tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303338240948428759.post548171833334300426..comments2024-03-18T15:24:19.484-04:00Comments on Black and White: Character Names in FantasyAnne E.G. Nydamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02406524149458743460noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303338240948428759.post-22020514953251451602018-04-14T10:51:33.990-04:002018-04-14T10:51:33.990-04:00Thank you for steering me to this information. Int...Thank you for steering me to this information. Interesting. I don't remember making up any names but my younger sister had a family named Giggy Gan and Giggy La and their two younger siblings were Giggy Salt and Pepper. She would tell me stories about them before we went to sleep and she was four or five at the time. Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06413795611563683135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303338240948428759.post-55832929346078181632011-09-29T17:06:50.066-04:002011-09-29T17:06:50.066-04:00Darla, I agree that LeGuin does good character and...Darla, I agree that LeGuin does good character and place names, and I agree that Alexander can seem a bit too much like Lord of the Rings For Kids.<br />I also made up fantasy names for myself all the time when I was little! I also loved making up all kinds of names for the other characters in whatever scenarios I was imagining. In short, as you can tell, I just love names!<br />As for Martin, I admit I've decided not even to start those -- it sounds like way too much Really Bad Stuff happening to characters you care about, and I'm a wimp about that! But I think names that sound a lot (but not quite) like historical European names are probably entirely appropriate for a book with a setting that's a lot (but not quite) like a historical European setting.Anne E.G. Nydamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02406524149458743460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303338240948428759.post-77870890241865618062011-09-29T13:43:53.254-04:002011-09-29T13:43:53.254-04:00Great post -- very interesting! I used to make up ...Great post -- very interesting! I used to make up fantasy names for myself when I was little, based on the book I was reading, and have become rather sensitive to fantasy names myself. My least favorite thing is when authors use other authors' naming systems rather than create their own, for example if everyone sounds like they've been lifted out of Rohan (or, in a different vein, like Gurgi in the Chronicles of Prydain, whose name is so close to being Gollum that it was silly to try and make it different at all.) Le Guin has some of my favorites (particularly in Earthsea); she's good at making her place names and character names work together to create a sense of language.<br />I'm curious what you think of the names in the Song of Ice and Fire series? Martin comes uses a lot of alternate spellings and "twiddly endings," but I find the names working quite well for me, and I am actually having a surprisingly easy time remembering everyone considering the plethora of characters.Darlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00488743099698852511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303338240948428759.post-5132413028822847212011-09-07T10:21:30.068-04:002011-09-07T10:21:30.068-04:00I am definitely NOT a linguist, and I am one of t...I am definitely NOT a linguist, and I am one of those readers who has trouble with exotic and "different" names. I really appreciate hearing about the theory and practice of creating fantasy names. Somehow knowing this makes it a bit easier to navigate among the various vowel and consonant combos, and also to notice authors who do not take as much care in their names. Thanks!Paxnoreply@blogger.com