ParanetOnline
McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: Sean 'Bjørn' Blackstone on April 23, 2011, 09:03:38 PM
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so, I got a nifty little story base, and I kind of know where I wanna go with it. but, how I start everything is to create my character, who he is and what he is, ya know? so I have a few, and any suggestions would be great.
Morgan Warr
Evan Warr
Noah Warr
Nathaniel Warr
Markos Warr
Raphael Warr
Thomas War
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I think character names are more important to some writers than others but if it's important to you, you need to consider a few things:
What do you want the name to do? Do you want it to contrast reality? ( I love Harlan Coben's macho main character named Myron.) Do you want it to remind people of someone famous? (Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden who is named after three famous stage magicians.) or infamous? (I love John Wayne Cleaver's name in "I Am Not a Serial Killer" and how he feels he was named after two serial killers and an insturment of murder.) Some names have internal importance within the story even though it may mean nothing outside the story world. There can be family names or simply names that have a nice phonetic sound. Some names can imply nationality either real or within the story world.
To try to tell you what name works with no idea of who the character is or what you want the name to say about him or her is not something I would be able to do.
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Well I definitely want the last name to be Warr. His name has to reflect him, in a way. A famous first name might be cool, I just cant think where to go with that.
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Does this story take place in our world?
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yupp. in North America, just haven't quite decided exact location.
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Maybe have him be of a non-cauc ethnicity and have a name that means "war", just in another language, like "Guerra"?
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you may have something there.....(runs to google)
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So heres what Im lookin at now
Last names:
Marcello
Marcus
Martin
Kimball
Callan
Kane
Thane
Ramm
and Warr, of course.
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Kane has a nice ring to it depending on what you are trying to say about your character. It has ties both to the first murderer and to a Robert E Howard character.
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well, it also means "battle", but, its kinda dissuading knowing its already been used.
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So far we know you want a war theme on the Name, and the dude is in north america (presumable modern time?) Anything more you can tell us about him? Or more accurately, anything more about him you want the name to tell? Ethnicity, social standing, personality, etc?
As far as the ones you've listed:
Marcello->Has an Old World/Old Family/Old Money type of feel to it. Or a stereotype mafia, depending on the setting.
Marcus-> Too generic for a last name insofar as the war theme. Solid First Name.
Martin-> Same as Marcus
Kimball-> Opened you up for lots of Fugitive one armed man jokes, fair warning.
Callan-> Solid feeling. Not much immediate war vibe, or any other huge bias that I can think of. Vaguely makes me think of Hilghlander villains for some reason...
Kane-> Strong, but with the chaotic dark/haunted wanderer spin
Thane-> Similar to Kane, but with a more Law/Order feel. Has a historically feudal Scottish link (Personal favorite)
Ramm-> Gold, strong totemic name, without some of the cultural baggage of others.
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How about Ares.
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Always liked "Warren Peace" as a campy, comic book type name, but its from that cheesy kurt russel flick Sky High
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Idk, im kinda stuck. I guess he's your average hero type. hes white, not very social, but hes very loyal to the people he does know, he chalk full of balls-to-the-wall bravery. very reckless, around 24, but he's short, like 5'8" or 5'9". not ripped, but not lean. def. in modern time.
but he's a fighter, always ready to brawl. great with guns, not too shabby with a sword. no special abilities (at least nothing over the top).
I thought about Ares....ijdk, it seemed a little too much.
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How about Raven - the raven is the bird of war. As in carrion crows.
Go get yourself a baby name book - don't freak - they're very useful for names that have meanings.
Or you can go online.
You can always put a brown paper bookcover on it. Don't laugh - that's what I did because friends kept
seeing the book and wondering why I had a baby name book. I got tired of explaining.
by the by - 5'8" to 5'9" is not short unless you're going by Harry standards.
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Raven....I like it.....
Ive looked online alot, most of the ones Ive mentioned pertain to War or battle (a couple of em death)
lol my friends would be like ?????
and I'm 5'8", I consider myself slightly short, compared to most of the people I know. everyone else is like 5'10" and up.
theres standards other than Harry's? :o
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I'm 5'1" - yeah there are other standards. Murphy standards I'd guess you'd say.
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Don't know where my baby name book is at the moment.
Actually I take that back - I do know where it is - it's in a box - somewhere.
Anyway - went online and found these. Mostly English names.
Aden - Fire
Aiden - Little Fire
Alden - Protector
Brandon - Fiery hill, Sword
Brock - Badger
Drake - Dragon
Fletcher - arrow maker
Draven - hunter
Corbin - Little Raven or Little Crow
Davin - Little black one.
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so what weve got so far:
First Names: Last Names:
Marcus Callan
Raven Thane
Morgan Ramm
Nathan Warr
Thomas (Tommy) Aden
Ares Draven
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On the raven/crow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_in_mythology) theme, I wouldnt go with Raven itself, just because its so overused. However, there are some ways to conjure the same image without using it directly. Any Edgar Allen Poe connection you could make would do it Nevermore. Irish mythology has a whole slew of Crow war goddesses, all tied to the The Morrígan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morr%C3%ADgan) legends, including Macha, Nemain, Badb (looks like Bad-B, a low rent DJ name :P), Fea, Anann, and others apparently. Then there are all the Huginn/ Muninn Odin connections, Native American (though most lean toward trickster over war), and a few Arthurian links. The Quran only ever mentions crows once, and it says that they taught Cain and Abel to bury the dead.
And fwiw, "there is a story that England will fall if ever the ravens abandon the Tower of London". Sounds like a fun hook to me.
so what weve got so far:
First Names: Last Names:
Marcus Callan
Raven Thane
Morgan Ramm
Nathan Warr
Thomas (Tommy) Aden
Ares Draven
Of those I like: Nathan Warr, Tommy Callan, Marcus Thane, Morgan Ramm. Ares just isnt a name that rolls off the tongue, but it could work as the meaning behind an initial nickname (think A.C. Slater, to date myself a bit) or some such. If you plan to use the crow/raven imagery too much, don't use Draven. Eric Draven was the MC of The Crow, that 90's undead avenger flick (and subsequent tv show) that got Bruce Lee's son killed.
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Any Edgar Allen Poe connection you could make would do it Nevermore
Never Warr? His parents named him that because they were hippies ;)
its kinda dissuading knowing its already been used.
Then you can't use anything ever again. kidding. Don't worry about using part of a name that's been used before, unless it's been way overused or isn't partially unique. I mean, Jim used Harry right? He just took it and made it his own.
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Don't forget the Roman god Mars. Obviously in todays society it would work better as a last name although letting your character have it for a first name would definitely be unique. Many people think that the Greek and Roman gods were the same with just name changes but Ares and Mars are an example of where the different cultures gave their gods definite differences. Ares was more of a dumb sullen brute while Mars was more intelligent, a strategist as well as a fighter.
Here is a page of Crow-Raven names. http://www.20000-names.com/animal_crow_names_raven_names.htm (http://www.20000-names.com/animal_crow_names_raven_names.htm) . I liked Wolfram which means wolf-raven. Wolfram Mars?
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Wow Quantus, you put some thought into this. thanks man.
so what Ive drawn from all this new info, are two more names, Rok, and Bran.
lol @ never warr, thats actually pretty cool.
I just think the name Kane, or Cain, either way, is widely overused, the fact that its been in an apparently popular series makes me want to use it even less.
And I've actually never read another book where the characters name was Harry.
Marcello, Marcus, Markos, and Martin are also names for the Roman God of War, thats where I go them from. i would use mars, but every time that pops into my head I think Bruno Mars (I hate my sister)
So what weve got now:
First Names: Last Names:
Tommy Callan
Marcus Thane
Morgan Ramm
Nathan Warr
Bran
Rok
im kinda leaning towards one in particular, but I'd still love to hear suggestions.
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so, I think Ive chosen
Rafi (Rafael) Murdock
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If you need any more help, now or in the future... I found a couple great sites with tons of names. It is kind of extensive.. I think so anyways... It does get to be a pain to search through everything, but it has a lot of names, as well as their meanings.
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/names/
I have used this one a lot.
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Morgan Warr
Evan Warr
Noah Warr
Nathaniel Warr
Markos Warr
Raphael Warr
Thomas War
Is there a reason all their last names are Warr? And I like Raphael... ;D
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so, I think Ive chosen
Rafi (Rafael) Murdock
I likes!
One thing: Does he introduce himself as Rafi, or does everyone just call him that? Or is there someone in particular that uses that (some sort of more forcefully social sidekick type? I only ask because Rafi doesn't strike me as the sort of diminutive a reckless antisocial fighter type would adopt on his own. On the other hand, I could see him calling himself Murdock, or maybe Raf, but having someone around that calls him Rafi instead (I get a little sister image for some reason).
To be fair I may just be skewed by a childhood of "Raf" the antisocial Ninja Turtle :D
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If you don't like Rafi or Raf, Rafe is also an acceptable diminutive and does sound a little rougher.
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i still like Raphael...*wink wink* ;)
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Raven....I like it.....
Another name I know of for crow is Corbie. It's a local term. Would this be any good? Would work well with a name like Nathaniel.
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I likes!
One thing: Does he introduce himself as Rafi, or does everyone just call him that? Or is there someone in particular that uses that (some sort of more forcefully social sidekick type? I only ask because Rafi doesn't strike me as the sort of diminutive a reckless antisocial fighter type would adopt on his own. On the other hand, I could see him calling himself Murdock, or maybe Raf, but having someone around that calls him Rafi instead (I get a little sister image for some reason).
To be fair I may just be skewed by a childhood of "Raf" the antisocial Ninja Turtle :D
yeah, his friends call him Rafi, his ''acquaintances'' call him Murdock. he's a ghetto kid, about 23 yrs old. he's a protector, you could say. he's known for it through the neighborhood.