The Name Game

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Yes, another post on naming characters. A week full of headaches and pain killers has spawned a vivid storyline, but one set of characters is all "nicknames"

Blue
Fern
Torrent
Helo
Ruby

They're all easy enough to pronounce, so I think I'm okay there, but I'm wondering what others' thoughts are on the sound of them? Do they sound distinct? Can you get a feel for who's male and who's female? How about which ones sound like "good" guys vs. "bad" guys?


Early stages here, but I'd like to get some input on the ground work.

7 Chiming In:

Matthew MacNish said...

Hmm, here's my guesses:

Blue: boy, good guy.
Fern, girl, good ... girl.
Torrent, boy, bad guy.
Helo: boy? good? guy.
Ruby: girl ... neutral?

That was all just off the top of my head.

Thanks for sharing Josin!

The QQQE

Stephanie Thornton said...

Hmmm....

Blue: Girl, Good
Fern: Girl, Good
Torrent: Boy, Bad
Helo: Boy. Good
Ruby: Girl, Good

I guess I like the good team!

Lydia Sharp said...

Blue is an awesome nickname for a good girl.
Fern reminds me of the girl from Charlotte's Web, so I wouldn't use that one at all.
Torrent screams bad girl, or maybe a good girl with a streak of evilness to her.
Helo sounds too much like halo. Wouldn't use that one either.
Ruby is good for a bad boy. It reminds me of the word ruddy, which then gives me the image of a dirty little boy playing with bugs. (and obviously you think of the gem, ruby, but I tend to go for the not-so-obvious)

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

Hmmm...
Blue...boy (Is that like the painting?)
Fern...girl (That's actually my grandma's name.)
Torrent...boy (nothing cool to say)
Helo...boy
Ruby...girl

I'm guessing Helo and Torrent are bad guys. The rest are probably good.

Travis Erwin said...

I have a Blue and a Ruby in my novel titled, Waiting On the River. You can read an excerpt if you like at Amazon as the novel is still in the running for their Breakthrough Novel contest.

So obviously I like those two. Actually Helo is the only one that doesn't conjure up a solid image for me. Not sure of gender on Torrent either but I sense a character with deep seated resentment.

Shannon said...

Blue ~ I'm gender conditioned. I thought baby blue good boy.

Fern ~ First thing I thought of was the girl in Charlotte's Web.

Torrent ~ Bad boy. I see tattoos and a chopper.

Helo ~ Little girl. This reminded me of Hello Kitty (sorry!)

Ruby - Again with my gender conditioning, I thought ruby red...scarlet..bad girl

Josin L. McQuein said...

WOW, I didn't expect so many answers so fast.

THANK YOU!

Okay, so here's the real "cast"

Blue is the MC - a somewhat timid boy.

Torrent is the "villain" - a charismatic, and hyper aggressive/angry male

Fern's a girl. She got her name because she's always seen in green. She doesn't say much, but is always near Blue.

Helo's a guy, but he's a waffle. He hasn't decided where he stands yet, he just likes to hover (like a helicopter...)

Ruby's Torrent's #1 disciple / constant shadow. She was a decent person on her own, but threw in with Torrent 100% and now she's totally committed to his "vision". Of the two, she's actually the most dangerous because she no longer has an option of turning back to what she was before.

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