I need a name for a race http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117 frenziedmythology I hope that this is the right place... I need a good fantasy name for my race of half human half skeleton creatures. I'm completely lost as to what to name them. Oh, and by the way, they're pretty much invincible. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:42:37 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131572 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131572 darlingNib Well, what do they look like? Colloquially, they could be known for their appearance. Are they known for a specific attribute or ability? Why do people fear them? For example, something monstrous that sneaks quietly and is good at camoflaging themselves could come to be known as creepers. So just kinda think on those sort of lines instead of trying to fancy up something mythological. You also don't have to stick to just one name either. I have a race of magic creatures that hunger after souls. They are referred to in several ways, because each term represents a different aspect of what they are known for, and the names also depend on the culture of the character who is referring to them. So keeping that fluidity in names might help you. Try sketching out a list of words you associate with them, too, then make up something based off of that. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:23:56 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1133343 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1133343 Dan Diego Skeletal = Ecto Human = Sapien Combined = ectosapians One could quibble over the terms - race, nationality, ethnicity, or culture. I don't know the rules for fantasy. Your creatures could be ectosapians from the Toric warrior culture bred on the isle of Oric. Thy share the island with Borics and Dorics. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:23:33 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1133559 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1133559 toothybeastie Are they undead? If so, you could take a name from mythology and spice it up a bit. There's some cool undead like Revenants (which are basically European zombies ) or Draugr (Norse grave protectors) or you could call them the Deathless, after the lich Koschei the deathless. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:48:15 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131575 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131575 frenziedmythology No, not undead exactly, although I'll take that into consideration, but they're just..... unbeatable, if that makes any sense. (I really don't know how to explain it further.) Thanks, though! :) Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:13:57 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131602 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1131602 frenziedmythology Thanks. Due to some help elsewhere, I've accumulated the following list: They are known to outsiders as 'Boneheads' They are known amongst themselves as 'Knochenfiends' (Which means bone fiends. Knochen is bone in German.) They are trying to build their Ossaman Empire, (Which means bone empire. I'm not sure what language ossa is from.) Thanks for all your help! Also, <3 ectosapiens. Maybe I could use that also. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:38:57 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1134093 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1134093 iinsanely Sane Ossa comes from Portuguese (and probably other similar languages like Spanish, French and Italian). Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:36:32 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136988 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136988 Itzika Do they really want to call themselves fiends? Do they pride themselves on scaring people or consider themselves evil, or are they the good guys in their eyes? Or does fiend not have a negative connotation to them? Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:50:04 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137140 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137140 iinsanely Sane Correction: Excuse my mistake I'm not fluent in Portuguese, I believe it's 'osso'. But still, similar nonetheless. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:37:17 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136990 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1136990 frenziedmythology Yeah. osso is Portuguese. :) Thanks Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:20:37 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137083 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137083 frenziedmythology Yeah. They enjoy scaring the heck out of people, but they might turn out (as a plot twist) to be the good guy soldiers trying to build an empire that would benefit the world, while Aren, (My MC,) is trying to stop them. Or, of course, maybe not. I'm planning a sequel, one entitled "Revenge of the Boneheads," so maybe they won't be the baddies. :/ Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:53:39 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137341 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137341 Itzika Gotcha. In that case, Knochenfiend sounds good. Is the K pronounced or not? You'll probably want to work the pronunciation in somewhere so half your readers aren't saying it wrong. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:02:31 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137376 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137376 frenziedmythology I'm pretty sure that the K isn't pronounced. So what about the pronunciation? Do you think that after the first time I use it I should show in parenthesis the correct pronunciation? (NOCK in fiends [I think that's how you'd write it....]) :) Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:18:23 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137423 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137423 Itzika The easiest way to clarify the pronunciation in the story is to have someone say it wrong and someone else correct them, like JKR did with Hermione's name. This is easier if you have someone who's never seen the word before and they read it wrong, but if you have a character with some kind of speech tic and someone else corrects them without knowing or because they get sick of hearing it wrong it can work too. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:50:01 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137534 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1137534 frenziedmythology Yeah. Shoulda thought of that. Thanks! Pronucniation in italilics is way too history textbookish anyway. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:56:40 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138978 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/50117?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1138978