Fanfiction Lounge

[Bay]

Tv Tropes is like the devil. It owns your soul once you enter the deal. The end. :D

 

[Miz en Scène]

At times the FFL is slow and at times it's fast and the posts just keep accumulating.
[/Random Thought of the Day]

That webcomic is simply great. Not only it does math and romance (weird and fun combination), it has a very particular cast, such as the BlackHat Guy and the WhiteBeret Guy. If they appear in a panel mayhem and hilarity ensue.

It also has very beautiful and... um... strange moments:

(URL: http://xkcd.org/618/)

...not to think about the woodpecker!

This one of them I didn't really understand. I did get the Little Prince inside joke though.
Also, I love the woodpecker one. The Black Hat guy and the White Beret Guy(that most people refer to as the existentialist, or at least wikipedia does) are one of my favourite recurring characters. I'm particularly fond of the Journal and Secretary Arcs because they both feature the Black Hat Guy.

Black Hat Guy the ultimate sadist/jerkass.

To any of you who clicked the link:

Spoiler:

Also, one of my personal favourites. :D

And, to answer my question:

How do you name your characters? Do you randomly name them or do you want their names to be meaningful (in a way), ominous or show off their personality? Also, where do you get their names from if any?
I prefer meaningful names. When i get around to revealing my protagonists name in TCNG I'll tell it. But for now, people whose names have been revealed.
Ostile: Is Spanish/Italian for Hostile.

 

[Misheard Whisper]

Hostile in Spanish is 'hostil', ackchewerry. *has a Spanish dictionary*

 

[Citrinin]

At least according to Wiktionary, Mizan was right on the Italian front. :3

 

[Miz en Scène]

Hostile in Spanish is 'hostil', ackchewerry. *has a Spanish dictionary*

Then it was Italian. *Head desks*

Checked Babelfish btw.

 

[Misheard Whisper]

I wouldn't know. I don't have an Italian dictionary. =P I do actually take Spanish at school, in case anyone was wondering.

EXTENSION: Do you use foreign names in your fics?

 

[Feign]

EXTENSION: Do you use foreign names in your fics?

Well I use an extinct language: Latin.

But I already mentioned that. XD So:

 

[Citrinin]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?
Yes. Although as the society of my fic is quite "conform or perish", the foreign names I use are generally used for those that grew up in rural/distant communities.

Also on this issue...

Spoiler:

I wish I was far enough in the fic for it not to be a spoiler. D:

 

[Bay]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?
For NE, no because I'm more familiar with the American culture, so I go with how the American versions of the Pokemon games and anime does things. XD; Also, it would be weird if I have Japanese and American names mixed in the story (unless I have a character be a tourist, someone studying aboard, etc.).

I actually have an Italian dictionary, but now I can't find it. D:

 

[Miz en Scène]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?
Yes. Mostly, Japanese, French, Italian, and Arabic names.

 

[Haz]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

Sometimes, depends on the charecter. When I stuck for a name, I sometimes Google names and find foreign ones. But I tend to stick to Austrlian names. I've recently learned that even the simplest names can be used for someting: EXAMPLE.

All I can say is that I don't want to get on her bad side. XD

 

[Swift!]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

Yes. Both for characters and locations. Mostly Japanese, but anything as long as it sounds good and fits the person or place.

 

[Giratina ♀]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

Sure, if I can pronounce it and the meaning makes some sort of sense. Though if BTN doesn't say it's an actual name, I won't use it unless the character is in some sort of tribe - human or otherwise - who have strange names (an example of this would be Cantre the Aerodactyl, from a PMD fic I'm writing).

...I really need to get around to posting that fic here.

 

[An-chan]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

Yeah. First of all, from my point of view, English names are foreign. If I would choose to use Finnish names for my characters, they would be very odd and most likely have some impossible pronounciation for my readers. (For example, none of the native English-speakers I've spoken it can pronounce my first name, not to mention my surname.) So, I often choose to use completely made-up names (like Cimi Meiga), English names (like Jack Killigan), or just names from various parts of the world (like Adan, which is actually a Spanish name).

The other reason for me using foreign names is the region my stories happen in. Almost all of my fics take place in the made-up region of Voitto, which is essentially a melting pot of different nationalities. It's an island not too far from the game regions, but far enough to have been found several hundreds of years later. In Voitto, I have families that originate from different nationalities: the famous researcher Jushiro Itaka and his daughter Mari, a doctor/researcher of French origin by the name of Jaques LeBlanc, a rich family of Englishmen with the surname Ackland, and the "almost native" family of Meiga, who have bred Pokémon on the mountains of Voitto for over a century now.

And so on. In case you didn't guess, I really like planning my region and making up folktales and stuff that go with their folklore. The mountains also hide some relatively huge secrets, but I should really get to writing Secret People before I start spilling the plot all over the place.

 

[Astinus]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?
Depends on what you mean by "foreign".

See, I use foreign names in my fics that would be considered foreign to American readers because the names are either Irish or Japanese. But I can't use American/English names because the culture of the world/country that the characters are in is either Irish or Japanese.

So, yes I use foreign names because I don't want to look like a maroon who doesn't do research.

 

[Bay]

I don't think you should just use foreign names to make it that you did research. You have to consider the culture also. Like you said Astinus, you're using Irish and Japanese names because those are the cultures the characters are in. Sometimes also depends what culture the writer lives in and knows best. I usually only go with American culture since I lived in that culture and know it most. Also, some might think I'm crazy, but sometimes I'm glad the games and anime are Americanized as I use both canons and I don't have to worry if I butchered another culture. It's not that I'm narrow minded or anything. I do study other cultures through school, watching documentaries, reading books, etc., but am afraid I will mess it up if I were to write it, like whenever I'm going to use a canon character. I can understand though it's annoying that the culture a writer presents is American but the character's names are Japanese just because those names are superior than English names.

As for what the original poster means by "foreign," like Aurincha and you, depends on POV. Someone in Finland will think English names are foreign while someone in the US will think Finland names are foreign, for instance.

If I miss the sarcasm or whatever,then sorry in advance. ^^; Long day, heh.

 

[Sydian]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

I plan on it. Ciaran isn't a name I see around here...however, I'm not sure where it's from. I just saw it while going through the compilations on my iPod.

I thought of this topic in English today. Not much on fan fiction, but more on where most people learn grammar and such.

Have you actually learned good writing skills in your current (or latest, if you're done with school or haven't restarted yet) English class? What's the stupidest/worst/least helpful thing you've learned in any English class?

We haven't done any writing, but in preparing us for the ACT, my new English teacher has taught us a lot of things about writing. There's this method (we haven't worked on it much yet, though) that helps revise writing, so I plan on implementing that into proofreading next time I type up a chapter/story. As for the worst thing I've ever learned, it's going to be the Shirley Method.

A sentence sentence sentence sentence
Is complete complete complete
With five simple rules
It meets meets meets
It has a subject subject subject
And a verb verb verb
It makes sense sense sense
With every word word word

 

[Astinus]

What I meant by my last line was that a lot of newer authors use, for example, a Japanese name in a canon that uses more American names. Like "Hikari Tenshi Desu-chan!" when everyone else is named "Bob" or... "Bill". Or they just give everyone the names that make sense in their culture when the story takes place in an entirely different culture.

As a personal example, I had characters who lived in Japan, but yet had American names. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to have Japanese characters with American names, so I did some searching and gave the characters names to fit the culture. (Now only one has an American name, but his mom's mean like that.)

Really, it's just making sure that the names fit the culture you're writing in. So there is some research involved if you're writing in a different culture than the one you're used to (like Japanese culture for me).

Which is why the Pokemon world is a bit easier to write in because it can be whatever culture you want to, personally. My take on the Pokemon world is Irish-based, yours is American-based, and another person sees it as Japanese-based. And each one really isn't wrong, because the Pokemon world really has it's own unexplored culture.

(Even though I know that it came from Japan, so it should be Japanese-based in the culture, but y'know, it really does have its own culture when you look at some aspects of it.)

In summary, all I'm saying is: No one's completely right. No one's completely wrong. We all have our own way of doing things, and that makes the world go around in semi-harmony.

As you can tell by the rambling, I'm tired too. :(

 

[Feign]

Do you use foreign names in your fics?

I plan on it. Ciaran isn't a name I see around here...however, I'm not sure where it's from. I just saw it while going through the compilations on my iPod.

I thought of this topic in English today. Not much on fan fiction, but more on where most people learn grammar and such.

Have you actually learned good writing skills in your current (or latest, if you're done with school or haven't restarted yet) English class? What's the stupidest/worst/least helpful thing you've learned in any English class?

We haven't done any writing, but in preparing us for the ACT, my new English teacher has taught us a lot of things about writing. There's this method (we haven't worked on it much yet, though) that helps revise writing, so I plan on implementing that into proofreading next time I type up a chapter/story. As for the worst thing I've ever learned, it's going to be the Shirley Method.

A sentence sentence sentence sentence
Is complete complete complete
With five simple rules
It meets meets meets
It has a subject subject subject
And a verb verb verb
It makes sense sense sense
With every word word word

Another good way to revise work, is reading your work out loud. It really does help. Not just in your head, but out loud.

 

[Sydian]

Another good way to revise work, is reading your work out loud. It really does help. Not just in your head, but out loud.

I've done that before, too. It really helps you hear how your phrases sound...and believe me, I've seen a lot of people who should have read theirs aloud. Oh em gee.