Names
It may not be possible to win when it comes to names. I just (as in “last week”) found out that Rhys is pronounced Reese.
This broke both Torchwood and the Deryni series, for opposite reasons. With Torchwood being TV, I only heard the name “Reese” and assumed the spelling. With Deryni being print, I only read the name “Rhys” and assumed the pronunciation (“rise”). I was wrong in both cases, but the latter is far more annoying because I’ve been wrong for 45 years.
About halfway through the Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series the main character, Ishmael Wang, gets annoyed at someone for calling him “wang” not “wong”. I assume that’s a real thing.
I have very little patience with the Romance languages pronouncing the same letters differently (the American “i” vs the European “i” being a big one), but I do understand: They all use the same alphabet and sound vs writing drifts over time. “Sibohen” being “Chyvonne” is annoying. “Wang” being “Wong” is just plain wrong. The original is some Chinese character. “Sharing an alphabet” is no excuse. Transliteration should be written such that the correct pronunciation “just happens”. Same thing with “Nygin” and “win”, or “wynn” if you want it to look more name-like.
Generally speaking, I don’t read out loud so I don’t care how character names are pronounced. Before the Lord of the Rings movies, I tended to read “Argon” whenever Tolkien wrote “Aragon”. The bane of this reading approach is two characters with very similar names. Louis and Louise should not appear in the same book, let alone chapter, although sex does help there.
My goal: Super boring names – but “boring” is based on familiarity. Hence why I started with “you cannot win” – not everyone has the same set of familiar things. Since my story starts in the Midwest, familiar Midwestern names are easy. Once it gets going and the multiverse is revealed, things will get more complicated. I purposefully threw a “Wang” into the first chapter. He’s not going to reappear for a while (several books, probably). He is going to remain “wang” in my head.
So far: Tom and Luke (our intrepid werewolves), Pete and Eileen (sort of a Green Acres couple), and Brian, Stacey, and Marcy (former military, nurse, daughter).
Next up: I need four teenage boys. They’re decent kids doing something and get werewolf-ed. I’m going to totally steal the “on the high school football team together” backstory from Fire from the Sky. They’re probably getting the crap beat out of themselves trying to fight a monster and they’re rescued. Brian, who is probably not yet a werewolf, can help whip them into shape. On the spot decision: Jake, Dan, Rick, and Sean (foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds).
BTW: I didn’t missing number VI. It’s in Draft status because it’s a very stream-of-consciousness set of thoughts about time and pacing. It needs to be put in order before posting.
Marked Up 