Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #15 - Mar 6th, 2011 at 1:35pm Print Post MkIXHawk wrote on Mar 6th, 2011 at 9:51am:For Edge of Armageddon, quite a few of the incidental characters were based on real people Thanks for sharing that info! I did that myself for a few of the characters in my novel. In fact, I made a good friend into the mayor! The only thing is that now she constantly bugs me to finish it so that she can read about herself as a mayor!!! The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #16 - Mar 11th, 2011 at 9:45pm Print Post I like the sound of Boris! My favorite name for an eccentric character is Xander, but so far I've managed not to use him in a story. Mostly because once I do, I can't use him anywhere else. See how demented I am? The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Librarian IAC Member Offline I may be blonde but... Posts: 658 Location: Washington (not DC) Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #17 - Mar 11th, 2011 at 9:52pm Print Post Well, I cheerfully admit I created the Random Character Creator because I had way too many similarly named people running around Metropolis. Now, for more important characters, I'll design the name. For them I have a copy of The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook. If you don't have it I sincerely suggest you get a copy. It gives the general naming rules for a number of different ethnic groups, not just Anglo-American. I'll also check out the various on-line baby-name sites, especially if I need a more ethnic name. But the beat cop, the mugging victim, the random dead body in the alley - they don't need much more than a name and maybe a description. If I can find equivalent data for Great Britain, I'll make a generator for the SHADO Library. Metropolis/New York is not London. If you only have one solution to a problem - you're not trying. IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #18 - Mar 11th, 2011 at 10:12pm Print Post Librarian wrote on Mar 11th, 2011 at 9:52pm:If I can find equivalent data for Great Britain, I'll make a generator for the SHADO Library. I like the sound of Reginald Grimbottom for a GB database. What do you think? The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #19 - Mar 11th, 2011 at 10:54pm Print Post Actually, most of the British names I use I steal from my favorite British authors' novels. Usually a first name from one and a surname from another. It keeps it truer to the country's people that way. At least, it seems so to me. But what do I know? I'm American! We get a real hodge-podge here! The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Matt Colonel Offline Everyone at SHADO drinks coffee! Posts: 2391 Location: Coventry, RI Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #20 - Mar 11th, 2011 at 11:40pm Print Post In Heartbreak on the Moskva I created Sir Byron Sinclair, the British Ambassador to the Soviet Union. The last name came from Babylon Five's Commander Sinclair who stated that the Sinclairs' had been fighter pilots all the way back to the Battle of Britain. He's going to reappear in both For Better or For Worse and The Omega Conundrum. What do you mean, we're out of coffee! WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #21 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 12:02am Print Post Byron. Enough said. The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Matt Colonel Offline Everyone at SHADO drinks coffee! Posts: 2391 Location: Coventry, RI Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #22 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 1:37am Print Post He turned into a pretty cool character. He's a good friend of Alec's, but very duty bound. What do you mean, we're out of coffee! WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #23 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 2:52pm Print Post If I did what I wanted to do, all my characters would have the names of my favorite poets. But after six or so Wordsworths, my readers might get a bit bored. : But maybe I should allow myself to use them every once in a while. The thing is, I don't want to get carried away! The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Matt Colonel Offline Everyone at SHADO drinks coffee! Posts: 2391 Location: Coventry, RI Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #24 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 5:17pm Print Post Oh, you were referring to the Byron that Mr. Spock quoted in the TOS episode, Is There in Truth No Beauty. What do you mean, we're out of coffee! WWW IP Logged
Librarian IAC Member Offline I may be blonde but... Posts: 658 Location: Washington (not DC) Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #25 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 8:47pm Print Post Finally found a source for British surnames so I should be able to get the database worked up within a week or so - I hope. If you only have one solution to a problem - you're not trying. IP Logged
Write Rat Major Offline Straker and his coffee. Posts: 356 Location: United States Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #26 - Mar 12th, 2011 at 10:00pm Print Post Quote:If I did what I wanted to do, all my characters would have the names of my favorite poets. Denise, Straker needs to meet Oscar Wilde. As for names, some names practically define the character. Alec Freeman Free man, professional bachelor ? English names, goodie, I have the entire staff of Silk Wood Manor to name! Here's a name and a half: Benedict Cumberbund I didn't think I'd like the new Sherlock but it was marvelous. I was watching it with my husband, it was a repeat on PBS. They said someone is going to do a new Sherlock story. rite-new-sherlock-holmes-novel/203/ « Last Edit: Sep 16th, 2011 at 10:40pm by SHADO Librarian » IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #27 - Mar 13th, 2011 at 5:29am Print Post Really? I didn't know that. Which season? I think I only watched through the 3rd season, so I know I've missed a lot. But it got a bit too predictable for me and I wanted to try other shows. Yeah, I'm a tv junkie! The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #28 - Mar 14th, 2011 at 12:56am Print Post Hmmm. Nope. No bells ringing here. Was he seriously incidental or something? The only guy I'm remembering is the dweeb who hung around Buffy and tried to help her. Well, and Angel of course. The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
Neesierie Colonel Offline Straker, somehow it's always about you. Posts: 990 Location: Fulton, MO Re: Choosing the Perfect Name Reply #29 - Mar 14th, 2011 at 6:06pm Print Post No, I remember Giles. I checked out the wikipedia reference and was very surprised to find that the dweeb I was referring to was Xander! I never even remembered his name!!! So, okay. I never saw him as important enough to pay attention to. He reminded me too much of a few of the guys in my physics classes. *snicker* To me Xander (yes, I did know about the full name and its connotations, but Xander is a cooler version) is a man, not a boy. Although the only Xan I've ever loved was two when I met him. Go figure! But he's my Xander man forever! His mother used to loan him to me for long walks in his stroller. He had the best smile, an adorable lisp, and big blue eyes! : The sky is not the limit; nor are the stars. WWW IP Logged
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