IWSG: June 18 Version

June? How can it be? It's the first Wednesday so that means IWSG blog hop time. Please visit the IWSG site to hear about the 2018 anthology they're putting together. Also, check out the list of all the participants in this awesome group.

This month's optional question: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

I used to have no trouble coming up with titles for my books and series. Lately, I've had more difficulty. My publisher has even helped me with suggestions and we've worked together to find the best one. Character names have always been a challenge so no change there. Sigh...

I attended a hilarious but information workshop session at Pennwriters led my Timons Esaias. Timons teaches in a MFA program at Seton Hill University so he has lots of experience reading and grading his students writing samples. The title of his workshop was More Stuff Tim Is Tired Of and he had an hour's worth of cliches, common mistakes, and damnable habits. One of the things he talked about that writers should stop doing is using character names with weird spellings like substituting a 'y' for an 'i' or an 'e' so the name looks exotic. Or making up a name that is impossible to pronounce. He claims fantasy writers are especially guilty of this.

Some wisdom from the Old Farmer's Almanac.
Astronauts can become up to 2 inches taller in space because there is less gravity. 
The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1st through November 30th.

I do like summer heat but another great part of summer is fresh salads. I love fresh fruits and veggies. I'm not growing my own this summer but there are two produce stands close by. Our local snapping turtle resident has been making daily appearances around the homestead. And the new fawns are sneaking out into the back acres. Their barely the size of a tall cat. Adorable.

Is coming up with names or titles in your writing difficult for you? Do you agree with Timon's naming irritants? Is gravity on Earth making you shorter? Will hurricane season impact your neck of the woods? Are you having more wildlife sightings recently?

Character Names

I'm very busy working on the second book in my Recon Marines science fiction series. The first book, The Marine's Queen, is still doing really well on Amazon. I hope I can create an even better novel with the second book.

When working on a new story, I have to come up with some new names for all those characters sticking their noses into the plot. When I read, I always cringe when I come across characters names that are really odd or unpronounceable. It won't make me put a book down, but it does make it more difficult to remember the character's names should I want to tell someone about the book. I tend to go with simple names though not necessarily common.

As a teacher, I encounter a lot of names and many strange spellings of said name. Or course, I don't want any of my students to think they're appearing in my books but how can I resist names like Vannie, Primo and Austyn?

On the other hand, my siblings may have noticed their names appearing in some of my books. They're always the good guys. I'm not crazy enough to make four sisters and two brothers angry at me.

Still I like keeping it simple. The main male character in The Marine's Queen is named Joe. Not as in GI Joe the toy but as in a genetically engineered soldier whose creators couldn't be bothered to even give him two names.

A brief shout out to my friend, Misty Simon, who has received a contract for another novel with TWRP. Her last novel, What's Life Without Sprinkles?, is now available and a really fun read.

So have you been using the names of friends or family in your novel? Anybody name a character after you? Would you be insulted if they did?

Guest Talking

I'm so proud to be a guest at Fresh Fiction today, January 15th. Help me celebrate the release of my fantasy novel, The Keepers of Sulbreth. Learn where I find the names for my characters and the world they inhabit. Also which names did I make up and which ones have a real fantastical history behind them.

And if you still don't have enough reason to visit, Fresh Fiction is running a contest for me. Leave a comment for a chance at a Barnes and Noble $25 gift card and a special treat from Chocolatetown, USA, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

I would love to hear your comments about naming characters and visit here on Sunday for a further article about the names I use in The Futhark Chronicles.

Names to Grab You

Have you ever read a book where the name of the characters stuck in your head long after you finished the novel? Like hearing a song on the radio in the morning and then carrying it in your head all day long even when you try to forget it. Naming a character can be very important for making a lasting impression with readers. I don't know about other authors, but I brood over characters names each time I start a new book. Especially in fantasy fiction, the name of a character should inspire an image of who and what that person is.
For instance, if the name of a character is Morag, the reader isn't going to be expecting this person to be the hero of the tale. Morag, sometimes spelled Mhorag, is a monster in Scottish folklore. In my fantasy series coming from Medallion Press, I've used many names from folklore and mythology for characters and beasts. Bayard is the war horse ridden by the male protagonist in The Chronicles of Futhark. In folklore tales of medieval France and Italy, Bayard is the name often given to Charlemagne's immortal horse. Bayard was faster than a normal horse and perhaps possessed of other magical abilities. Though the horse in my book isn't enchanted in any way, he is quite special.
A Gorgon is a monster for a variety of monsters from Greek mythology and perhaps with some Roman influence. I changed the name a little and endowed one of my monsters with the moniker of 'gordragon.' It's a rather enemy.
As a reader, do you assume certain images from a character's name? As a writer, do you spend long hours considering names for all the persons and creatures appearing in your works? Has a particularly clever name used in a literary work made a lasting impression?