# I have come to realize...



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 24, 2014)

...that in my book, the names I came up with for some things are kinda pathetic. 

Screw that....they suck. They are not doing the book justice with their presence.

One of the things I desperately needed a new name for were a group/race of people who "keep the magic" in my story's world. I got some suggestions here and wound up finding a very good name for those people.

So...I am looking for another suggestion. I created a city in my world that is nicknamed "The City of Light". What I called it (and I realized that I am just not very good at coming up with names for stuff) is Prizaria. That just sounds weak to me.

So if anyone has any other suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear/read them. 

I appreciate the help.


----------



## escorial (Apr 24, 2014)

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]*illumanati*[/FONT]


----------



## Skodt (Apr 24, 2014)

Lumnus- could be derived from the word Luminous and would bring in the light factor

But in all actuality I don't think Prizaria sounds that bad. Too be quite honest, I don't know that a name of a city has ever turned me off reading a book before.


----------



## Bishop (Apr 24, 2014)

I like your name...

I think naming it Illu--something is really heavy-handed and too derivative of the etymology of our own culture. Makes it seem off. Random names cannot be beat, especially if they're a race/time/place/people that are not humans with the same linguistic characteristics as our own civilization. Can you tell my wife was a linguistics major?

For instance, in my book, there's a race of people whose cultural linguistic characteristics are on hard K and TH sounds. They have no soft "c" sounds, and no PH for F. Things like that make their language and words vastly different than the humans.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 24, 2014)

The only thing I could think of when I was writing the parts about the city was a prizm. I guess that's why I found the name kinda weak.

But, hey, if y'all don't think it's all that bad, I'll leave it.

I'm still open to suggestions, though.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 24, 2014)

Skodt said:


> Lumnus- could be derived from the word Luminous and would bring in the light factor
> 
> But in all actuality I don't think Prizaria sounds that bad. Too be quite honest, I don't know that a name of a city has ever turned me off reading a book before.



I've never had that happen either. But I want the book to be a strong as it possibly can be. I don't want any "weak links" so to speak.

Maybe it's just me being my own worst critic.


----------



## Ixarku (Apr 24, 2014)

At first read, Prizaria wasn't bad.  But after rolling the name around in my head for a few minutes, and seeing the connection with 'prism' and 'city of light', I have to agree it is a bit weak.  I'd reserve that name for a Mediterranean-type city, as it's got an Italian feel to it.

There are many many ways to come up with names.  The biggest thing is really what kind of a feel you're going for.  A softer name with lots of vowels, and prolific use of "L" and "S"?  Or a harsher name with a lot of consonants like "K", "Z", "T", etc?  Are you going for a name that flows or sounds harsh to the ears.  I'd guess the former, in which case, I'd suggest Googling some Elven name generators and see if they give you some ideas.

Or, you could try some alternate spellings / pronunciations.  "Prizaria" could become "Prezaeria" or "Presayria", for example.  Then the 'prism' connection doesn't jump out quite so much.  You could also try swapping out some syllables.  "Lesarya", "Belzaria", "Prikaria", "Prizalta" and so forth.


----------



## Mutimir (Apr 24, 2014)

Dawn


----------



## Ari (Apr 24, 2014)

I love naming things ^_^
Is "the city of light" supposed to be a rough translation of its name, or just something that it's known as (presumable because its bright)? I mean, in my country with have Christchurch which is nicknamed "the garden city" because of all the gardens, and Auckland is called "the windy city" because (surprise surprise) of all the wind. But the nicknames have nothing to do with their actual name. 

If it was my city, and I was going for "city of light" being a translation, I'd give it a two-word name.

Shen Kalai
Kisali Yen
Safferin Ald
Token Rose
… or name with a particle which could translate directly to "city of light" instead of "light city" which the others would be.
Aik sei Lin
Brae ei Vin

That kind of thing. (Of course I don't know what's linguistically accecptable in your world, but maybe they'll give you an idea.)


----------



## Riptide (Apr 24, 2014)

City of Lights... City of Lights....  Jyillum.


----------



## Elowan (Apr 25, 2014)

Prizillarium


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Elowan said:


> Prizillarium



As much as I like this one, my fingers would get all sorts of confused trying to type that. LOL

I have a serious case of Fat Finger Syndrome that causes a lot of typos. 

That's my story and I am sticking to it.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Ari said:


> I love naming things ^_^Is "the city of light" supposed to be a rough translation of its name, or just something that it's known as (presumable because its bright)?



Sort of. The city has that nickname because of a defense mechanism. Basically, mirrors on every rooftop reflect light during the day to keep the city cool. That makes the city visible for miles. The defense part is that the mirrors can be angle to blind any daytime attackers. Of course, the fact that all that angled sunlight could potentially fry any attackers keeps the city from being attacked at all. p


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Mutimir said:


> Dawn



The city of Dawn....

Not a bad idea except for the ex g/f named Dawn. LOL


----------



## Ari (Apr 25, 2014)

> Sort of. The city has that nickname because of a defense mechanism. Basically, mirrors on every rooftop reflect light during the day to keep the city cool. That makes the city visible for miles. The defense part is that the mirrors can be angle to blind any daytime attackers. Of course, the fact that all that angled sunlight could potentially fry any attackers keeps the city from being attacked at all.



Wow. Cool! I hope it's somewhere rocky, or the angled mirrors would be a terrible fire hazard.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Ari said:


> Wow. Cool! I hope it's somewhere rocky, or the angled mirrors would be a terrible fire hazard.



Good point!! I hadn't thought of that. But that's an easy fix.

Good call!


----------



## Greimour (Apr 25, 2014)

Well... I don't think a translation related to light is necessary for the city.

New York = Big Apple
Los Angeles - ok that is a translation meaning ... city of angels... but:
 Paris, France = City of Light. 

If you were going to play with translations for the naming - I would be funny about it. Something that sounds magical or intriguing but in fact means dark or darkness or something - like:

*Nhywell 
Tenebrae*

or use multiple words for the place - "New York" for example, is two words: "New England" ... Kuala  Lumpur (Malaysia), Mexico City (Mexico), Buenos Aries (Argentina) , Port  Morsby (New Guinee) - So you could have : 

*Dinas Lux* - Welsh + Latin = City Light


If I am stuck on a name, I search around meanings and play with languages, sometimes combining words from 2 separate languages like a portmanteau of "Manchester" (English) and "Cymru" (Welsh for Wales) could be Mancymru ... I would advise against Cymchester for obvious reason >.<
Perhaps that one is a bad example but I only just woke up - not my most creative moment...


But there again: *Cysegr *= Welsh for Holy Place, sanctuary - couldn't that be a place of light?


----------



## Ari (Apr 25, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> Good point!! I hadn't thought of that. But that's an easy fix.
> 
> Good call!



No problem ^_^ Now I'm all interested in a story I know nothing about... d'you have parts of it posted here?


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Ari said:


> No problem ^_^ Now I'm all interested in a story I know nothing about... d'you have parts of it posted here?



I do.But they are miscellaneous chapters from different part of the book.


----------



## Ari (Apr 25, 2014)

Miscellaneous chapters work for me. 
I will get out my deerstalker hat, turn up my coat collar (to make myself look cool) and try to hunt them down...


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Greimour said:


> Well... I don't think a translation related to light is necessary for the city.
> 
> New York = Big Apple
> Los Angeles - ok that is a translation meaning ... city of angels... but:
> ...



I tell ya...for you not being fully awake, you come up with some really good stuff. 

 Nhywell is a really cool sounding name for a city. Especially for one as beautiful as the city I'm referring to. Also considering that any force trying to attack it would most definitely find out about the "dark side of the light".

I think I may just steal that one, if it's alright with you.


----------



## Greimour (Apr 25, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> I tell ya...for you not being fully awake, you come up with some really good stuff.
> 
> Nhywell is a really cool sounding name for a city. Especially for one as beautiful as the city I'm referring to. Also considering that any force trying to attack it would most definitely find out about the "dark side of the light".
> 
> I think I may just steal that one, if it's alright with you.



By all means, go ahead ... just so you know though, it is a real word. It is Welsh literally translating to English as Dark.

Edit: Other translations of the word include Blind, Black and Obscure....

Still, if you want it. Go ahead


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Ari said:


> Miscellaneous chapters work for me.
> I will get out my deerstalker hat, turn up my coat collar (to make myself look cool) and try to hunt them down...



If nothing else, I could just send you a few through email or PM. 

I have a couple of others I have done that with. One has been giving me helpful suggestions via Pm and the other I just send the stuff through email. He doesn't know it yet...but he's gonna beta read for me. 

Shhhh....don't tell him. LMAO

As far as he deerstalker hat...everything that I have posted in the Prose Writer's Workshop has come from my novel. It's the only thing I have working right now. So if you see a thread started by me, it'll be an excerpt from Side Worlds.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Greimour said:


> By all means, go ahead ... just so you know though, it is a real word. It is Welsh literally translating to English as Dark.
> 
> Edit: Other translations of the word include Blind, Black and Obscure....
> 
> Still, if you want it. Go ahead



All definitions would work, actually.

They all could describe the city in one way or another. 

The mirrors can Blind..if aimed against an enemy...they can blacken....if turned on said enemy, enemy quickly becomes obscure. LOL

Yep. I like it.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

That makes twice that you have helped me come up with a better name than the one I had.

I'm gonna owe you some royalties if this keeps up.


----------



## Ari (Apr 25, 2014)

I am returned from the hunt after finding the dragon-flying one 
Your City of Light should be protected from dragon-attack too, at least during the day. 

I'd love to read some through PM if you don't mind sharing? And I promise not to tell this mysterious male personage that his fate is to be a beta reader.


----------



## Greimour (Apr 25, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> That makes twice that you have helped me come up with a better name than the one I had.
> 
> I'm gonna owe you some royalties if this keeps up.




Lol, I will settle for my name listed among those you give thanks to 

Nah; I remember attempting to help with a name before - but I couldn't possibly tell you what name/s I offered. Lol.
I tend to have more fun making characters (names, traits etc...) and same for cities than the actual stories they are in. So I am getting kind of good at it.

Most of my written works right now are 'life stories' of characters up to the point they are supposed to enter my story - or the history of the cities prior to entering my story. I have fun doing that and considering a single story can have dozens of cities and a myriad of characters... I can keep going for a very long time ^_^

Honestly, I am just happy to help. The rare occasions that I succeed in helping people make me feel good ^_^... 
... so of course any help I give anyone is purely selfish <3


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Ari said:


> I am returned from the hunt after finding the dragon-flying one
> Your City of Light should be protected from dragon-attack too, at least during the day.
> 
> I'd love to read some through PM if you don't mind sharing? And I promise not to tell this mysterious male personage that his fate is to be a beta reader.



My world is one where, oddly enough, the dragons never really bothered the cities. 

I actually did a little backstory on the dragons. I'll find it and send it to you. I need to get an opinion on that section anyway.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 25, 2014)

Greimour said:


> Lol, I will settle for my name listed among those you give thanks to



Done deal. 



> Nah; I remember attempting to help with a name before - but I couldn't possibly tell you what name/s I offered. Lol.



You gave me a VERY good name for a race of people I created. I have it in a file somewhere.



> Honestly, I am just happy to help. The rare occasions that I succeed in helping people make me feel good ^_^...
> ... so of course any help I give anyone is purely selfish <3



Well...selfish or not, you have my gratitude for the assistance.


----------



## Morkonan (Apr 26, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> ...that in my book, the names I came up with for some things are kinda pathetic.
> 
> Screw that....they suck. They are not doing the book justice with their presence.
> 
> One of the things I desperately needed a new name for were a group/race of people who "keep the magic" in my story's world. I got some suggestions here and wound up finding a very good name for those people.



"Keepers"



> So...I am looking for another suggestion. I created a city in my world that is nicknamed "The City of Light". What I called it (and I realized that I am just not very good at coming up with names for stuff) is Prizaria. That just sounds weak to me.



Yafeh - City of Light

(source for inspiration - http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_say_light_in_Hebrew)

So if anyone has any other suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear/read them. 

I appreciate the help. [/QUOTE]

There's something that I think you shouldn't be worrying too much about - The proper names that you use will have the impact upon the Reader that you will construct. For instance, nobody gave two gassy poops about something called the "Barad-dur" until Tolkien built it up to be an intimidating, terrifying and awe-inspiring fortress. True, he helped do that by not naming it "Happy Ponies Play House" and, instead, choose to use heavy vowels, sharp consonants and rolling r's and such. But, then again, he invented several languages for his masterpiece.

Let's think of something that doesn't sound intimidating, but was successfully built up to be so by the author: 

Ah.. here's a good one - Darth Vader.  "Darth Vader", what's that? It doesn't sound particularly nasty, does it?
"Bellers" - Ever heard if that one? They're a heavy protagonist in the wonderful "World of Tiers" setting by the immortal Phillip Jose' Farmer. They're named as such due to the fact that they wear large iron-like bell-shaded helmets on their heads... Not particularly frightening until they take over your soul... or whatever.
"Cybermen" - Uh, not like I'm a big Dr. Who fan or anything, but these guys are supposed to be badasses, yet they look like wind-up robots and their name isn't exactly fear-inspiring. (More like a chuckle-factor as I remember the early days of Teh Interwebz and the definition of "cyber" in colloquial terms...)

Each of these names as well as bajillions of others have had much work put into their creation by their authors. But, that work is not _just_ the choosing of a name, but the choices made by the author in order to build up a suitable backstory and personae for each that is focused on inspiring certain reactions from the Reader. Whenever any name is mentioned, we don't interpret it in a vacuum, but associate that "label" with everything we know about it.

For instance, "Keepers" doesn't sound particularly dramatic. They could be groundskeepers for a football field... But, if you, the author, develop your setting and its backstory well enough, you can make them out to be feared tyrants or remembered martyrs, whichever you choose. You can make that name evoke feelings of dread, sympathy, admiration or condemnation from your Reader, depending upon the information you have fed them with. In the same light, you can also evoke conflicting imagery, relating dreadful falsehoods about those associated with the name until the final reveal.

Example for "Keeper" - _The Keeper turned towards me, its rotting robes drawing across the floor, recording the memory of its final passage through this world in the dust of the tomb's floor. A decrepit skull, some wisps of hair still clinging to its dessicated crown, perched within its cowl and twin embers of hate peered from within. It was time to mow the lawn.

_


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 27, 2014)

I understand what you are saying, Morkonan. Those are very good points.

I guess it's more of a psychological thing for me. I just didn't find the names I made up having enough "punch". I just couldn't take them seriously when I was writing it. If I could have done something to lend them some of that needed impact then I may have felt better about the names.

But the two I was referring to are now much better (thanks to your help) than they were. I am pretty well satisfied with the other names I have come up with in the rest of the book. Those two were just niggling irritations for me.


----------



## Morkonan (Apr 27, 2014)

T.S.Bowman said:


> I understand what you are saying, Morkonan. Those are very good points.
> 
> I guess it's more of a psychological thing for me. I just didn't find the names I made up having enough "punch". I just couldn't take them seriously when I was writing it. If I could have done something to lend them some of that needed impact then I may have felt better about the names....



No matter what names you pick, even if they're similar to "Real World" names, the majority of the imagery invoked and the emotions and impact felt by the Reader is going to be due to how you present those names and what you use to build their backstory for the Reader. "Fluffy Bunny" could become a terrible, frightening monster, couldn't it? You're a writer, you can see the possibilities of turning a childhood treasure into a terrifying monster, perhaps even moreso due to its fanciful and disarming name.

It is no accident that "It" in Stephen King's novel of the same name took the form of a clown in some instances - No accident at all. "Pennywise the Dancing Clown" isn't a particularly scary name, is it? Well... Of course, it wouldn't be if all people weren't naturally afraid of clowns... I guess that somewhere in our evolution, our species was forced to compete with some horrible clownlike species of anthropoid relatives. They were probably the earliest form of Libertarians... 

Anyway, the point is that the name is largely what *you *make of it. Yes, you can make good choices for immediate impact. Tolkien largely accomplished that with his name selections, for instance. But, it does not have to be a critical issue and you shouldn't get disheartened if you feel that you haven't made the perfect choices. Just go with what you have and focus on building up suitable imagery that will be evoked by that name whenever it appears.

Besides, if you later think up a better set of names, nothing beats "Find and Replace" editing.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 28, 2014)

The great thing about being where I am as far as progress in the book, I am in the perfect spot to write a little about the city.

Until I mentioned it earlier, I hadn't even thought of using the mirrors as a defensive weapon. 

I am definitely trying to make the book as good as possible, but I just know I am going to come up with better things after I have submitted it.


----------



## Elvenswordsman (Apr 28, 2014)

So I didn't read through the comments below, but you really didn't indicate what kind of people/language the area is. Germanic, you could go with something like Likstat, a rough play on "Licht" and "Stadt" which is literally Light City.

French, softer, Villumer - play on "Ville" and "Lumiere" which is literally "Village Light"

English readers often wouldn't recognize it, and people who do speak those languages really enjoy feeling clever by seeing the root.

Just my thoughts.


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 28, 2014)

Well....let me say this.

I haven't put a ton of thought into anything like that. I know it's not a Medieval Europe kind of thing so French or German...meh. There are castles and dragons and magic and most of the ordinary "fantasy" trappings.

But it is a world in which the majority of things, including words from different languages, have been "borrowed" from other worlds. I guess that would make it a non specific area.


----------



## Elvenswordsman (Apr 28, 2014)

Don't "meh" German and French! Haha

As far as it goes, just remember stupid stuff like the use of Finnish and Germanic Languages in The Lord of the Rings.

Just listen to different languages, feel them out for the lightness or harshness of the tonality, and then use the one that fits to ease the passage.

Agree, Pizaria is not a great name for a city of light.


----------



## Mistique (Apr 28, 2014)

Well, I sometimes turn to sanskrit for names. I just simply look for an online translation of a word I need and use that as a name. For instance, in my book I have a God that needed a name. The sanskrit word for God is Deva, so I named my god Deva. I thought it wasn't a bad name for a God.

I looked up the sanskrit word for light and apparently its *आभा*, or Abha. I wasn't sure if that was such a great one (considering the band Abba) so I looked for some more sanskrit words. Here is a list of sanskrit names that mean light:

- Jyotis,
- Deepak,
- Jyoti,
- Kiran,
- Prakash,
- Ranjit,
- Uma.

I hope it helps


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 28, 2014)

Elvenswordsman said:


> Don't "meh" German and French! Haha



My bad. LOL. It wasn't meant as that particular kind of "meh". Especially considering that I am half German.



> As far as it goes, just remember stupid stuff like the use of Finnish and Germanic Languages in The Lord of the Rings.
> 
> Just listen to different languages, feel them out for the lightness or harshness of the tonality, and then use the one that fits to ease the passage.



I need to find a place where I can hear the tones. I tried looking up some translations online, but I couldn't really get a "feel" for them.



> Agree, Pizaria is not a great name for a city of light.



Yep. That one was a total "meh".


----------



## T.S.Bowman (Apr 28, 2014)

Mistique said:


> Well, I sometimes turn to sanskrit for names. I just simply look for an online translation of a word I need and use that as a name. For instance, in my book I have a God that needed a name. The sanskrit word for God is Deva, so I named my god Deva. I thought it wasn't a bad name for a God.
> 
> I looked up the sanskrit word for light and apparently its *आभा*, or Abha. I wasn't sure if that was such a great one (considering the band Abba) so I looked for some more sanskrit words. Here is a list of sanskrit names that mean light:
> 
> ...



Very helpful.


----------

