Questions tagged [naming]
Questions about creating and using names. Note that questions asking people to come up with names for you are off-topic.
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Character is called by their initials. Do I spell it out?
I have a character who is referred to by another character by their initials TP, do I spell it out (teepee/tepee/tipi) or just use the initials TP. It is supposed to add humour and show their fun ...
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Should non-English organizations/ministries/governments (as authors) be translated into English in APA 7th edition citations?
Should I translate the name of my country's government/ministry into English for references and in-text citations in a publication using APA 7th edition guidelines? My paper is in English, and I'm ...
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Can I use a song lyric as the title of my theatre production?
I'm starting a theatre company and one of the ideas I have thought of for a production is an ongoing series of monologue/scratch evenings. I want to have the premise of each night to latch onto the ...
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First name or last name(s) in a biography?
I'm deep into a biography of a well-known person. He was born with a last name, took his mother's last name following her divorce, took his stepfather's last name following her remarriage, then took ...
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Should I change my character's name if it's a variation of mine?
I'm trying to name a character, and I found one that fits him perfectly. It makes sense for the setting, it supports the theme and his character arc, and it supports his parents' characters (mainly ...
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How to refer to different versions of a character?
In my historical spy thriller, there are five different characters named Miku that our protagonist has to fight. So initially, they're refered to as Idol Miku, Vampire Miku, etc. etc. etc. But then ...
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If a character has multiple names, how can my narrator refer to them?
I'm writing a story about a spy. The narrator is third person omniscient. However, our spy has multiple names.
Her fellow spies refer to her as "Spy 94" but her real name is "Kafu"....
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In historical fiction, should the narrator call the characters by their last names or by the nicknames used by other characters?
I'm writing a historical fiction. For context, it's about Robert Oppenheimer and how he swapped lives with a modern-day kindergarten teacher.
Here's a little piece of dialogue between him and his ...
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Is it okay if I use a historical figure's name for a work of fiction completely unrelated to history?
I was planning at some point to write a mystery fiction unrelated to history. I was inspired by writers who used literary figures as a name for their characters, yet the plot was completely unrelated ...
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What are the rules for using mythological names in characters?
Are there any of such rules applicable to this case? For instance, if a story has various character groups, should all characters from one group be named after gods from a single mythology?
user60583
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What if the narrator forgets the names of the characters?
My writing project involves flashbacks and explanations that may already be hard to follow to the reader. But the most important point in it, is that in the end, no one remembers what ever happened. ...
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How can I know if my character name is already taken? If it is, can I use the same name?
I am creating an action/adventure comic strip in the vein of Indiana Jones. Currently the character’s name is Panda Jack. The strip will have a title like “Panda Jack and the… fill-in-the-blank”. I am ...
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How to tell whether a character name is "too difficult" for the reader?
In my story are non-human characters who naturally have their own languages and set of personal names. I have no problem devising interesting names like "Saþil Duqhuãn" (pronounced /sə.θil ...
user57188
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Is it okay to use words from other languages as names?
I am writing a book that I planned out as a kid; I've completely changed it around so that only the characters have stayed the same. I love them a lot and I love the names I gave them back then, ...
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In dramatic dialogue, would it be okay NOT to drop the definite article from a character's name?
The tradition of dropping the definite article in dramatic dialogue seems to go back to William Shakespeare's days and beyond. Thus, in Romeo and Juliet (to pick a play at random), the Apothecary is ...
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