World-Building 4: On the Subject of Names

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Names are very important. That isn’t just because you have to pick some that you and the reader aren’t going to mind spending long periods of time with (though of course that’s crucial too). Names tell us something not only about the character or place but the world (or part of it). They can also be a good way of instantly tipping a reader off to the culture of a new character or the atmosphere of a new place.

While it can be useful just to pick names out of the air as you go along so that you can get writing, it’s also good to remember that they’re powerful things. You can always change them later but you’re also likely to get very attached to the names you picked originally after writing with them for a while. If the names you pick are inconsistent (for instance, calling one place Silver Falls and the next town down the road Selenthiloproctotoria), it will snap someone out of thinking this is a world and not something you just put together. Making some basic calls about the style of names, common number of syllables, favoured letter combinations or how they end could really pay off later (and make it easier to find a name for the person you just had to spontaneously create).

For this task, please come up with 5 character names and 5 place names that you think somehow slot together. Try to explain the logic you used in an extra paragraph or two at the end. If you want to give us details about the characters or places these names belong to, feel free.

You’ll earn 20 beans for completing this prompt as well as it counting towards the chance to snag our shiny Quill and Ink award.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.