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Naming A Villian

7 years ago

I've got several ideas for naming a fiery seductress, I just don't know how to build the character around the name yet. I'd like some opinions on the ideas I have.

  • Morrigan Fae
  • Fianna Fail
  • Azeliah Blue
  • Tracy Maye
  • Kelsey Colcannon
  • Darra Lane
  • Sarah Kate
  • Jesse McClay
  • Naomi Rose

Naming A Villian

7 years ago
I don't understand your question. Do you want people to pick the name they like from the list? Or do you want us to suggest characters around different names on the list?

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Suggest Characters around different names on the list.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago
Ah, okay.

Morrigan Fae - sounds an awful lot like Morgan LeFay (http://www.arthurian-legend.com/morgan-le-fay/).
Fianna Fail - Fail? It gives me the impression of a comedic villain that keeps trying but... yes, fails a lot.
Azeliah Blue - Someone with a complex background. Maybe she has a secret double life but is insane (like Jekyll and Hyde).
Tracy Maye - Sounds like Dick Tracy. A hard-edged villain that does her own dirty work.
Kelsey Colcannon - Cannon? How about a cartoonish villain that actually prefers to kill people with a cannon?
Darra Lane - Another plain Jane with a secret identity. Tries to live a normal life, but has to give in to her urges to kill people with venomous snakes.
Sarah Kate - A nice girl that no one would expect. Doesn't do her own dirty work, in fact doesn't even like to see it done. Maybe she kills by drowning people in taffy at the candy factory.
Jesse McClay - She's evil, she knows she's evil, and she doesn't care who knows it. Strong physically and strong-willed. Likes to get into physical confrontations, especially with weaker people.
Naomi Rose - A devious sort of evil, she likes to pretend she doesn't know what's going on, but she does. She directs the evil and death around her while claiming she is just "cleaning things up around here."

Something like that help?

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Mhm. Morgan LeFay is based off of Morrigan (or The Morrigan) a mythical Irish Character. Colcannon is a kind of casserole (also Irish), and Fianna Fail was (or is) an Irish political group. I happened to come up with the three names while reading a book I got from Barnes & Nobles, and Fianna Fail does sound rather feminine to me (Sorry Steve).

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Fianna Fail is one of Ireland's main political parties.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

I came up with 3 of the names while reading I Never Knew That About Ireland. And actually Steve, What could I replace Fail with? Any ideas (Perhaps Fianna Strauss)?

EDIT: I've narrowed it down to Fianna Strauss and Morrigan Fae.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Well now it's weird, because it's a very Irish first name with a very German second name.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago
Commended by JJJ-thebanisher on 1/19/2017 9:30:44 PM

Quick point: Wouldn't a fiery seductress just - be? Fiery is a temperament, and seductress is a chosen social role, neither of these need to have a name. Frankly, someone born Twinkly Toes could match that description (as per rose by another name rules). Any of the names you've mentioned would be a stage name, such as most actors take. But in that case, wouldn't it be too obvious a ploy, both in your writing and to the reader? You're depriving the reader a chance to form their own opinion about the character of this seductress by calling her Miss I'm-here-to-look-good outright. Make her a seductress through her actions, not her name.

Such be my counsel

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Indeed, but finding a name often helps me develop the perfect person for the role.

Naming a villain

7 years ago
I believe it's the other way around. You find a person and then you name them. It's nice if the name fits the personality, true, but it shouldn't be to clear cut, after all in real life, people can't choose their names, so we can't judge them by what their name means.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

Then again, the first few sound like prostitute psuedonyms, so I think it's safe to assume that she did choose it.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

Yeah xD In a story I'm writing, I STILL haven't came up with a name for my protagonist. ?

Naming a villain

7 years ago

One of many antagonists actually. My protagonist is Benjamin.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

I know; I'm just reinforcing several others' point. Name a character based on personality. But if you work better, well, we can't stop you.?

Naming a villain

7 years ago

I guess you can't :). Many of my methods are/would be considered weird.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

?Don't worry xD I'm starting to stick post-its onto my wall.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

I have an entire universe in my head (not literally). I couldn't get it down on paper enough since like 7th grade. I just wish I had video game design experience.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

Video Game Design is a series of fairly simple concepts and details that make games fun and playable, which you might not notice until people point them out to you. A week or so of research on the internet, knowledge of how storylines work, and some time spent observing a good DM guiding players through a Dungeons and Dragons sesh and you can probably design a fun game if you know what the mechanics are going to be.

Video Game Development, and Video Game Marketting, on the other hand... That's where the clusterfuck shows up. That's when you need a lot of experience, and things get complex and messy.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

Well Development and Marketing would need serious work for me. I've done a few Unity Projects and put them on GameJolt. They can't really be called games though.

Naming a villain

7 years ago

I sometimes work from the end to the beginning when writing a story XD People use different methods when doing things, and it may seem weird to others, but it all depends on what works best for you personally. 

Naming a villain

7 years ago

So true. I'm just tired of being a geek about something no one else can geek out about. Oh wait, wrong reply column, I'm one off...

Naming A Villian

7 years ago
Commended by JJJ-thebanisher on 1/19/2017 9:30:54 PM

Again, work from the ground up. Why is she a fiery seductress? What caused her to be that way: A strong need to stand out? A lack of attention while growing up that's now being compensated for? Innate good looks which were weaponized? Because she liked the color red and went with the persona? Because it was her favorite character growing up?

Whatever the answer is will define her strengths and limitations (which are important to a good villain)

For example:

She grew up in a slum below the bridge. She was the youngest child on the street and often picked on for her thin legs, 'Chickin Legs!' they'd gleefully cry every time they saw her. Soon she would learn to keep her head down, and run home, whenever she could hear them nearby. Small, pained tears would strike the ground in the wake of her steps. None of her siblings had the time nor will to stand up for her, and her mother was too busy running the house alone to care. At the age of 8, in a stroke of fortune her father finally found a well paying job in a coal mine. While the hours were long and he would come home everyday with a raspy cough, he was able to put good food on the table for all five of his children, children whose names he could hardly recall after a night of drinking the pain down.

The years passed, and one day she woke, and found herself no longer fitting her rough clothes. Her legs were long and voluptuous, her almond eyes were beckoning, and she was growing into a beautiful woman on the outside. When she walked out onto the street it was to wolf whistles, not jeers. Countless boys vied for her attention, but she never forgot her childhood, and those long, cold nights crying alone. She never forgave. She brushed them off, one by one, relishing the role of the taunter, and not being the victim. She excelled in education, and kept an active social life. She sought out the noble lords' sons, those vainglorious wretches, and through them tasted the power wealth brought. She was not an ice queen however, and on her weekends she spent time at the orphanage, helping those who had no one else to reach out for. She helped them for herself, in the hope that others would not have to suffer the pain and solitude she once had.

By the way, did you come across a name for the girl in those last two paragraphs? ;)

Figure out WHY she is what she is, the name will come on its own.

Alternate solution: Pick out portrait headshots of characters in existing media that fill this archetype, see if they inspire a name.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Kate Beauregard?

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

You're comically missing the point, write something with the name, and get feedback on that

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Why is this such a big deal? I named an easygoing Mad Inventor and Private Investigator after the obligatory love interest in a Chinese Batman Comic and picked a self-righteous, sandwich-loving assassin's last name out of an alphabetical list of German last names and pulled his first name off some random hearthrob putz from Gray's Anatomy or something. Their names fit well enough, they're characters that I write about all the time.

True, they aren't magical symbolic whatchamajiggies, but Sapphira and her pimp, Rocky didn't exactly grow up to be geologists, now did they? Pick something that's got a ring to it and would mean something to the parents. That's how real names are chosen in real life. Symbolism in names doesn't matter unless you're writing a heavy-handed allegory.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

This may be the most lucid comment I've seen you come up with.. till date

Edit Locking for posterity!

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Which definition? I've been accused of both kinds of lucidness before.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Assuming you and I are looking at the same dictionary, both

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Well, now I'm offended. I can't believe people think my thoughts aren't clear enough. It's shameful! How dare they accuse me of being disorganized! I used to hate Swiftstryker for the exact same reason, but now I find myself in the same position and have no idea how I got in or how to get out. If you catch my meaning, or don't... Which seems to be a running theme here.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Who's Swiftstryker? Haven't seen them around.

Your lucidity of thought usually isn't the problem, pangolins for example are fairly simple creatures to understand. What's mystifying is both what thoughts led to you invoking Pangolins, and why

(Anyways this is getting off topic, back to naming villains!) 

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Swiftstryker was a very Dank fellow/not fellow who used to roam the forums. Nobody ever knew what they hell he/she was thinking, it was impossible to tell. They posted this picture in a discussion about mod controversey or something, and apparently it had a point, but nobody knew what it was.

Well, you see, pangolins start with P. A many-authored story without pangolins is piss. Piss and pangolins start with the same letter. They immediately came to mind.

Joanna Jackman is a good villainess name, but Crystal Meyers is a good porn name. Crystal Jackman or Joanna Meyers should be a reasonable compromise.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

There's no way that you wouldn't understand if I suggested Hugh Mungus

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Tracy Maye sounds like a porn star so that's probably the best bet.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

@StrykerL is insanely on point in this thread. Endeavour, writing your characters after a name is not a good idea. Show, don't tell. Reality is stranger than fiction (Usain Bolt) but that doesn't mean you should be doing this.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Now that I think about it...;-; I can't think of anything for my protagonist. Everything seems wrong. :( I just write "Protag" in my notes. xD

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Everything Naomi!

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

I've actually tried several names on this site. :< Not working. ;-;

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Naomi.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

I often make the protagonist nameless and just goes by nicknames, rank, job or whatever swear words someone is calling him.

This also works for this thread, since the protagonist is often also a villain anyway.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Naomi!

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Stop spamming the forums, please.

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Yeah, I'll go now. 

Sorry 3J

Naming A Villian

7 years ago

Naomi for the win!