. Any pairings or subplots you want here. It could be a chapter story or a little "first encounter" drabble.

In the category of Original Fiction:

• Mythology
  

Pick any mythology that you like (Greek, Sumerian, Egyptian, Native American) and write a story where one of the myths is mirrored in a modern day world. Perhaps someone realizes the connection and the story goes supernatural, or maybe the story itself is made up original characters who are playing out the ancient stories of Athena and Poseidon or Seth and Osiris. If you don't want to write a story, you could write a poem comparing events in a life to events in a myth. Have fun--the sky's the limit.

In the category of Art Manipulations:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Universal Monsters.
  

Basicially what it sounds like, draw or manipulate pictures/comics/movie stills of Buffy or her crew meeting a Universal monster. If you're manipulating, they should probably be in black and white or in a tonal color, depending on the movie you're using. I think it would be great to work on a series of these manipulations/renderings for all the monsters :D


Ok, so that's your mission, if you choose to accept one. Enjoy! Can't wait to see what you turn out. Make sure you link the story/art/poem in the comments (however, if you don't want to post your original story online for publishing reasons, just email me a copy so that I can read and enjoy). Have fun!

Script Frenzy Begins Tomorrow!

For those of you adore the wacky insanity that is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), you might enjoy their sister event SCRIPT FRENZY! And, boy, is 'frenzy' and appropriate word choice for this event. Here's the basic run-down as copy and pasted from their site, scriptfrenzy.org:

The Challenge	Write 100 pages of original scripted material in the 30 days of April. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)
When	April 1-30
Cost	Free. We run on donations.
Who	Everyone (worldwide) is welcome. No experience required.
Prizes	Happiness. Creative juices. Pride. Laughter. Bragging rights. A brand-new script.
How	Sign up! Prepare with our Writer's Resources. Get ready to start writing on April 1.

Now, even if you're not going to be a part of the event itself, it might be valuable for you future script writers to check out the site because there are great resources to be found, especially in the forum. I'm signed up, but due to the number of Spring deadlines I need to work on (and my lack of scripting knowledge), I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully participate. However, I do plan on starting a graphic novel script in April for the event (because I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a long time now). Wish me luck--better yet, join me!

http://scriptfrenzy.org/

The Wonders of Duotrope

Just thought I'd share this little bit of joy with you fellow wannabe published writers out there. I came across a wonderful place one day while I was researching trying to get short stories published. Though an associated content article, I found duotrope.com... which, get this, lists a whole frickin' bunch of publishers out there for poetry, flash fiction, short storys, and upwards... and how or whether they pay.

And what's even better? Slinky discovered an awesome feature to the site that is at its top called "Deadline Calender" that lists all sorts of deadlines for submissions and whether what the publisher is looking for is themed or not.

Folks, this makes submitting a little bit easier. In fact, Slinky and I have both submitted stories already. It doesn't make publishing any easier, but at least you don't have to worry over what market to send your Sci-fi story to... it's easily found. And writing to try and meet deadlines is a great way to up your production, and maybe your pocket.

Challenge Twenty-Four

Okay, folks! A new challenge for you to work on. Just a reminder, we also have both birthday challenges still open, plus our Women's History challenge. Now, this challenge is called the "What if" challenge. The rules are like this:

• Pick one of the following "what if" scenarios and write a one-shot (or chapter length, if inspiration should strike you) that plays out the scene.
• The scenarios are as follows:

From Harry Potter: What if Lupin had apologized to Snape (for all the bullying) the night before Snape killed Dumbledore?

From Supernatural: What if the Impala had an all 4 tire blowout in the middle of nowhere?

From Vampire Hunter D: What if D got to speak with his mother again?

From Batman (either Nolanverse or The Animated Series): What if the Joker saved Batman?

From Darkwing Duck: What if the villains made Morgana's wedding guest list?

• The due date for this challenge is April 10, 2010

Have fun!

Patricia's Birthday Challenge

Okay, I am so behind on Kimmi's challenge. Good thing she didn't give us a deadline. Good news, though... I've at least gotten it started! A whole paragraph + 2 lines of dialogue! But it's coming. That being said... let's add another challenge to the mix. Mine. :)

Here's what I've cooked for all you:

1. I've had the Joker on my mind recently. No, he's not always there... but he's moved there recently. So, one of your choices is this: I would like a Joker fic where he finally gets a win on Batman. Now, he doesn't have to kill him. But he can. It can be comedy, or it can be angst/drama... or whatever. I don't want slash. Just, surprise me. The Joker version I have in mind is that of the 1992's Animated Series. However, I'll accept Nolanverse Dark Knight Joker as well, for I love them both. None of this "The Batman" or Brave and the Bold crap.
2. I LOVE crossovers! So, here's the deal. I'm gonna list here a few of my fave male characters from different fandoms and a few fave female characters from different fandoms. You choose the pairing, but the two must not be from the same 'verse. And the pairing doesn't have to be romantic, or even friendship. It could just be random meeting. And the newer the crossover to me, the better :). ('Verses in paraenthesis) Here's a few males: Snape (HP), Andrew (Buffy/Angel), Darth Vader, Alucard (Castlevania), Joker ('cause, why not?), House (House, MD... duh, right?). Here's a few females (verse repeats due to lack of females in some: Dawn (Buffy), Tonks (HP), Harley Quinn, Leia (Star Wars), Poison Ivy, Hermione.
3. And lastly, for those of you are graphically inclined, I would like a rendering of either Jade Snape from the RPG World's Clash or Mia from Girls' Night Out.

So, hope that wasn't too much for anybody. And if anyone chooses to draw the picture(s), I'd be more than happy to help with any description problems that may occur. Like Kimmi's, I'm giving no deadline... well, maybe have it done before my next B-day, huh? LOL

A Question for Guild Members...

Hi, Quillers! This is just a quick little post to ask all of you a question. I know that we are a writing group, but I was wondering...

Many of our members also do art. Some draw, some do photo manipulations, some do crafts, some do all of the above and/or more. So, I thought that I could start one of those new-fangled group thingies (ie, groups, LOL) at deviantart for any GFQ related art. And I know the day is coming where that will exist. Soon... mwahahahahaha...

So, post a comment because I'd love to know!

PatriciaLouise

Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Three: Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month and The Guild of the Fantastic Quill will be celebrating with a challenge. Your challenge is to include a female historical/famous figure in either a poem or a story. You can even include your chosen famous woman in your fanfiction if you'd prefer. While she doesn't have to be an actual character, she and some explanation as to her significance to the world at large must be mentioned and relevant to the piece. Have fun, learn something new, and don't forget to comment and tell us about your chosen famous woman and your story/poem. You have the entire month of March to complete this challenge.

On another subject, I'd like to remind everyone that we're still doing birthday wishes. (I, for one, am already behind on Kimmi's wish, but she will receive it...someday, hee.)

Kimmi's Birthday Wish!

Okay, so I've been MIA in the blogosphere for a while. But thats because my poor little brain can only focus on one thing at a time and the one thing I've been focusing on is my student teaching. I'll get to writing and posting again once I'm certain I know what I'm doing, lol.

Okey! My birthday is next week! And from you, my talented writer friends I have two ideas!

1. House/Glee xover: New Directions go on the road! But as you may (or may not know) Quinn is pregnant. More or less, Quinn goes into labor and who's the lucky doctor that's at the clinic? Why our lovely Dr. House! Does he have a musical bone in his body? Or will he smack each and every one of the gleeks in the shins with his walking stick until they stop singing "Don't Stop Believing" ? Lol well that's up to you, isn't it?

2. There's trouble a-brewing in the Supernatural universe. A musically inclined demon sees how the techno-eastern beats of Bollywood seem to torture the Winchester boys and through some feat of magical do the boys are trapped in an upbeat Om Shanti Om style Bollywood musical! Ghosts, beautiful girls, romance, and awesome dance numbers, what more could a fan ask for?

Okay. So if that doesn't stretch your writing muscles... well I don't know what will. Lol. Give it a shot my friends!