''I try to get the right people assembled, give them right-sounding names and then I'm off and running. The characters have to interact. Sometimes, when there's a confrontation, I don't know which way it's going to turn out -- which character is going to come out of the house alive. Eventually, the character has to tell me." --Elmore Leonard

 

So what's in a name? How do you choose the right name and traits appropriate for your time period and setting?  Do you whip them out of thin air or have a favorite web site or book you visit when getting everyone assembled?  Because like the quote said they have to have "right-sounding names" before you can get off and running. 

 

Here are a few web sites for naming characters and finding the right character traits:

 

http://www.jobev.com/regname.html

Regency names

 

http://www.jobev.com/webnames.html

Medieval names

 

http://www.babynamer.com/

Baby namer.  Find the best name for your baby.

 

http://www.gurusoftware.com/gurunet/personal/factors.htm

Traits of Human Consciousness

 

http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/web/2000/kochan/charactertraits.html

Scroll through the list of character traits.  If you need to read the definition, just click on the word to link to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 

 

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/writing/resource/2669.html

A lengthy list of character traits to help students understand and discuss literary characters.

 

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/writing/resource/2669.html

A lengthy list of character traits to help students understand and discuss literary characters.

 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/572719/the_name_generator_for_writers_list.html?cat=15

The Name Generator for Writers List - Serious and Funny Random Name Generators from Fantasy, WOW, & DND to Celebrity Babies and More

 

 

Today is Toasted Marshmallow Day. What does that have to do with Regency England? Probably nothing...but I did begin to wonder about the marshmallow itself.  Who thought up this candied concoction that my husband and granddaughter love so much?  Wondering minds want to know.  I had to find out.

Did you know the marshmallow first came into being as a medicinal substance?  Extracts from the root of the marsh mallow plant were praised as a soothing remedy for sore throats.  Other parts of the plant were prepared for additional medical uses as well.

The ancient Egyptians used the marshmallow to make candy.  The recipe called for the sap of the marsh mallow plant, nuts and honey.  Then early 19th century France candy makers whipped the sap and sweetened it to make a confection very similar to today's marshmallow, however, it was very labor intensive.  By the late 19th century, they had changed the recipe adding eggs and gelatin, which then required a more industrial method of production.  And the modern marshmallow was on it's was to being born!

There is lots of great information out there, if you want to know more.

 

A friend of mine & I were talking the other day about our deepest fears.  Hers…snakes.  Her fear is so deep, she makes a thorough check of her bedroom every night for the slithery foes.  She checks under her bed, in her closets—everywhere a snake could hide. She and her sister used to tease each other when they were small that the thing they feared the most was how they would die.  Her sister was most afraid of knives.

 

Of course while we were talking, it brought back one of my childhood fears.  (When I tell people this it usually brings them to tearful laughter.)  I clearly remember every night opening my closet door and searching under my bed because I knew the thing I feared most was hiding there waiting for the lights to go out so they could pop out and get me.  Don’t laugh now this is the serious fear of a young girl...Cowboys and Indians.  That’s right, I just knew there were Cowboys and Indians hiding under my bed waiting to jump out and get me.  There were many nights when I was terrified to go to sleep (although the closet and bed had been checked) overactive imagination I guess.  Don’t ask me when I finally outgrew this silly fear or why it even began in the first place, but at the time it was very real.  Now, like I said, it brings people to tearful laughter.  But remember when creating your characters, these are the type of idiosyncrasies that can make them seem so real. 

 

 

 

 

Jane Austen's World has a very informative blog about privies and water closets during the Regency.  If you have ever wondered you should pop over there and take a peep. 

 

 

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/privies-and-water-closets-by-david-j-eveleigh-a-review/

 

feud1 (fy›d) n. 1. A bitter, often prolonged quarrel or state of enmity, especially such a state of hostilities between two families or clans.

 

 

Admit it—the word alone can bring a delightful rush of warm tingles.  We love watching enormous egos clash and two people ripping each other to shreds.  Although some of us like to deny it, it is human nature.

 

Often feuds are the centerpiece that shapes our plots.  The opposition between our characters is what motivates them into action.  Our fiction wouldn’t be the same without feuding friends, clans or lovers.

 

Feuds have been ongoing for centuries. The history books are littered with stories.  And most of the brawls were fought literally to the death.  They’re a much better read than any contemporary tabloid.  But during the American Revolutionary period, a new nation was being forged and it was definitely not a time for the faint-hearted.

 

Take Burr vs. Hamilton for instance.  What drove these two men to meet on the New Jersey shores early on the morning of July 11, 1804 and draw pistols upon each other?

 

It all began in 1791. Alexander Hamilton’s father-in-law, General Schuyler, was ousted from the post of New York senator.  The position was then offered to Aaron Burr.  Hamilton thought Burr had staged the coup and he never forgave him.  There had long been an unspoken hostility between the two men.  However, after this instance, whatever enmity they shared broke into open warfare.

 

Then in 1793—Burr’s senatorial career was lackluster.  Hated by Hamilton, Hamilton enlisted all manner of unlikely allies.  Hamilton soared and Burr suffered a jolting setback.

 

1794—Burr’s wife died, shaking him to the marrow.  He drew closer to his daughter (same name as his wife) and became a horrible philanderer.  Hamilton reached the pinnacle of his power and influence.

 

1795—mounting debts forced Hamilton to resign from the Treasury Dept. and resume his law practice.  The power he so carefully pursued, waned.

 

1796—Hamilton’s influence declined, while Burr made the transition from local to national figure.

 

1797—Allegations were made against Hamilton that while he was treasury secretary (summer of 1791) he had colluded with a financial schemer in a string of highly dubious business ventures.  Hamilton denied all claims as false.  In fact, he claimed his real crime was an amorous affair with the man’s wife—with his connivance—brought on by a combination between the husband and wife with the design to extort money from him. 

 

Hamilton paid the man $1,000 to keep the affair quiet.  After much reflection on the matter, he believed he had fallen victim to a trap laid by the abominable Aaron Burr.  Discretion demanded that he not broadcast his suspicion on the matter, so for years he kept his shameful secret buried within.  Hamilton’s quick admission to adultery, but not to professional misconduct allowed him to emerge from the unsavory episode with his reputation in tact.

 

1799—Burr’s financial dealings also came under the microscope.  Burr challenged a businessman with whom he had dealings to a duel.  The two men met on the NJ side of the Hudson on the morning of September 2.  Shots were fired, but the ball from Burr’s opponent's pistol only passed through Burr’s sleeve.  No harm, no foul and honor was duly settled. 

 

1800—Burr tied Jefferson for President.  The decision of the next president now lay in the hands of the House of Representatives.  Alexander Hamilton organized cabals, whispered in ears, wrote scorching letters, anything to destroy his nemesis.  After many votes, Jefferson was voted the third President.  Burr automatically assumed the rank of VP.

 

He came within a hair-breadth of attaining full power only to have it snatched away by one man—by his tormentor—Alexander Hamilton.  Nothing could stop them from their course now.

 

1804—July 11, Weehawken, New Jersey side of the Hudson. Both parties took aim & fired in succession, the intervening time is not expressed, as the seconds do not precisely agree on that point.  The pistols discharged within a few seconds of each other and General Hamilton almost instantly fell.

 

Colonel Burr then advanced toward General Hamilton with a manner and gesture that appeared to General Hamilton’s friend to be expressive of regret, but without speaking turned about and withdrew . . .

 

Aaron Burr outlived Hamilton by 32 years.

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage -- as long as you edit brilliantly." --_{C. J. Cherryh}

 

I'm entering another contest.  My story, No Place For Love, will be entered into the Maryland Romance Writers:  2010 Reveal Your Inner Vixen Contest, Historical category.  And I hope to get Winds of Betrayal ready for the Northwest Houston Writers: Lone Star Writing Contest by the first of next week if time permits.  Hopefully one (or both ) can place again--wish me luck!

"Writing is work, but it's also a compulsion, and once you get your characters on paper, you can't abandon them. You have to respond to them." --_{Rosamunde Pilcher}

 

 

 

 

When do you give up on a book?  How do you know when your plot is not working, or your characters are just flat?  That your current project is going nowhere?  After the first chapter?  The first 100 pages?  Your first critique?  When do you say enough is enough, lay down your pen and shove your masterpiece into a drawer never to see the light of day again?  Or do you?  Do you keep on keeping on regardless of that nagging feeling in your gut telling you this book your toiling over is unpublishable?

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