#pennedpossibilities — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pennedpossibilities, aggregated by home.social.
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#PennedPossibilities 1124: MC POV: What stupid question have you heard someone ask (or asked yourself)?
Finally found one! Bolt narrates this #excerpt.
Rainy Days' idi had resembled fern leaves and sticks at the interstellar gateway [instead of a burst pillow after a pillow fight, now]. What? Was this a twin sister…? Impossible. People would know. I'd have heard. But who had an idi that changed once surfaced?
Stupid question, featherbrain!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
Gothic doom metal.
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#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
Apart from when the Gothic Dancer, The Mistress Cassandra is performing her act, music doesn’t really feature in my contemporary urban fantasy novels.
Her music is chosen with her audience of mainly Goths in mind.
I’m not sure I can think of a suitable soundtrack to accompany my books.
Any suggestions?
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
That "modern" jazzy noir sound of old timey PI movies.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1129 #WritingCommunity
If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
Traditional Irish folk music, especially with fiddles and voices.
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#PennedPossibilities 1129. If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
I hadn't thought of this, but Gwen Stefani immediately came to mind, and then the "Go" soundtrack.
This book of the Problematic Audrey series has a guest MC. I thought I'd built enough character for her, but maybe she also has a dash of Stefani persona.
That might decide the music genre.
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#PennedPossibilities 1129
If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
Can't really tell since I'm not firm in specific music styles, but it would change gradually from tame and nice country music to hippie style throughout the progression of the story.
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#PennedPossibilities 1129: If you had to choose a genre of music that best matches your current WIP, what would it be?
I have two. Let’s go with a mix of traditional Nordic music and Viking metal for this one.
#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
Ethan, technically, but for reasons, I won't spoil how.
Brand, Lutie, Jet, Bit, Feng, yeah, I do tend toward that. XD
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@floofpaldi So, wrt #PennedPossibilities 1128, I assume you were being ironic (about your MMC's name being unique) …
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#PennedPossibilities 1126: What your narrator sounds like in your mind?
No clue. Voices are a legitimate blind spot for me. Might be why my early writing had me head hopping way more frequently, characters simply don't distinguish themselves that way. Male, female, old, young, accent or not, it's all in a blender. Even in fanfic, unless I'm concentrating.
@sfwrtr mused about being more visually imaginative than vocally, and I guess I'm like that too.
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@cstross Oh no. Behold! My bookshelf. I am a *huge* Michael Moorcock fan. I love Sword & Sorcery. 😋
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: "Does your MC have a name that’s unique?"
Henry? Certainly not, intentionally not. Mr. Maybe does, but he got stuck with that as a kid; and Dr. Don't is just what people call her, not her name (which turns out to be Alice).
In "The Dream Makers", Amir has a name that's unusual in fiction, and his last name (Alcott) was the Americanization chosen by his dad when emigrating from Iran.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: "Does your MC have a name that’s unique?"
The Trickster King and the Murder Queen go by many different names in each of their reincarnations: they're Jum and Tabitha to each other, during instars when they meet and connect, but otherwise? Bodies are masks, names are masks on top of masks, their secret identities add more masks on top …
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1128. Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
All my characters have plant names as first names, and something nature-related as their last name. Bluebell Ravenhold is no exception, and not unusual in her world.
When I see the odd names people give their kids sometimes, I don't consider Bluebell a unique name.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
Kes is short for Kestrel.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128
Does your MC have a name that’s unique?The MC in my current WIP is called Maggie, which is common. But her true name is Maguire, which is less so.
Most of my MCs have normal names. Except for Calianthema. And maybe Giadella. Oh, and Dhana.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No. The MCs are Jack and Jill. You have heard of them.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No.
In one series of books the MC is Jeffery Davidson (aged 11-12). I maybe nicked it from an Enid Blyton book, "The Treasure Hunters" where there was a character of the same name and age, who with his sibling foiled a plot by a crooked businessman to cheat their grandparents. Also, when I was 13 one of my best friends had that name.
In another series the MC is Tiffany Devenish. aged 10. I chose that when I discovered that Tiffany is short for Theophania, and one of the themes of the book is that Tiffany has an epiphany.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
His first name is rare in Germany, but not unique - Bjarne. It means "bear", which does not fit him at all, physically. He does not know his family name, and the village keeps him kind of out of the public eye.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No, there’s no way the name, Nathan Cutter, is unique.
It’s derived from two sources, the cult film, Cutter’s Way, for some unknown reason the name resonated with me; and from the name of the actor Nathan Fillion.
In my ongoing series of contemporary urban fantasy novels, The Wheel of the Year sequence, it can be dangerous for you if other people know your true name.
So, I have a bit of fun with the names of the characters Fillion has played, mixing up the various given names and surnames to create new ones Nathan can use when he’s assuming a different identity.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No, there’s no way the name, Nathan Cutter, is unique.
It’s derived from two sources, the cult film, Cutter’s Way, for some unknown reason the name resonated with me; and from the name of the actor Nathan Fillion.
In my ongoing series of contemporary urban fantasy novels, The Wheel of the Year sequence, it can be dangerous for you if other people know your true name.
So, I have a bit of fun with the names of the characters Fillion has played, mixing up the various given names and surnames to create new ones Nathan can use when he’s assuming a different identity.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No, there’s no way the name, Nathan Cutter, is unique.
It’s derived from two sources, the cult film, Cutter’s Way, for some unknown reason the name resonated with me; and from the name of the actor Nathan Fillion.
In my ongoing series of contemporary urban fantasy novels, The Wheel of the Year sequence, it can be dangerous for you if other people know your true name.
So, I have a bit of fun with the names of the characters Fillion has played, mixing up the various given names and surnames to create new ones Nathan can use when he’s assuming a different identity.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No, there’s no way the name, Nathan Cutter, is unique.
It’s derived from two sources, the cult film, Cutter’s Way, for some unknown reason the name resonated with me; and from the name of the actor Nathan Fillion.
In my ongoing series of contemporary urban fantasy novels, The Wheel of the Year sequence, it can be dangerous for you if other people know your true name.
So, I have a bit of fun with the names of the characters Fillion has played, mixing up the various given names and surnames to create new ones Nathan can use when he’s assuming a different identity.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No, there’s no way the name, Nathan Cutter, is unique.
It’s derived from two sources, the cult film, Cutter’s Way, for some unknown reason the name resonated with me; and from the name of the actor Nathan Fillion.
In my ongoing series of contemporary urban fantasy novels, The Wheel of the Year sequence, it can be dangerous for you if other people know your true name.
So, I have a bit of fun with the names of the characters Fillion has played, mixing up the various given names and surnames to create new ones Nathan can use when he’s assuming a different identity.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
There are many people whose parents came from far abroad, sometimes from places that are far away from each other too. This makes combinations of of given names and surnames that would be unusual in the real world pretty common. Is a unique name still unique when many people have such names? I don't know.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128
Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
No. I usually look for the most common first and last names of the area/time the story is set in, and pick one.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: "Does your MC have a name that’s unique?"
Well, When I first started writing the series, Roan was a fairly unique name. Now, it's kind of common. I feel like a trendsetter. Truth was, I stumbled into something as it was starting to crest, which I have dome before. I do occasionally have incredible dumb luck.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: "Does your MC have a name that’s unique?"
The point of the character names in the Winds & Pillars is that they are NOT unique in their setting.
Moon's name refers to the power she has, nothing else. Within the novels this is rarely mentioned, but the names are simply a designation. They are meant to dehumanize their bearer.
I doubt readers actually realize this, but I did that on purpose.
Moon Rises is out now!
Winds & Pillars
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
Anaïs and Nadia both have common names. In fact, Anaïs was the most popular girl's name in the department and year she was born, so there were probably always at least two or three girls named Anaïs in her class at school. Nadia was a less popular name that year, though.
However, I made up their family name. As far as I know, it's not a real French family name, just one that hopefully sounds like it could be real.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
Anaïs and Nadia both have common names. In fact, Anaïs was the most popular girl's name in the department and year she was born, so there were probably always at least two or three girls named Anaïs in her class at school. Nadia was a less popular name that year, though.
However, I made up their family name. As far as I know, it's not a real French family name, just one that hopefully sounds like it could be real.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.
Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.
My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.
When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.
She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.
Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.
Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.
My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.
When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.
She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.
Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.
Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.
My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.
When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.
She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.
Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.
Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.
My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.
When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.
She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.
Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
My MC has at least five names, and in a world where everybody names themself, this count is likely typical. Family names don't exist since property and status are not heritable.
Everybody starts with the same name, however. It's "Child" (nominal) or "Child of" (familial). Despite being an interstellar society (without electricity or A/C), child mortality rates are high. Each day is a heat index warning day, and some days are deadly for adults, let alone infants. Thus you get called "Child" until you understand the concept of naming yourself, assuming you survive. Considering how children are, they probably have a series of names into their teens.
My MC is 30 now, so she had named herself at least once, but she never shares that name because she got blackmailed into working for the mob and worries that name could be traced.
When she got blackmailed into the mob, she on the spot named herself "Lightning Bolt" because she could believably prove she was a fast flier and not be questioned. She's now an air courier.
She has two other names. One is "Tandem." She taught some guy to fly tandem with her (too complex to explain here) and suggested that name so as not to use her mob name. They became long time friends. She took the name "Good Eye" when she inadvertently became a celebrity photographer, so as not to publicize her mob name where it might be recognized by the wrong people.
Hard to say whether in a world population of 240 million people that her names are unique, but they might be rare. Japan also has a descriptive naming system with half the population; by convention many personal names are reused and some are very common, like Yuki and Shiro (Snow and White respectively). I suspect some combinations in this world are more common than others. Other names in the story are phrases, like Night on Fire and Arrow Flies True and seem more unique.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: "Does your MC have a name that’s unique?"
No. The three are called Herrad, Wulfila, and Ardeija. The first two are existing real world names anyway and not uncommon in their world, and while the third is invented (as I needed something fitting the fictional steppe nomad people the character's mother hails from), it is only unusual insofar as it is rare in the region the stories are set in, but it is certainly not unique.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
Fairy and Giant have names, but I'm planning to not mention them. In the narration, Fairy is just "I" and Giant is "the giant" (and later, "my giant").
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#PennedPossibilities Does your MC have a unique name?
Kristen Ann Dunkle is not unique or euphonious, and that was deliberate.
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#PennedPossibilities 1125: City a new name to reflect what type of place it is?
SHERLOCK: Hm, it already used to be Bytown, which was named after a guy. Ottawa has better cultural roots, so I'm not sure why I'd change it.
JENNY: Uh, let's see, it's the nation's capital and a public service down. Pubcap? ... Look, I think I'd do better at naming stars.
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#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a unique name?
She keeps changing her name. From Iryna to Ishkara and then (spoilers for the prologue of my next book!) — Vidmara!
Iryna is a Ukrainian name meaning peace.
Ishkara and Vidmara are both invented. I named Ishkara over 10 years ago; I don’t remember how it came about.
Vidmara comes from a Ukrainian word and folklore. Vidma means witch and mara which is a creature that brings nightmares.
Prologue here: https://empyclaw.itch.io/horns-of-shadow-gold
#writing -
#PennedPossibilities 1128: Does your MC have a name that’s unique?
It’s a fantasy universe, so I certainly hope so.
MMC: Elric AKA the Mystic
FMC: Zerika (of Clan Morley)#WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #TheScarletMirror #FatedByFire #CozyFantasy #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #Romance
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#PennedPossibilities 1126
Ketchup
Tell us what your narrator sounds like in your mind.
I wish the honorable Sir David Attenborough would be narrating all my works, but instead imagine the main characters instead who are mostly young women between 13 and 25 years of age.
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#PennedPossibilities 1127: What quirks do some of your characters have?
The Manager is overworked and constantly drinking tea to steady their nerves, they think they are the boss when in fact they are one voice among many. Loves their spreadsheets, order, and protocol.
The Librarian is a dear, loves their books and their library. Fussy, obsessive about detail, wears reading glasses on a chain. A soft-spoken, gentle soul, that can become very protective. A dreamer.
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#PennedPossibilities 1126: Continued
The only character whose voice I sort of have an idea of is Nadia, who I imagine sounds a bit like Doeun from the K-pop girl group Young Posse. Here's a video of her with her little sister, in case you're curious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybxp1_JUGGk
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#PennedPossibilities 1126: Continued
The only character whose voice I sort of have an idea of is Nadia, who I imagine sounds a bit like Doeun from the K-pop girl group Young Posse. Here's a video of her with her little sister, in case you're curious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybxp1_JUGGk