misslj_author (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
misslj_author) wrote2010-05-03 12:36 pm
misslj_author) wrote2010-05-03 12:36 pm
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Writing Meme: Days Two and Three.
Yesterday was a busy day so I didn't get the chance to post day two of the meme. Not that my answer to that was terribly long, but time got away from me.
Day Two.
How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
Oh boy. A lot. I tend to have a cast of hundreds, mostly supporting because no one lives in a vacuum and people are going to meet people as they go on their journies. I don't really have a preference either way for writing men or women, but most of my writing is m/m so therefore the characters are predominantly male.
Day Three.
How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
It varies because names are something that I always find myself wildly indecisive about. One character, for instance, I wasn't at all satsified with the name I gave her and kept changing it, going back and doing a find/replace on her name every time I changed it. Finally, I polled my LJ friends to see which name they prefered and it was one that I hadn't used up until that point. I changed her name - again - to fit the results of the poll and the name stuck.
Usually, I'll look at baby name sites or historical name sites, particularly medieval. I'll look at sites that focus on names from a given nationality, such as French names, when I'm writing a French character. Sometimes, I've used names that are historical. Rarely will I use a name that I simply like the sound of because, as with aforementioned female character, I'll find that if there's no background to that choice, I'll keep changing it in a frustrated quest to find the name that fits the character. I suppose having done medieval reenactment and working out persona names and stories/histories helps in that regard, too.
For places, if I get really stuck, the Place Name Generator is a great tool to get ideas from. Another good resource is Seventh Sanctum. The Fantasy Name Generator is another great source for ideas.
Day Two.
How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
Oh boy. A lot. I tend to have a cast of hundreds, mostly supporting because no one lives in a vacuum and people are going to meet people as they go on their journies. I don't really have a preference either way for writing men or women, but most of my writing is m/m so therefore the characters are predominantly male.
Day Three.
How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you're writing about fictional places)?
It varies because names are something that I always find myself wildly indecisive about. One character, for instance, I wasn't at all satsified with the name I gave her and kept changing it, going back and doing a find/replace on her name every time I changed it. Finally, I polled my LJ friends to see which name they prefered and it was one that I hadn't used up until that point. I changed her name - again - to fit the results of the poll and the name stuck.
Usually, I'll look at baby name sites or historical name sites, particularly medieval. I'll look at sites that focus on names from a given nationality, such as French names, when I'm writing a French character. Sometimes, I've used names that are historical. Rarely will I use a name that I simply like the sound of because, as with aforementioned female character, I'll find that if there's no background to that choice, I'll keep changing it in a frustrated quest to find the name that fits the character. I suppose having done medieval reenactment and working out persona names and stories/histories helps in that regard, too.
For places, if I get really stuck, the Place Name Generator is a great tool to get ideas from. Another good resource is Seventh Sanctum. The Fantasy Name Generator is another great source for ideas.