{"id":17187,"date":"2012-11-15T06:03:03","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T17:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=17187"},"modified":"2012-11-13T21:32:24","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T08:32:24","slug":"names-a-new-perspective-recapping-a-great-specfic-guest-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2012\/11\/15\/names-a-new-perspective-recapping-a-great-specfic-guest-series\/","title":{"rendered":"“Names A New Perspective”: Recapping A Great SpecFic Guest Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

On September 26 I heralded Abhinav Jain’s<\/a> guest author series to be titled “Names A New Perspective”<\/strong>, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As noted then, the fuller brief for “Names A New Perspective”<\/strong> was:<\/p>\n

“… how the names of characters and places and other things within their novels (and other works where appropriate) fit into their setting, their relevance and their power.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The “new” perspective was because all the guest authors were new and\/or newish authors like myself. I looked forward to reading their thoughts on names and naming in the context of their writing for that reason alone, as well as for the general interest of the topic. And on all counts, I have to say that I have not been disappointed. As a series, I think it has been excellent and I really thank Abhinav for putting it together.<\/p>\n

An additional plus was that Abhinav posted links to his reviews of each guest author\u2019s books, where applicable, and also added a commentary to the post where he had read a book or books.<\/p>\n

So all up, if you have not been following the series, I thoroughly recommend it to you. Here is the complete ‘first season’ of authors, post titles, and opening lines, just to get you started—but you will have to link through to get the full goodness of each post. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Names A New Perspective:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>24th September \u2013 Myke Cole \u2013<\/strong> The Significance Of Names<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“Ancient and medieval cultures typically attach great significance to a name. In plenty of magic systems, knowing the name of a thing grants a person tremendous power over it…”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>27th September \u2013 Chris F. Holm \u2013<\/strong> The Devil\u2019s In The Details<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“I have a confession to make: I\u2019m lousy at coming up with character names. <\/em><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s because I\u2019m lousy with names in general. They just never seem to stick. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>1st October \u2013 Kim Curran \u2013 Names Are Fun<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“As I mostly write near-future \/ alternative present sci-fi and urban fantasy, I don\u2019t tend to go in for fantastical names. This is because I want the setting to feel as real as possible, so that the reader will stick with me when I start to take them on more unbelievable adventures. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>8th October \u2013 Teresa Frohock \u2013<\/strong> A Game Of Names<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“For the record, I don\u2019t spend an inordinate amount of time on names in my novels. I do try to choose names that immediately conjure an image in my readers\u2019 minds. I make it my policy to keep these names as simple as possible. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

USA<\/p><\/div>\n

11th October \u2013 Helen Lowe \u2013<\/strong> The Power Of Names<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“The power of names is an important them in Fantasy literature…\u00a0Nonetheless, when I began writing my first novel, The Heir of Night (Heir), names were not part of my vision for the magic system of either the alien Derai Alliance or the world of Haarth.”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>15th October \u2013 Anne Lyle \u2013<\/strong> Names As Characters<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“When I was asked to contribute a guest post to this series, I was happy to oblige as I\u2019ve always been fascinated by names. Then I realised that I didn\u2019t have much to say about character names in my current series, because the majority of them are real historical figures and the rest are dictated by my desire to be accurate to Elizabethan practices. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>18th October \u2013 Courtney Schafer \u2013<\/strong> Building Fantasy Worlds One Name At A Time<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“It doesn\u2019t take us long as children to figure out the importance of names. Soon after my son learned to talk, he went through a phase in which he desperately wanted to know the name of every random person he saw. … When I explained I didn\u2019t know the strangers\u2019 names, not without being introduced, he protested in dismay, \u201cBut Mommy, then how do you know who they are<\/strong>?\u201d In that question, I heard the echo of every fantasy story in which true names hold power both magical and dangerous….”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>22nd October \u2013 Lou Morgan –<\/strong> The Naming Of Things<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

“Names are a big deal. Names have, to paraphrase, power. There\u2019s a phrase in the Book of the Dead \u2013 one of the most important spells provided to help the dead navigate the Afterlife, as it happens \u2013 which translates to :\u201dI know you and I know your name.\u201d…”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>25th October \u2013 Jeff Salyards \u2013 A Name By Any Other Name<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not a linguist. And even if I were, I\u2019d still be far too lazy to invent languages for various peoples in my fantasy world. … While I absolutely respect the time and energy required of anyone following Tolkien\u2019s lead on language and nomenclature, I\u2019m far more instinctive in my approach. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>29th October \u2013 Gwenda Bond \u2013<\/strong> Names, Names And Names<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“Names, names, names! Okay, since I only have the one book out that\u2019s the one I\u2019m going to talk about. Names in Blackwood are obviously very important. One\u2019s right there in the title\u2014the surname of the heroine Miranda. (And, as some have already guessed, Miranda\u2019s first name is a nod to The Tempest, which felt right given the story\u2019s island setting.) …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1st November \u2013 Stina Leicht \u2013<\/strong> What\u2019s In A Name<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“World-building is more than maps. World-building is also geology, ecology, finance, government, technology, culture and a million subtle things that most people take for granted. Good writers use every opportunity to illustrate their fictional world, including character names and urban fantasy writers aren\u2019t exempt. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>8th November \u2013 Elspeth Cooper \u2013<\/strong> A Rose By Any Other Name<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

“What\u2019s in a name? that which we call a rose
\nBy any other name would smell as sweet;<\/p>\n

The Bard may have the right of it when it comes to the real world, but names of characters in fiction \u2013 especially speculative fiction \u2013 can be a whole \u2019nother kettle of finny things. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>12th November \u2013\u00a0David Annandale \u2013<\/strong> The Depths of Names<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

“All fiction writers are involved in world-building, whether or not their work falls into the realm of the fantastic (by which I mean science fiction, fantasy, horror and all their subcategories and hybrids). As well, one might think of fiction as the truthful telling of lies. …”<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

So there you have it, dear readers, a fabulous line up on “Names A New Perspective”—so do read on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On September 26 I heralded Abhinav Jain’s guest author series to be titled “Names A New Perspective”, here. As noted then, the fuller brief for “Names A New Perspective” was: “… how the names of characters and places and other things within their novels (and other works where appropriate) fit into their setting, their relevance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,26,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-epicfantasy","category-guest-blog-posts","category-other-writers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17187"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17226,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17187\/revisions\/17226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}