WriChal #4 - What's my name again?

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WriChal #4 - What's my name again?

Postby Moonlit Naiad » Fri Oct 08, 2004 1:02 am

William Shakespeare wrote:What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would still smell as sweet.
The Bard is perhaps correct: even if we call a rose a skunk cabbage its core nature doesn't change - what changes, however, is our perceptions and reactions to it. In a world, such as ours, where what is perceived matters more than what is actual, the name that something - or someone - has is very important.

Besides just changing perceptions, names can change the nature of what is named, usually as a result of the perceptions of the name. In Johnny Cash's song A Boy Named Sue, the narrator of the song was given the name 'Sue' and consequentially grew up to be mean and tough in order to counter the effect that his name had on him.

Like it or not, what you name your characters has a great effect on how they are perceived by your readers. While you can go the route of the song mentioned above, you'll have a fair bit of work to do in juxtaposing an 'inappropriate' name with a character's actions. And even if you do get it to work, most of the time, people will still be drawn out of the story by the contrast. Sometimes this is what you want, but dwelling on metafictive things during the course of a story is typically not the desirable route.

Some names, also, are more strongly affected by cultural cues than others. Surnames like Rockefeller, Hilton, Carnegie, and Kennedy tend to connote great wealth. Some names can be considered ill-omened, like Judas, and are typically avoided. Likewise, other names can have such reputations and stories behind them that parents may be afraid to name their children after them...either the name is 'too good,' like Jesus, or it's 'too bad,' like Adolf. Similar trends likely exist in different languages and/or cultures, but I'm not equipped to highlight them.

So.... for WriChal #4, select five to ten (more, if you like) names from the below list and write a short (one-to-three-sentence) description of the character (appearance, occupation, history, etc) that is in keeping with the name. Don't go for contrast, saying that Mary Sue is a criminal mastermind and Tanisha is the President, but rather for the suggestions that are tied in with culture/history. Consider that names can impy ethnicity and/or nationality, and that typically you wouldn't have to describe someone named "Yohko" as being Japanese/Asian, as that's generally inferred by the readers.

the list of names wrote:Alina Kruschev
Allison Parks
Ananda Weithers
Amelia Maven
Bekka Olofson
Bregi Borkston
Camilla Stevenson
Charles Tipperton Brown III
Deidra Robinson
Elizabeth O'Neill
Franklin Xavier Satou-Jones, Sr.
George Kerry
Gregory Park
Harold Wirkalla
Heidi Stark
Hilda Margaret Rouke
Isabella Cooper
J. Elliot Pearson
Jamee Yi
Jessica Simone Kischner
Josef Nilats
Katherine Victoria Mayers
Kelly Clark
Leonardo Elizabeth Cruz
Mekelle Tobinson
Mieka Mitsuishi
Mimi Potter
Mitzi Lee
Naomi Torres
Olga H. Morozskaya
Pyotr Krolikov
Raquelle Young
Raven Black
Quinton Ulanda Queen
Ruby Stone
Sienna Runewarden
Stacy Mary Johnson
Theodore J. Vanderbilt
Valino "Elfsbane" Whitehart
Ungra Nightshade
Woyin Hapston
Xia Zi
Xiaoqiu Naota
Yumeko Tamura
Zachary Rachels
*POOF* Problem Solved.

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