Hi, guys. At the moment, I'm working on this fantasy story of mine and, of course, I'm creating this whole world for my characters. But -- the problem is I can't come up with an interesting name. I want it to be intriguing and something that just reeks of - "Ooooh. What a cool sounding place!" Can you guys offer me any help? Ideas to get the ball rolling? I would love some suggestions. Thanks And if you're a fantasy writer too and can't come up with a cool sounding name for your world -- feel free to post here.
Please tell us a bit more about plot or characters.... I need a bit more to spark focussed creativity (if this property exists in the first place).
Haha, I knew the second after posting this thread that I should have left more info. My two main characters, a boy and a girl, both 13, are facing opposition at school and home. They become fast friends and begin to wish they could escape their problems and fears. But that's wishful thinking, right? They couldn't possibly escape reality. But they're wrong. My girl protag finds a portal to a world and brings her new friend along. There they escape into the terrain of a land of talking animals and endless sunshine. There they are able to forget their troubles for the time being. But the fun only lasts the short afternoons after school. Reality calls them back to their real lives and they leave their new found place in dread. Was that more helpful?
Hmm I named mine Litae after the daughters of Zeus can't remember why now lol I think something to do with source of knowledge, prayer etc What about Aine (has accents over the A and i) the Irish Goddess for summer, and represented by a red horse - pronounced AWN-yee - Meira, Aurora, Solara, Oriana all have connections to light. Or look up words in dictionaries that mean sunshine or animals -
In the book I'm currently writing I've got several parallel realities, one's called "The Realm of the Blue Octopus" and another's called "The Capricious Void." But these are more descriptive then anything else. If in your story there's perpetual sunshine then "The Bright" might be a good name? But it would have to one be given to the place by the visiting characters because the locals wouldn't have a basis for comparison to know what bright and dark are. I'd suggest you look at the qualities of the place and let it name itself.
Latin and mythology inspired: circe = daughterr of the sun (wikipedia) circola//circeura//circalia helios = god of the sun heliomara//helionimali animalia soloriens (sol oriens = rising sun)
^Very sound advice, ScaryMonster. I completely agree with you. There is a lot of sunshine in the kids' world of fantasy, but it's also one they created. So the talking animals don't exactly know when or where they came from; They just began. I will look at this world of fantasy more. Perhaps I could come up with a name that has something to do with escapism since that is the reason why Amy and Hank go there. And thanks for the suggestions everyone else brought up Selection is always good.
Another option is to use names whose only significance is known to you. For example, what if Katherine Paterson (author of "Bridge to Terabithia") had two friends, named Tara and Elizabeth, who inspired the characters and so she used a mishmash of their names to come up with a setting? I made that up btw, but it's something you could do.
Do the inhabitants of the world have their own language? If so, they could name it "The World", "The Place", "The Middle Spot" or something similar in their own language. If their world is surrounded by empty space, they could call it "Earth" or "Ground" in their own language. If it's surrounded by water, they could call it "Land" or "Dry Place" in their language, and so on. Our Earth probably got its name that way.
That's something I probably need to think about more, Islander. They do speak. The terrain they inhabit is just a lush forest. And what I said about sunshine before is true, but I don't think I'll name it because of it's frequent sunshine. That was just me being me. If I got to go to a world of fantasy everyday, I'd want it to be sunny and warm all the time. Hmm...back to the drawing board. EDIT: And okay, I realized I spelled Terabithia wrong. You guys can tease me now LOL
Are there any other people or races in your fantasy world? They would have their own name for the world. The MCs could learn the name of the world from them. In my fantasy universe, there are seven different races. They each have their own realms, which are roughly the size of earth, and all are connected via the 'worldtree.' Each realm has its own individual name, but all together they are named 'Septerra.' In Latin Septem means 'Seven' and Terra means 'earth' or 'world.' So 'Seven Earths' or 'Seven Worlds' is the name of my universe. Useless trivia: The month of September was originally the seventh month of the year according to the old roman calendar.
^Oh, that was a cool idea. There aren't any races. It's just filled with talking animals. But you're right - they'd have their own name for their world not the other way around.
Ha I read this and couldn't help but laugh at the similarities of our minds. Oriana was the inspiration for my planet's name in Transcendence, Oriens. The whole concept of a rising power on that planet made the name perfect. Sorry for the way off topic reply, I just couldn't help it in this instance.
Okay -- I've come up with a name. It isn't that significant, but until I do come up with one that maybe has more meaning behind it, I'm sticking with Harken. It's just a name that popped into my head and has been floating around up there. Thank you all for your advice and suggestions
^Yeah, exactly. I need to expound on it more. Three famous podcasters I listen to, well one of them says your setting is only as interesting as what your characters do in it. So I need to find some conflict to write in the world of Harken. I have an idea, but it needs more work. Thanks, Charlotte
