Plot Bunnies, general crazieness and idea's that make you wonder what was in that coffee you just drank...

Just wait. The more you drive the manual, the more you will look for the stick shift when you change cars. It doesn't go away ;)

I have no plot bunnies to offer, but I did see GI Joe last night at University Mall, and it kind of made me wonder what was in the coffee THEY were drinking when they wrote it. Of course, I still kind of liked it, so what does that say about me? Hmmm...

So, yeah, random and off topic. But that's what makes a thread fun, right?

Yes...GI Joe was rather random. Gotta love sporking some guys brain in the middle of city street in broad daylight...and they wondered why someone called the swat team?

Jules

NoVA ML

2009- Witching Time
2008-Phaedra's Light
2007-Dying to be Immortal (never move and try to start a book three days later)
2006-Thistles in Spring (worst title ever)

Apparently that Panera coffee wasn't bad. Remeber those stitches that came out? I noticed that the cut was still open and there was some white stuff in the middle *eewww*, so I went back to the dentist on Monday. That white stuff? Bone!!! Yup, exposed bone. The skin is so irritated that if they try to stitch it again it will just tear. So now I have to keep my mouth closed and not talk for a week. That's working out well...

Kate

I'm just trying to figure out what possessed Christopher Eccleston to sign up to play Destro. The money can't have been that good...

2009 - WON (Random Acts, 50,307 words, not complete)

He was the only reason I was going to see that movie and even that wasn't enough for me to take the plunge.

I missed the story on the stitches...coffee on bone can't be good. LOL

Getting used to a stick is great until you switch back to an automatic and your clutch foot slams on the brakes while you're accelerating away from the stoplight. Every time I visit family back home and drive their car it happens at least once or twice the first couple of days.

Personally I find slamming on the brakes more exciting than stalling in an intersection, but then I don't think it matters to the insurance guy. :)

All I know about Christopher Eccleston was that he was The Doctor in the first season of the new Dr Who. That was about five seasons ago. I have no idea who is playing The Doctor at this point. As you can tell, I am so up to date that I was surprised to find out The Flintstones were no longer live.

On a slightly more relevant note, does anyone have a good givenname that sounds like a pseudonym that would be used by a "working girl"? I have used Bambi in a previous novel. Then there are a few of the traditional classics like Tiffany, Gloria, Grace, Candy, Lola, and Crystal. I am looking for something that would be good for a "little Miss Straight-Arrow" to use when her friends talk her into enjoying a night sightseeing at a local casino. The main character would meet her, spend some time with her walking and talking around the casino, and, based on her name, assume she was a "lady of the evening". I would like something fresh and original, but unmistakable at the same time. Any suggestions?

BeaJay - The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

How about Chastity?

Not that I would have any particular knowledge about these things.

Constance (Connie), Katherine- always rather formal but can be turned a number of ways to Katy, Kath, Kathy, Kate.

I love searching Baby Name books and have one with my dictionary and thesaurus as writing musts. Yes they are paper versions although I do have electronic versions as well.

Dragon Rose

Not a day without a line- always but gently.

' Chastity ' ! NowTHAT sounds like an interesting name. ...
' Chastity ' ! ...
Hmm ...
I could even make remarks about her belts ...
On future visits to the casino, when the MC finds one of the young ladies she is with wearing one of her belts, ...
Hmm ...
That name has possibilities ...

' Constance ' sounds a little too ' formal ' to me. Maybe, something more like a ' Cynthia ' or possibly a ' Virginia '. ...
It would be fun to have one of the young ladies with her refer to her being ' a Ginnie '. ...
Especially if she utterly HATES alcoholic beverages!

I now have some names to ponder. ...
Are there any others to throw into the mix? ...
If I find the proper name, then the possibilities would be mindless as to how I use the name. ...
And the process of choosing a proper character name can become an element in the book. ...
I have an interesting twist in that the story itself is a story being written by someone else. That means having chapters where the writer is struggling with plot bunnies, flying monkeys, and the like as he tries to figure out how the story should actually go. ...
Of course, the writer character is ' identificationally challenged ' in that he has trouble thinking up good names for his characters. Hence, a discourse with others concerning the names of some of the characters. ...
Like ' little Miss Straight Arrow ' who gets mistaken for a ' pony ' based on her name and how she was met.

That leads, as well, into the use of baby name books. I have a favorite one of my own that I use for all sorts of purposes, ...
OTHER THAN A PAPERWEIGHT! ! !
I find it extremely helpful in giving me names whose meanings add insight into the personalities and psyches of the characters. It adds a feeling of depth, ... at least for me, ... into what is being written. A good baby name book is absolutely essential for a writer serious about writing fiction with believable character names.

So what d'ya think??

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

I have a friend named Colleen. Very white bread and not too formal. But her friends call her Leeny. She could introduce herself as Colleen, but have the male overhear her being called Leeny by an aquaintance or something. I can just picture some girl in a miniskirt, teased hair, with 2 inch nails squealing "Leenyyyyyyy!".

Am picturing that same girl right now...

Oh gosh, I met a girl named Chastity once. The poor thing! You gotta have some weird and wacky parents to give a kid a name like that.

I absolutely agree about the name meanings, BeaJay :) I find most of my preplanning is actually naming characters, because I spend so much time trying to find names that mean something, yet don't seem contrived, and actually help me add to my character as a person.

It's led to an unhealthy obsession with names in general, I've found. Also, some interesting conversations that go a little like this:

Me: "Your name is [insert name here]? From [insert language/country here] in [insert century here] meaning [insert definition I shouldn't know here]?"
Them: "..... You're very strange and I'm leaving now."

I am also obsessed with baby name books! I just had a baby, but he was kind of an excuse for getting out the ol' baby name book again. I love the Baby Name Wizard, by Laura Wattenberg. Really interesting read.

But for naming my characters (not my children), I am using the social security administration's baby name database -- they chart the 1,000 most popular names every year, and have data from 100 years ago. It's a great database when you want to know what parents were naming babies in 1918. You can even find out, for more recent years, the most popular names by state, and most popular names for twins.

May I suggest "Misty" as a lovely working girl's name? Or any from the alcoholic beverage family -- Brandy, Chardonnay, Tequila?

Jill

Jill - where did you get your hands on that list? I would love to use it!

Although a name for a working girl...is she born into it or does she choose it? That will help determine the name - seriously.

Liadona
aka Liadona Rau (SL)

2007 - yeah, epic fail, not even a title
2008 - "NOLA Bound"
2009 - "Her Sister's Gem
"Prince Griffin and the Dark Forest" (a children's book written in 1 day)

Liadona,

Your tax dollars hard at work .... http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/babynames/

Right...why do I keep missing really interesting conversations?

Kate: Eew. Genuinely hope you're alright, and doing okay with the whole not-talking thing (I'd crack inside a day). But just Eew.

As far as the name thing goes, I am obcessed with picking character names. I will link my all-time favorite. But there are a multitude of baby-name sites and books and just crazieness that can be used to pick character names. This year's main characters are going to be Thaddeus and Ophelia. Last years MMC was Jaketh. Year before that I used Rafe and Aricia.

Mike: I haven't tried driving the stick again since then. I keep telling myself its like learning anything new and I just need to keep trying...but it's so much easier to just move the baby seat and let my husband deal with it. The concept of driving that in traffic creaps me out.

Regency Name Generator- http://www.ugoi.net/nonsense/name.html
This thing is the bomb (Now that I've channeled my inner twelve year old...it's really useful for any 'english' name, not just regency. Or old-fashioned sounding names. I love it.

NoVA ML

2009- Witching Time
2008-Phaedra's Light
2007-Dying to be Immortal (never move and try to start a book three days later)
2006-Thistles in Spring (worst title ever)

To All Y'All helping with the character naming,

To clarify the situation, there is a small group of twenty-somethings, one of whom is ' Miss Straight Arrow ', that have fun going to casinos, using assumed names, conning their marks to pay for shows and jewelry and such, enjoying being entertained for free, and dropping the marks before the girls get into compromising social situations.

' Miss Straight Arrow ' has ethical concerns about leading someone on like that, but she gets talked into going along anyway. Of course, the assumed names are the types of names that give gullible guys the impression of more being available than is actually in the offer. Thus, names like Brandy, Heather, Liza, Chastity, Crystal, Tiffany, Candy, Bambi, Charity, Barbie, Vickie, Sherrie, Leenie, Cindy, &c are all great suggestions.

I think playing wordgames with ' Chastity ' and the belts she wears and loans to her friends might be fun, but I'm not sure how appropriate it would be in a general audience ' G ' rated novel. Fortunately, the MC who ends up marrying ' Miss Straight Arrow ' is a ' Mister Straight Arrow ' himself. That lets him play word games without any evil intent, just a poor sense of humor. Still, I have to be careful how the story goes.

All of the other discussion about name books and name lists is phenomenal. It is, as well, a relief to me to know that my concern about names is not obsessive. It is heartwarming to know that names REALLY DO matter. That is so comforting to me.

Anyway, thanks for all the assistance, and the reassurance that I'm as normal as all the rest of the nuts around here.

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

BeaJay -- your story sounds like so much fun. Reading your description, I instantly pictured Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell jaunting around Vegas ... probably running into Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis!

Good luck! I can't wait to hear more as we get into November.

If I might offer one minor morsel of food for thought... I'm not sure how you can get away with a G-rated novel that deals with the subject of prostitution and sexual situations. To truly paint a realistic picture of a "working girl's" environment, you would have to go to some pretty dark places that I don't think are appropriate for a general audience. At best that's a mid-late teen novel. I wouldn't want my 13 year-old daughter reading something like that. If I had one. Then again, she'd be locked in her room until she's 21, but that's another topic.

Kerrnel,

It is the test of a good writer to be able to let people understand that there is undesirable stuff under the surface without actually having to go swimming in the sewers to immerse the people in the sludge. That is what separates the great author from the cheap exploiter who could not write a morally decent story if his life depended on it. I do not know if I am as up to the task as I would like to think I am, but it will be a good measure of how much I have yet to develop if I am going to become a true wordsmith.

Some examples of good authors of whom I speak are Twain, Dickens, Tolstoy, Rowling, and Eliot (Sands). Their novels are not necessarily perfect, but they do present morally decent, though not necessarily politically correct, stories. Of course, I expect there are those who will disagree about some of the authors I've mentioned, but at least you can understand the point. It becomes even more obvious when you compare their works against some of the writers of today like Suzanne, Collins, and such.

We will have to see how the end result turns out. It is an interesting challenge. In my first two books I dealt with inner-city inhabitants, including ' ponies ' who would be rented out by their ' ranchers ' to whomever wanted to take a ride for the night. I managed to do so without offending the sensibilities of several people with strong convictions on the matter. The worst comment I received was from one lady who said I left little to the imagination. She did not condemn any of it as being inappropriate or too explicit. Coming from that lady, it was high praise for how well I had dealt with things. The story I am trying to tell this time have elements that are a tad more challenging, but to a large extent, it should be much easier. If worst comes to worst, I will simply downplay the issue if not eliminating it completely.

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

Sorry if it sounded like I was attacking your authoring abilities... Reading back over the last couple of posts on the subject it seems I may have misunderstood what you were writing about. Just trying to offer some constructive feedback...

Kerrnel,

Not a problem! Based on the subject matter it is obvious that one could easily be sucked into PG-13 or higher ratings. I am glad that you remarked about that possibility. We all need people who are willing to question where we are at, where we are going, and what route we are taking to get there. You were right on target with calling me to task about my posts. Keep up the good work. I need people to hold me to the quality of writing I try to achieve.

This whole discourse reminds me of a story I tell and re-tell all too frequently:

Two guys walk into a bar.
The one goes over to a lady there and says, "Were you aware that your gaze makes time stand still?"
She blushes, he apologizes, they talk, and they leave together.
The second goes over to a lady there and says, "Did you know one look from you is enough to stop a clock?"
She decks the poor fellow and he ends up in the hospital.

Both guys said what amounts to the same thing. However, they got two vastly different responses.
I want to say things in ways that keep me out of trouble. That is why I strive to be more of a wordsmith than merely writer.

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

Likely this will not help anyone at all but I have to share: I once knew a girl name Candace Kane. She went by Candi. You have no idea how much I wish I was joking.

Erin
aproposofnothingblog@gmail.com
http://haveyoumetmyblog.blogspot.com

Candace Kane is one of those strange anomalies of naming that gives us all shivers down our spines. Similar ones are Toppy Smelly ( she was actually in TV commercials at one time ), Lake and Brook Trout ( they are brothers ), &c. These are REAL people with parents who have a warped sense of humor. At one time there was a book out that had hundreds of names like this, of REAL people, that the author had collected personally as a hobby.

I always kind of leaned more toward casual strangeness like Sandra Beech, Sandra Shore, Harrison Chayst, Bud Weiser, &c. And who could forget the Dover family:

Ben Dover - the head of the family
Ilene Dover - his sister
Irene Dover - their asian cousin
Ron Dover - their brother who was hit by a car
Clem Dover - their mountaineering cousin

I will forgo the listing of the interesting names in "Perry Normel Fun With Liu Syd Dreaming". The title is enough to let you know I really went overboard with the character names. I only used a few of the many names I had come up with, but there are those who think the few I used were way too many. The names were strongly indicative of the nature of the characters so named.

There are two people who have posted in the Annual Greetings thread that I hope will not take offense if they happen to read this thread. One is a young lady named Crystal and the other is a young lady named Amber. I highly suspect that their names are NOT indicative of their respective careers.

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

Jasmyn.

Yours,

Jim Garlits
"Will work for kill fees"

Jassmyn. ...ahh ...Yes! ! ! ... JASSMYN ! !

That forms a nice little clique of opportunists. Crystal, Amber, Brandy, Jassmyn, Cheri, Charmaine, and Chastity. Now I just have to write the story for them to have bit parts in.

Speaking of which, I have reached a rather unfortunate conclusion. Either I can write a story about a guy writing a book with little actual text of his book being involved, or I can write the novel that the guy would have written with little if any reference to the writer. BUT, I can't do both.

I find that I am now on the horns of a dilemna. ... Is any one here a dilemna trainer? ... I could sure use some help write now.

BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe

BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe

2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"

Should I take it as a good sign that the bots at NaNo headquarters have me at 7 words more than Word has? Things that make you go hmmm...

Liadona
aka Liadona Rau (SL)

2007 - yeah, epic fail, not even a title
2008 - "NOLA Bound"
2009 - "Her Sister's Gem
"Prince Griffin and the Dark Forest" (a children's book written in 1 day)

I'm a big fan of names with meanings for the Goody Goody characters.

Charity
Hope
Prudence
Faith
Angel
etc...

They're a little much sometimes, but for the right person they work. (Also, I happen to know a Charity who is pure as the driven slush in a city street).

Good luck with finding the perfect name. :)