help please i need a name | National Novel Writing Month

A name for the actual universe. All-things.

A name, original, for the world. Takherand

Think about the sound of phonemes. Put them together in something that can be pronounced. Spell it unequivocally. Try pronouncing it. Takherand looks cool, the H keeps it from being Take-rand and turns it into Tak-her-and.

Fiddle with it and change it till it feels right.

Or do an anagram of a word that fits the world and is familiar. Is it watery? Is it tropical? Is it magical? Think about what its inhabitants think of as the most important thing about it.

Worlds can be named pretty obvious things too in simple words.

The Holy Land. The Navel of the World (Easter Island). Concepts like that carry a flavor.

I got in the habit of making up polysyllabic names and sometimes use allegorical ones. It can be The Dark Land or Darkling Worlds or soemthing like that and still fit.

But for the entire universe its name to the people in the story would reflect their view of the nature of the universe and their place in it.

"Creation" implies they are religious and honoring the Creator whenever they think of the universe as Creation. Culture comes in and The Universe implies that there aren't a whole lot more of them. The Multiverse implies you DO like the physicists who know there could be a jillion alternate universes and that the people in the book are pretty sure there are ways to get from one to the other, things that affect more than one universe.

If it's a multiverse a given universe will wind up getting called after the most common thing the multiversal travelers know about it. "Oh that must be the Necromonger 'verse."

"Death sellers?"

"Not exactly, they're religious fanatics." (This was in a fanfic multiverse but you get the idea -- and actually I want to see someone do Necromongers that are exactly that, death sellers, they kill people for money and they not only do that but have the trimmings, the menu, the wonderful customer service you would expect from true professionals.

Originality comes in with actually writing the book.

A non original name like Faerie can be tremendously original once the details are in. I just read Tad Williams' "War of the Flowers" and Faerie was... connected but nothing like any other Faerie in any other story I'd ever read, simultaneously traditional and original.

Originality is in the details. It's in the characters, the story, what happens to whom and why. Tradition can work.

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Nanowrimo 2009 Double My Best - Four 80k novels!
Magic in the Streets 82,964
Greenwood Road 84,709
Medicine Show 75,978
Greenwood Gates 48,338

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blue-scottie-dogs	help please i need a name
11,625 / 50,000 Official Participant Joined: Aug 10, 2009 Location: usa-west coast Posts: 5 Posted on: Nov 4, 2009 - 00 21	i need a name for my mythical universe. must be original ---------- B S D :)
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robertsloan2	RE: help please i need a name
292,191 / 50,000 Official Participant Joined: Oct 5, 2002 Location: Russellville, AR Posts: 350 Posted on: Nov 4, 2009 - 00 35	A name for the actual universe. All-things. A name, original, for the world. Takherand Think about the sound of phonemes. Put them together in something that can be pronounced. Spell it unequivocally. Try pronouncing it. Takherand looks cool, the H keeps it from being Take-rand and turns it into Tak-her-and. Fiddle with it and change it till it feels right. Or do an anagram of a word that fits the world and is familiar. Is it watery? Is it tropical? Is it magical? Think about what its inhabitants think of as the most important thing about it. Worlds can be named pretty obvious things too in simple words. The Holy Land. The Navel of the World (Easter Island). Concepts like that carry a flavor. I got in the habit of making up polysyllabic names and sometimes use allegorical ones. It can be The Dark Land or Darkling Worlds or soemthing like that and still fit. But for the entire universe its name to the people in the story would reflect their view of the nature of the universe and their place in it. "Creation" implies they are religious and honoring the Creator whenever they think of the universe as Creation. Culture comes in and The Universe implies that there aren't a whole lot more of them. The Multiverse implies you DO like the physicists who know there could be a jillion alternate universes and that the people in the book are pretty sure there are ways to get from one to the other, things that affect more than one universe. If it's a multiverse a given universe will wind up getting called after the most common thing the multiversal travelers know about it. "Oh that must be the Necromonger 'verse." "Death sellers?" "Not exactly, they're religious fanatics." (This was in a fanfic multiverse but you get the idea -- and actually I want to see someone do Necromongers that are exactly that, death sellers, they kill people for money and they not only do that but have the trimmings, the menu, the wonderful customer service you would expect from true professionals. Originality comes in with actually writing the book. A non original name like Faerie can be tremendously original once the details are in. I just read Tad Williams' "War of the Flowers" and Faerie was... connected but nothing like any other Faerie in any other story I'd ever read, simultaneously traditional and original. Originality is in the details. It's in the characters, the story, what happens to whom and why. Tradition can work. ---------- Nanowrimo 2009 Double My Best - Four 80k novels! Magic in the Streets 82,964 Greenwood Road 84,709 Medicine Show 75,978 Greenwood Gates 48,338 Join SFFmuse!
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