Where Do the Names Come From?

Where do you get your names? I've been asked this question fairly often. Not so much with my romance or romantic suspense, but with of my science fiction. Every good sci-fi needs aliens. Since it's rather unlikely that the characters will find aliens with the names John, Paul, George or Bob, an author has to get creative.

Sometimes, the names are right there, as in the case of Caprilla Mayeese. It just popped into my head as I was writing. I saw his piercing blue cat eyes, his sleek midnight fur and his name sounded in my mind. The rest of the giant cats, or Fellicians, were easy (though the name of their race gave me fits for a day or two). I wanted somewhat exotic names, but, I hope, not too ridiculously difficult to pronounce. Again, I found their names fairly easily. Ariella, Escascia, Errollic and Cavitus.

Other aliens weren't as easy to name. I had just introduced a sentient, moose-like alien (Vandaran), the Chairman of the Galactic Committee—basically, the president of everything—and had no idea what to call him. I could wing it a little while referring to him as “The Chairman” but that gets cumbersome.

I happened to have my son at his Aikido class and the name of the dojo was on the door. Aikido of Volusia County. One of the dads opened the door as I was writing. I looked up and saw the name backwards on the glass door. “Aisulov,” I thought. “That makes a great character name. And so Chairman Aisulov was baptized.

The name of his scurrilous Vice-Chairman came from my Chevrolet van. Reversing it looked funny, so I changed the order slightly, making her name Telorvech. Her security head, the odious Mabatsuou, also flashed into my mind. They are both characters who gain importance in book 3, The Maker. I really like them, even if their hearts are blacker than the pits of hell.

I introduce some other characters in The Maker, book 3, who come from other planets. One of these is Bankaywan, given to me by a telemarketer, who was calling from Bank One—though with her heavy accent, it sounded like “Ban Kwan”. I'm thinking of changing it, though. It still sounds a bit too much like Bank One. From Bankaywan, I brought in Sta Hyt Mai, though not terribly exotic, it was another name that simply occurred to me when I created her.

For the name of the Mining Guild planet, I resorted to a list of baby names. I found it among the Hawaiian names and it was so perfect, I used it. Aolani means Heavenly Cloud, appropriate for a planet that is mostly crystal blue seas and sandy beaches—a tropical paradise. Other names, like the planet where Matilda was born and raised, Saltulle, came from my imagination. (I just Goggled Saltulle and the first 8 hits I got were related to my books, how cool is that?) 

Sometimes a name won't come to me right away. I have to find one myself because the character doesn't tell me. Usually, these are minor characters, but sometimes they aren't. I chose the name of one of my sci-fi characters, (who is introduced in book 4, The Kahlea) by digging through baby name sites. I had a very specific meaning in my mind. I wanted something about a warrior and I wanted something that would give hope. I chose Duncan Chandler. Duncan means Dark Warrior or Dark Skinned Warrior. Chandler means Candle Maker—in effect, a maker of light. This character is the culmination of all that the characters have fought for and worked toward. He is the unexpected hero. Needless to say, Duncan is a favorite. I never expected him to evolve as he does.

Shakazhan is the name of my distant, mythical planet in the

middle of absolute nowhere. The planet that was once the center of the Timokuan culture, the battleground that was and will be. I wanted something that had an edge to it. Something harsh, alien, impressive. It guess it kind of sounds like someone sneezing, but I like the feel of it. I should also mention Timokuan. I got that idea from Tomoka, which is a fairly common name in this part of Florida. It's supposedly the name of a Native American tribe, but it's more likely that it meant something entirely different and that the Frenchmen who encountered them, misunderstood what they were being told. They were also called Timucua. I fiddled with the spelling a little bit and came up with Timokuan. It is both the singular and plural form of the word.

Kahlea, the ancient evil race, is the same way. It is one Kahlea or dozens. And trust me, you don't want even one anywhere around you. To know them is to loathe them. Actually, to know them is to die. They're short tempered and can kill you with their minds.

Leordovik – honestly couldn't tell you where that name came from. I think it's another one that just sort of evolved. I had actually used the name Lordvik earlier in the novel and I needed something that sounded similar, but wasn't quite the same. I added a couple more vowels and came up with Leordovik.

I find myself rambling somewhat, so I suppose it would be wise to curtail this article. I'm also distracting myself by Goggling Timokuan, Leordovik and Shakazhan. Giving myself a little ego boost in the process. 

I find it fun to talk about my character name choices. Finding the perfect name for a character is challenging and fun. Having just the right meaning or sound is an important facet of a character's personality. A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but I doubt we'd feel quite so enamored of Romeo and Juliet if they'd been named Ogden and Hortense.

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I'm a Contraction Junkie

I'm a contraction junkie. There, I've said it! It's in the open and I can deal with it. Inherently lazy, I like contractions.

I know as an English teacher, contractions are supposed to be frowned upon. Avoiding contractions in formal writing is important. Avoiding them in informal writing makes the work sound awkward and stiff.

What's the difference between informal and formal writing?

Informal writing: novels, poems, friendly letters, texts to friends.

Formal writing: term papers, newspaper articles, speeches, textbooks. In short, anything that isn't a novel, poem, friendly letter or text.

What's the big deal with using contractions in formal writing?

The big deal is IT'S FORMAL. Think of it like the difference between dressing for prom or dressing for a casual party. You're not going to wear ratty jeans and a T-shirt to prom. (At least I hope not!) Nor are you going to wear a tux to a casual party.

In formal writing, the author does not directly address his/ her audience. There is a degree of separation not found in informal writing. One avoids the use of I in formal writing, as well as avoidance of the pronoun you. It is impersonal and usually non-fiction.

Contractions are strictly forbidden in formal writing—anathema, the plague. An pox on contractions!

Informal writing is more about engaging the reader, involving him/ her in the story, poem, letter or text. It's a very personal involvement, using I and you freely. There is no degree of separation as the goal is to bring the reader into the writing/ reading experience.

Contractions give a casual aspect. They're relaxed, laid back, cool. People think and speak in contractions. Avoiding their use in dialogue makes it sound really weird. (Example, Lt. Commander Data in Star Trek the Next Generation) Listen to conversations and you'll immediately understand what I mean. I very much doubt you'll hear strict adherence to formal literary conventions in the grocery store or at your favorite restaurant.

Meanwhile, embrace contractions, making friends with them. They're fun! Contractions are our friends. Play with them, you'll see what I mean. Leave those stuffy old nouns and verbs behind. Hoorah for contractions!

© Dellani Oakes

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What Makes a Sentence a Run-On?

We've already spoken of fragments. The next offender is the run-on sentence. These are the sentences that don't quit. The author, apparently, had no idea how to contain these suckers and kept adding onto them, rather than curtailing the culprits and putting a leash on them, she kept adding commas and conjunctions until the sentence was, surprisingly, a paragraph long. That, my friends, is a run-on

Run-on sentences come in a variety of guises. Above, my sentence is pretty obviously a run-on. What makes a run-on sentence? It is characterized by having more than one subject and verb pair. Though compound sentences are acceptable, run-ons should be corrected.

Let's look at my sample sentence again:

The author, apparently, had no idea how to contain these suckers and kept adding onto them, rather than curtailing the culprits and putting a leash on them, she kept adding commas and conjunctions until the sentence was, surprisingly, a paragraph long.

You probably can't see the commas I've highlighted, but they are problematic just as the conjunctions are. Run-ons are often easier to fix than fragments. As you're dealing with a bunch of sentences, you whack them apart, add periods and you're done.

The author, apparently, had no idea how to contain these suckers. She kept adding onto them. She didn't curtail the culprits and put a leash on them. She kept adding commas and conjunctions until the sentence was, surprisingly, a paragraph long.

The final sentence is a bit long, but it's not a run-on like the rest.

To test for run-ons in your writing. Read it aloud. Do you have time to stop and take a breath? If not, it's probably a run-on.

There are different types of run-on sentences. Wikipedia and other internet sites can give you a full-on grammatical explanation for them. The explanations are so confusing, even I, an English teacher, have trouble with them. There's a time for technical and a time for simple. I like simple.

If a sentence has two subject and verb pairs, it might be a run-on. Look carefully. If it has a proper conjunction (see link below for common conjunctions) it is probably a compound sentence. However, if you see three or more subject & verb pairs, you've got a run-on.

Let's examine our sample sentence again. See if you can find the subject and verb pairs. Keep in mind, the subject and verb won't always be right next to each other. Also, given the way it's written, the subject may be implied.

The author, apparently, had no idea how to contain these suckers and kept adding onto them, rather than curtailing the culprits and putting a leash on them, she kept adding commas and conjunctions until the sentence was, surprisingly, a paragraph long.

Find them?

The author, apparently, had no idea how to contain these suckers and (She) kept adding onto them, rather than curtailing the culprits and putting a leash on them, she kept adding commas and conjunctions until the sentence was, surprisingly, a paragraph long.

Did you find them all? Did I miss any? I could have, it's been a long time since I did this. Even if you don't see all of your pairs right away, recognizing that the sentence goes on too long, is a useful skill. Read your work aloud as part of your editing process. It's amazing what you catch when you do that. Your mind processes the information differently and errors you'd miss just reading through, hop out at you when you hear them.

Also keep in mind—just because a sentence is long, that doesn't mean it's a run-on. A prime example is in the prior paragraph. Can you spot it? It's a long one and seems like it might be a run-on.

Give up?

Even if you don't see all of your pairs right away, recognizing that the sentence goes on too long, is a useful skill.

No one is saying you must write in short, choppy sentences. That can provide its own set of unique problems that I won't go into here. Instead, I'm suggesting that you keep an eye on your writing. Watch for run-ons and fragments so you can make your work the best it can be.

© Dellani Oakes

For a list of common conjunctions

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Fragmented Thoughts

Most people don't know a sentence fragment if it comes up and bites them in the face. What makes a fragment? To explain that, I need to explain what a sentence is.

A sentence is a complete thought expressed with a Subject (someone who does something) and a Verb (the action the subject takes)

I sit.

You run.

He eats.

Though short, these are complete thoughts. They are sentences. Fragments are hard to spot. They may seem to express a full thought, but some element is missing. Fragments aren't necessarily short. What classifies them as a fragment is that they are missing one of the key elements – subject or verb.

I see these posts on Facebook a lot— “That moment when I realize I've just written a fragment.”

On the surface, this looks like a sentence, but it's not.

This is my sentence:

I realize I've just written a fragment.

This is what makes it a fragment:

That moment when

This is a dependent clause. They're sneaky buggers that attach themselves to sentences and make them look like they are legitimate compound sentences (where you take 2 sentences & combine them) Dependent clauses have to be correctly attached in order to make a proper sentence.

That moment when isn't a complete thought. It could go anywhere. There are too many variables here. That's what a fragment is – an incomplete thought, a dependent clause with too many variables. It needs a subject and verb.

“But wait!” you say. “I see a subject and verb right there I realize I've just written a fragment. That's all kinds of verbs and I is obviously the subject. Why is it wrong?”

It's wrong because That moment when can't make sense on its own. Rather than adding to the sentence like a compound would, it attaches itself and makes a fragment of the whole business.

To correct a fragment, you need to add a subject or verb to the broken half. In the case of our sample fragment, the cure is simple.

It is that moment when I realize I've just written a fragment.

Or This is that moment when I realize I've just written a fragment.

Now, we have a properly crafted sentence. It is that moment is a complete thought. True, it's not a very expressive sentence on its own, which is why we add it to the second have using when to connect them.

This is that moment when I realize I've just written a correct sentence.

Fragments aren't always easy to spot. If you're not sure about whether something is a fragment or not, do this simple test. Divide the sentence at the joining word (conjunction). If the two halves can stand on their own, present a complete thought and have a subject and verb, you have a sentence. If they can't stand alone, you have a fragment. Look for alternative ways to word the sentence so it's no longer a fragment. Often, the solution is a simple one.

© Dellani Oakes

For a list of common conjunctions

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What's a Part of Speech?

Q: What's a part of speech?

A: It's a word.

Q: Are all words parts of speech?

A: Yes.

Q: Are all words the same part of speech?

A: I'm glad you asked that question. No.

Words are words are words. Their functions vary. There are 8 common parts of speech – nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.

It's important to know parts of speech. These are the pieces of the puzzle. The way they are combined creates the full picture. Unless an author knows how to combine these pieces properly, the finished picture will be a chaotic mess. You can't analyze your own work or understand a critique if you don't know what the parts are and how to put them together.

Below, I've given a simple definition of each part of speech with links to a site that not only goes into more explanation, it has exercises and teaching tools. I wish I'd had a page like this available to me when I was teaching. Life would have been much simpler.

Even if we teach this to kids in school, few of them retain the knowledge we try so hard to impart. I didn't really learn all this business until I was teaching and had to share it with a bunch of bored ninth and eleventh graders.

Noun – A noun is a person, place, thing or idea. A noun is a something. There are two types of nouns – common and proper.

A common noun is a general category. Hats, cats, bats, dishes, wishes, hands, feet. You name it, it's a noun.

A proper noun is someone's name. It is also the title of a book, poem, play, TV show, piece of music, work of art or movie. The Da Vinci Code, The Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci, these are all proper nouns.

Pronoun – A pronoun is used instead of a noun: I, you, he, she, it, we, them. There are others, these are merely examples. For a complete list of pronouns.

Adjective – An adjective is a word that is used to describe a noun. Pretty girl. Red wig. Happy dance. This site has a wonderful list of adjectives and how they are used.

Verb – A verb is an action, occurrence or state of being: I kick. It happens. You are. 
Verbs are our workers. These are the guys with something to do or say. For more on verbs.

Adverb – An adverb is a word that is used to describe a verb. Kicked hard. Ran quickly. Sang sweetly. Adverbs are often characterized by the –ly ending. For more on adverbs.

Prepositions – These are words used before a noun, often to show relationship between words. For a list of common prepositions.

Conjunction – Conjunctions are joining words. They are used to combine phrases and clauses to make sentences. For a list of common conjunctions.

Interjection – And interjection is a word that is added for emphasis, before the sentence. For a list of common interjections.

Dellani Oakes is an author with Tirgearr Publishing and Publishing Syndicate. Her books can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

© Dellani Oakes

The Befuddled Apostrophe

Before I became a writer, I was an English teacher. I taught Advanced Placement (A.P.) English to ninth and eleventh graders. I did my best to hone their writing skills and teach them about literature, but the reality of it was that they retained very little of what I taught.

Let's be honest, most people ignore good grammar, not caring how they express themselves—especially now. These are dark days for the English language. Regardless of what teachers try to convey in school, on TV, in movies and at home, children hear people expressing themselves poorly. A well turned phrase is meaningless. If it's not typed in 140 characters or less, they won't read it. Something that takes more than 30 seconds to read, holds no interest. Don't get me started on texting.

Good spelling? It's gone by the way, as evidenced by the complete misunderstanding of how to use an apostrophe. I want to shake people until their teeth rattle. I understand the occasional typo, but consistently making such a simple minded error drives me crazy.

Despite the posts littering Facebook, folks don't know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE. The first shows possession—you own it is is YOUR home, car, boat, hairbrush. The second is a contraction of YOU ARE.

Mixing up THEIR and THERE is another mistake I can't understand. The first spelling shows possession—this is THEIR home, car, boat, hairbrush. The second usage is location. Let's go THERE this Saturday. Set the plants over THERE. This becomes even more problematic when we add an S.

THEIRS – Still showing possession. That house is THEIRS. (no apostrophe needed)

THERE'S – This is another contraction. A contraction is where lazy people (like me) combine two words to make one. In this case, a noun IS and an adverb THERE. Since we are leaving out the I from IS, the apostrophe takes its spot, making THERE'S.

Another offender—ITS and IT'S. I see the confusion on this one, truly I do. So often, an apostrophe is used to show possession: Dellani's pen, Joe's car keys, Mike's phone. Those are all nouns.

IT isn't a noun, IT is a pronoun (something we use instead of a noun). Therefore, we don't use a possessive, we add an S.

One may point to IT'S and protest “But, Dellani, there is an apostrophe there! Surely that means IT'S is a possessive pronoun!”

No, dear. IT'S is a contraction, short for IT IS.

I think that's enough today. Even my mind is boggling and I know this stuff. I leave you with this helpful reminder of how to use these words:

YOU'RE going to YOUR house to get THEIR things that they left THERE. IT'S dark when you arrive at ITS location, but THERE'S a light on. You collect everything of THEIRS and take them home.

© Dellani Oakes

Keeping Organized

Honestly, I'm probably the last person to tell anyone how to organize their writing life. However, I have come up with a few tricks to make it look like I'm more organized than I really am.


Since I'm a project hopper, (I move from one story to another rapidly & at random), I have to keep track of characters, time line, chapters, etc. I keep 3 small notebooks on my desk for this purpose. One has finished projects, the second has unfinished projects & the third has notes & miscellaneous other stuff I need to put my hands on quickly.


For detailed information about  my characters, I have an index card file. On these cards, I list a variety of information. (Example below)
Front


Name:                                                                Parents' Names:
Book:                                                                  
Boyfriend or girlfriend name (or spouse)     Siblings: (If any)
Children: (If any)
Family: This is like cousins, aunts, uncles.   Age:
                                                                            Coloring: (Major importance!)
Actor/ Actress they look like                          Series: (Since I have more than 1, also important)        


Back


Employer/ Job Title
Friends & Co-Workers
Also In: (For any other books they are in. Since I use mains as secondary characters in other books, this is also quite important.)


You'll notice that on the front I have an actor or actress name. This helps me hear a voice, see movement, gauge speech patterns, gestures, etc. Sometimes this will change as a novel progresses, but generally I keep to the same person. 


Everyone will have different bits of information that are important to them, so the contents of the cards can be personalized. I'm simply listing what I consider important. Please let me know if you find this tip helpful and feel free to share your tips here.


copyright 2011 Dellani Oakes

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