What's in a Name?

Okay - I got this cool idea from the topic on The Writer's View 2. We're talking about names there, so let's talk about them here. We write fantasy, so choosing names is a little more difficult than if we wrote contemporary, right?

Choosing names depends on the type of fantasy you're writing. If your story is contemporary with fantasy elements, you can pick regular names for your regular characters and fantasy names for your fantasy characters.

High fantasy is totally different. You want names that are solidly strange and fantasy sounding. Here is my favorite tool for fantasy names: http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/
It's called Fantasy Name Generator. Sometimes I use the names suggested and sometimes I use a varation. You are free to use the names on the site without worrying about copyright.

I have also used the Bible. There's a ton of fantasy sounding names in the Old Testament. In my new novel, Koda's Quest, I picked "Nekoda" from the Bible and am calling him, "Koda." It's easy to pronounce and I like it.

Names are important. Here's something fun. How many books/movies do we know simply by saying the name of the main character? Or the villain? Or a strong secondary? Here's a few to get you started (a couple may throw you):

Frodo
Buttercup
Anne Shirley
Luke (Luuuuuke! Use the force, Luuuuuke!) HA!!
Mia
Piggy
Tuck
Edward
Harry
Peter Parker
Clefspear

How many can you think of?
How do you choose the names of your characters?

Philly Conference Report

hey FFFers! The Philly conference was really good this year. Everyone I talked to said they learned a lot and had great appointments. I enjoyed spending the day on Thursday with the teens. We started at 10am and finished up at 5:45pm. It was a long day, but everyone hung in there and we finished up with a great critique session.

I'm excited to report that an agent asked for the full manuscript of my fantasy novel, Fairyeater! I'm waiting to hear.

And an editor asked me to send three of my children's manuscripts. I'll be sending those in September after my illustrator friend gets her sketches done.

I was happy to meet Rachel Joy and see Elisabeth and Danielle again. Hi girls!!

So, what do you do when a conference is done and you've sent in the manuscripts an editor or agent has asked for? You start a new project! I'll be working on my next fantasy novel, Koda's Quest. I've had the prologue and first chapter done for a while now, but wasn't able to move on until I finished up some other things. And I'll be attending the Writing for the Ages conference at the Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs on Sept. 11-14th. Am totally looking forward to that! There's still time to register if you can make it. Check it out here: http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries/gleneyrie/retreats/cornerstone/writingfortheages

It's not a typical conference where editors and agents will be looking for submissions. It's more of a mentoring conference. There will be workshops, activities, and writing time. I can't wait to work on Koda's Quest. Imagine writing a fantasy novel in a castle near the Garden of the Gods! What could be better?

Let's share what we're working on before the next topic. I love to hear what you're doing!

It's Conference Time!

Hey FFFers - I'm off to the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference tomorrow morning. I'll be teaching and taking appointments, as well as meeting with a couple of editors and an agent.

I'll give a full report when I get back. Then we'll get back to talking about writing fantasy.

If you want to come at the last minute, here are the details of the conference: www.writehisanswer.com/philadelphia