tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post6061958871285505512..comments2024-03-12T01:48:28.637-06:00Comments on Margo Berendsen: A strange pattern with namesMargo Berendsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-69401178074210585442013-07-25T11:04:32.514-06:002013-07-25T11:04:32.514-06:00It can't just be me who hears that name and th...It can't just be me who hears that name and thinks of the group that regularly protests fur shops and science labs. <br /><br />Alternately, I think of Mediterranean flatbread.<br /><br />Either does not say "heartthob" to me. LOL.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-80197284037598775732013-07-25T09:33:23.726-06:002013-07-25T09:33:23.726-06:00Thank you so much for mentioning Savvy! I changed ...Thank you so much for mentioning Savvy! I changed her name at the very last minute. I loved that she's an accidental spy and the opposite of the meaning of the word Savvy. Plus, Savannah would be the full name but that's never mentioned!<br /><br />It is funny how names trends in books according to baby names. I've seen a lot of Vi in books, short for Violet. :)Laura Paulinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503090226508079501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-90803628136633420242013-07-25T09:06:16.015-06:002013-07-25T09:06:16.015-06:00Yes I agree about wacky names, I really struggled ...Yes I agree about wacky names, I really struggled with a boy named Cricket in Lola and the Boy Next Door. I never knew Alia was Arabic. I devoured the Dune series as a teenager. For me, naming my characters is often a process of them naming themselves - as I get to know them, eventually a name just comes. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-7237537059741568072013-07-25T09:04:56.324-06:002013-07-25T09:04:56.324-06:00I just love those names, Ismae and Karou. Great ex...I just love those names, Ismae and Karou. Great examples of unusual names that still have a sort of familiar ring to them. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-32767775960109876942013-07-25T09:04:13.867-06:002013-07-25T09:04:13.867-06:00And I am so woefully under-educated with Dickens. ...And I am so woefully under-educated with Dickens. All I know is Scrooge. Which is unsurpassed, most definitely. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-33766449934016276312013-07-25T09:03:24.789-06:002013-07-25T09:03:24.789-06:00Yes if you make up a name, it has to be easily pro...Yes if you make up a name, it has to be easily pronounceable and easy on the tongue, if that makes any sense. One of my CP's once said my character's name out loud, and I realized I had to change it. I had never actually said the name out loud! But I do love to think up new names, too, like you. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-73360407210590941232013-07-25T09:01:47.288-06:002013-07-25T09:01:47.288-06:00Speaking of Ruby, and I think Garnet would be a co...Speaking of Ruby, and I think Garnet would be a cool name, too. You are right, Ruby sounds warmer than Scarlet. Or Garnet. :) Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-58230790490324478152013-07-25T09:00:47.179-06:002013-07-25T09:00:47.179-06:00Yay for Noelle! I was planning to use it for one o...Yay for Noelle! I was planning to use it for one of my characters someday too, since I couldn't use for my daughter. Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-80262319278985434362013-07-25T08:59:34.606-06:002013-07-25T08:59:34.606-06:00I still struggle with Peeta! Really its not so dif...I still struggle with Peeta! Really its not so different from Peter, but still...Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-60410637757974047422013-07-25T08:58:27.891-06:002013-07-25T08:58:27.891-06:00I named my daughter after one of my favorite ficti...I named my daughter after one of my favorite fictional characters! So I love that you try to talk your sister into it too! <br /><br />I went through a stage where all my characters had names starting with "S" and didn't realize it. Thank goodness my CP pointed it out to me!Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-70693623494214261612013-07-25T08:02:39.504-06:002013-07-25T08:02:39.504-06:00How awesome that you liked my love interest's ...How awesome that you liked my love interest's name. :-) For me, naming characters is an often complex process. I do use the Social Security website to research what's popular and try to pick names that are in-ish for the birth years of my contemporary characters...that is, in the top 150, but not the top 20. In Theo's case, it was the meaning of the name that trumped all, but also it had a similar feel to the more popular Leo, so I figured it could fly even if it was down in the 300s in popularity in the mid-1990s.<br /> <br />One of my parent characters I gave a very out-of-generation name (no one but great-grandma was named Grace in the 1960s) mostly to say something about her family of origin and their feelings about her entrance into the world.<br /><br />I dislike the trend of super wacky names for contemporary characters, because I know from personal experience having an odd name tends to not make you cool but a target for bullying. And it's become a kind of tired cliche as well. With fantasy and sci fi, names based on other languages are the coolest, especially if it's fairly clear how to pronounce them, like Alia in the Dune series (an Arabic name), for example.Laurel Garverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03657218435228802535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-53570871369420744072013-07-24T15:20:06.378-06:002013-07-24T15:20:06.378-06:00Names are super-important in fiction! I do like Se...Names are super-important in fiction! I do like Seraphina. I also like Scarlet, and almost named the lead in Ruby's Fire, my new YA sci-fi, Scarlet. I'm so glad I didn't because she would have gotten lost in a sea of Scarlets. Ruby seems pretty unique for now, which I like. And she's somehow warmer than Scarlet, which sounds terrifically regal. Plus she gets to wear some cool red jewelry on the cover.Catherine Stinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08131569196977321229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-24588104718725221752013-07-24T07:48:35.943-06:002013-07-24T07:48:35.943-06:00Noelle is the name of my main character in PPP! :)...Noelle is the name of my main character in PPP! :) That's so interesting that character names are also cyclic. I guess that's what comes from authors using baby name resources to name the people in their books! Julie Daohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814052162359300933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-61376338629704757702013-07-24T05:26:25.388-06:002013-07-24T05:26:25.388-06:00Character trumps names for me but I have a very so...Character trumps names for me but I have a very soft spot for Charles Dickens' most unique character names (unsurpassed to this very day in my humble opinion!! LOL!) Take care<br />xOld Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185547869183611159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-2342708072580973382013-07-23T16:21:16.616-06:002013-07-23T16:21:16.616-06:00I sometimes feel that Kate and Anna are overused. ... I sometimes feel that Kate and Anna are overused. I like new names, but ones that don't look like a bunch of letters just thrown together. And if the character is well done I don't care what their name is, I'll end up loving it by the end even if it is a name I used to dislike.<br /><br /> I love naming characters. I like to think up new and different ones that are still pronouceable. Though usually my characters rename themselves. (This has happened in my newest planned series.)Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395502314886308773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-71409845038322231602013-07-23T13:21:43.323-06:002013-07-23T13:21:43.323-06:00I'm not one for the creative names. It's b...I'm not one for the creative names. It's bothersome when I read a book then forget character names because they're unusual. (Peeta from THE HUNGER GAMES was one I struggled with for a long time.) Kimberlee Turleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695299361596799423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-2490756390760218312013-07-23T13:18:18.890-06:002013-07-23T13:18:18.890-06:00I realized a couple years back that I had a charac...I realized a couple years back that I had a character named Kate ... or Katy ... or Cadi ... or Katherine ... in almost every story I wrote, whether she was the protagonist or not. I had to change most of them! I still love the name, but I'm a lot more judicious in my use of it now.<br /><br />Naming characters, and reading other characters' names, is one of my great joys. I keep trying to talk my sister into using certain baby names just because I love the fictional character so much!Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17840731400749105419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1150746199598958569.post-55363422469738302352013-07-23T12:04:45.603-06:002013-07-23T12:04:45.603-06:00I think character trumps name, but a name can enha...I think character trumps name, but a name can enhance character and make you think, "Oh, she's DEFINITELY a Katie!" And I do think some names fit characters better than others. I'm with you on the love for Ismae and Karou!Jesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14121018905141253640noreply@blogger.com