When it comes to fiction, names and titles can be challenging
When I began my fantasy series in 1998, I initially referred to it simply as my fantasy story (and given the restrictions in naming .doc files in Word, then, it was an awkward name).
Then, as I realized I had a LOT of characters, a lot of places – and a lot of names – I opened a glossary file. I called it Fantasy Story Source, which opened me up to the idea of the sorcerous mystery of The Source that would drive the book and the series.
When completed, book one was first called Seeker of The Source. I liked that name a lot. The subsequent books in the series would thus be Finder of The Source, Harbinger of The Source, and Healers of the Source.
This was all well and good – until I got my first editor. One thing she suggested was that the series needed a name. With the help of my best friend, we created a series name – The Source Chronicles.
The initial name – Seeker of the Source – took me about a year, I recall, to come up with. The story was 2/3 written before it was named. Along that line, my Void Incursion series also had no name for the first year or two I worked on it.
Names can be challenging. And not just on a what-the-hell-do-I-call-this-book-or-series level. Character and place names pose a bunch of challenges too.
One super-important note before I delve into this here. There is no right or wrong answer or approach. No One True Way™ exists. I’ve used multiple approaches, depending on the series and other factors.
Names you invent
One of my favorite things about fantasy and sci-fi is that you tend to work in a world of your own creation. Thus, you make the rules.
This was one of the many amazing things my first editor pointed out to me. She suggested that I go beyond the names of characters and places – but also name months, days, seasons, and so on. Which I did.
I would say that 85% (this is a non-exact, unscientific hyperbole) of the names I used in The Source Chronicles were made-up by me. But in doing so I created conventions for nationalities and such.
For example, two of my main characters are Lyrra-Sharron Anduin and Varlock-Sharon Anduin. Hyphenated first names occur frequently in their home nation. On the other side of the world, there are the characters Arion Xanvull and Shiara Bornull. Most of the people from that nation have double letters ending their surname.
My spellcheck abhors these books because of my many, weird, made-up names. And I got weirder in my sci-fi. In the Voice Incursion series, I came up with some far-out alien names, planets, and so on. Examples include Shi’tra Juukamn and Avra Pii K’tark’ah (character names), and Wunatt’morvamitkirn (an alien planet). Because I created a species with NO gender whatsoever, I created my own gender-neutral pronouns (xez, pronounced zeez, for he/she, xerz, pronounced zurhz, for his/hers).
While I maintain conventions for names among my alien races – it’s still all made-up by me. Yes, spellcheck dislikes what I do – but I love the added creativity in coming up with names.
Names and titles from reality
For my newest series, Forgotten Fodder, I am using names that exist in the real world. However, I’m not just choosing common names you’d find anywhere.
Part of this is because the stories take place in the year 2572. I figure, 551 years from now, human beings will be far more muddled. In other words, identifying us by nationality, ethnicity, and even religion will mostly go out the window.
Additionally, given their current percentages of the world population, I figure Chinese and Indian (Hindi) surnames will abound. So, I am having some fun mixing names of the world to form my character names.
Hence, I have Onima Gwok. Her first name is Indian or Muslim meaning Analysis, her last name is Chinese – Mandarin). Along this line, you get Feroz Jones, Maira Patel, and Jace Rojas. All real names – not in common combinations.
Likewise, even for colonized worlds, I am not inventing names out of thin air as I have in my other sci-fi and fantasy. Often, I am using languages other than English for planetary names, (i.e. Planet Aarde). But all of them are real words and real names.
But I’ve also used real names in some unconventional ways. For my Steampunk series, The Vapor Rogues, I have borrowed the Japanese naming convention. If you are not familiar with this – when you see a full Japanese name written out, the first name you see is actually their surname.
Taking that, I applied it to my character names. Thus, I have Booth James Michael and Dean Gwen Sarah. Nice, solid, British names. Maintaining this convention, for the sorcerous (and potentially sorcerous) characters I used a mix of British and Persian names. Hence, Paton Tarik Hanif and Avery Safiya Bast.
Real or made-up, the options are many.
A rose by any other name…
One of my favorite parts of writing is creating names. Whatever resources I use – real or pulled out of imagination – this can be a lot of fun.
In college, I had a professor who claimed that every name in every story has meaning. This, from personal experience, I can tell you is utter bullshit. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t choose symbolism in names.
For example, I’ve created main characters who share my initials. I know authors who have used names that match the initials of famous people and historic figures. In a particularly goofy mood, I created spy characters in unpublished settings whose names were Charles Ivan Adams (CIA) and Kevin Glenn Bailey (KGB). Made me chuckle.
Words and names DO matter in conveying the story to your reader. This is why I have chosen conventions to stick-to so that I lessen confusion for my reader.
I have gotten stuck on more than one occasion. When it comes to fiction, names and titles can be challenging. But that’s why I have reached out to friends – and even online to the internet at large – for help.
Finally, if you have a name you used in the process that no longer speaks to you when you’re ready to publish – go with your gut. You are the creator, and you can rename the character, book, or series as befits you. If it doesn’t speak to you – find something that does.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. And most of all – have fun!
How do you approach names and naming conventions in your work?
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundredth article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
Feel free to explore the rest of the website. Also, visit Awareness for Everyone to check out my weekly podcasts.
Enjoying the website and my endeavors? I’d be grateful if you would consider becoming a patron through my Patreon.
You can subscribe to my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive your free eBook.
Follow me here!
You must be logged in to post a comment.