Where Did All Those Zany Names Come From?
Several beta readers mentioned the difficulty of remembering the unique names in the The New World: A Step Backward. In fact, at one point I considered changing them to something easier in response to the concern. When I told my wife, Bonnie, that I was thinking about coming up with simpler names, a possessed creature suddenly lunged at my throat, claws extended. "You can't change those names! I've fallen in love with them." The truth is, I had too. So, they are what they are.
Honestly, history is evidence of numerous highly successful Sci-Fi books strewn with very peculiar names. Do you remember these: Qui-Gen Jinn, Palpatine, Mace Windu, Boba Fett, or Lando Calrissian? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but they all came from the same story as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo, among many more very peculiar titles. That's the nature of futuristic Sci-Fi fiction. Why would the names of tomorrow be the same as names we use today?
Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret of where I came up with these brain-teaser names. It started with the quirky but beloved fictional champion I added to my financial book that's now on hold. I thought an unusual name would add more flare to a the otherwise boring financial material. But, I wanted something totally unique — a name nobody could google and find.
In my financial manuscript, A Wondrous Journey of Investing, I mentioned investment challenges more dastardly than the worse villains of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games. A light flickered within the empty cavern perched atop my shoulders. "Why not create a name for my champion from a combination of the four heroes/heroines of those stories." Sooooo, I took "Bel," from Bella, "luk" from Luke Skywalker for the first name, then "Kat" from Katness and "arri" from Harry (sort of) for the last. Voila! I had Belluk Katarri, whose name I fell in love with as I expanded on his adventures.
Well, if I was going to develop a new fictional novel expanding on Belluk's family and the townspeople of Ukkiville, then I needed similar names. Since it was going to be hard enough for readers to remember a bizarre first name, let alone a last name, I decided to drop the last name. Alas, I needed a reason for everybody in my novel to have just one name. Hence, the new naming convention for Ukkiville.
I know you must be thinking. "Andy's brain sure is whacked out." I am sure you are right, but that's no different than many of you have known me to be all my life! So why change now!
To show my appreciation for the difficulty some beta readers had in the first Beta Reader phase, I established the "What's in a Name" page available to the reader "before" he/she reads the first chapter. Later, in "The Shrewd Tutor" chapter, I expand on the names further for your convenience.
If you give them a chance, you too might fall in love with the names. Don't fight them — embrace them as friends!
Honestly, history is evidence of numerous highly successful Sci-Fi books strewn with very peculiar names. Do you remember these: Qui-Gen Jinn, Palpatine, Mace Windu, Boba Fett, or Lando Calrissian? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but they all came from the same story as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo, among many more very peculiar titles. That's the nature of futuristic Sci-Fi fiction. Why would the names of tomorrow be the same as names we use today?
Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret of where I came up with these brain-teaser names. It started with the quirky but beloved fictional champion I added to my financial book that's now on hold. I thought an unusual name would add more flare to a the otherwise boring financial material. But, I wanted something totally unique — a name nobody could google and find.
In my financial manuscript, A Wondrous Journey of Investing, I mentioned investment challenges more dastardly than the worse villains of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games. A light flickered within the empty cavern perched atop my shoulders. "Why not create a name for my champion from a combination of the four heroes/heroines of those stories." Sooooo, I took "Bel," from Bella, "luk" from Luke Skywalker for the first name, then "Kat" from Katness and "arri" from Harry (sort of) for the last. Voila! I had Belluk Katarri, whose name I fell in love with as I expanded on his adventures.
Well, if I was going to develop a new fictional novel expanding on Belluk's family and the townspeople of Ukkiville, then I needed similar names. Since it was going to be hard enough for readers to remember a bizarre first name, let alone a last name, I decided to drop the last name. Alas, I needed a reason for everybody in my novel to have just one name. Hence, the new naming convention for Ukkiville.
I know you must be thinking. "Andy's brain sure is whacked out." I am sure you are right, but that's no different than many of you have known me to be all my life! So why change now!
To show my appreciation for the difficulty some beta readers had in the first Beta Reader phase, I established the "What's in a Name" page available to the reader "before" he/she reads the first chapter. Later, in "The Shrewd Tutor" chapter, I expand on the names further for your convenience.
If you give them a chance, you too might fall in love with the names. Don't fight them — embrace them as friends!