Marval Movie

Well, Dr. Gupta (from previous blog post) would be proud of me. I did something scary. I was the speaker at the Abilene Writers Guild Workshop, thanks to Sheryl Nelm's invitation.

 I titled my talk "Soundtrack of a Writer" and my little snippets of tunes brought some chuckles. Best laugh from Three Dog Night's "One"  i.e. "one is the loneliest number.....NO is the saddest experience..."  Writers with rejections understand. Here I'm chatting with Ginny Green - hadn't seen her in forever and it was great to catch up.
 Assorted paper - the workshop kegiatan and my handouts. I gave a source listing, my library of writing books, and also a format cheat sheet - my book dimensions and fonts for Createspace book production. I've learned through trial and error what works and what looks like crap.
I'm wearing my Unleased Poetry Society T-shirt. It seems to bring me luck at writer events. All in all - thirty people attended. Super nice group. They participated in writing exercises, asked good questions, laughed where I hoped for a chuckle, purchased some books, and applauded at the end. Whew! Yummy pulled pork sandwiches for lunch along with tasty brownies added to the hospitality.  
Abilene is a small city/town with a fabulous history museum called Frontier Texas. This is one of several buffalo wind sculptures outside the building. Inside were interactive displays and plenty of history - from Comanche Indian raids to buffalo stampedes and cattle drives. The pioneers who settled in Abilene and west Texas were rugged tough souls.

I'm very glad to be living in 2014 and only facing an indoor audience of friendly faces eager for some writing advice.

Here's the grand finale from my talk.  Play the song and think about it............enjoy!

Enjoyed a walk in the park yesterday for a good cause. Actually I didn't walk - I volunteered and helped at registration. But Fort Worth's Trinity Park was THE place to be. Gorgeous day. Energy and enthusiasm abounded, and hopefully funds were raised for research, wellness programs, and other ways to help folks living with MS.

I have two friends whose husbands have MS. One developed it after college back in the 1980s. The other learned a year or so ago he had it and he's in his 50s. Both were healthy and athletic. That's what is weird about multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system. No official reason for the cause and no official cure.

But huge progress is made each year in medicines, and scientists keep announcing breakthroughs.
I hope so - it would be nice to have a world free of MS.

It's that time of year - April - and I'm taking the 2014 http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
as created by Alex Cavanaugh.

My theme - character names. I've got the Complete List of Baby Names (editor Lesley Bolton) in reach and we shall explore the alphabet. As a rule, I've been horrible at picking names for characters. My guys always seem to be called Nick. My female names are bland.  I'm hoping this month of discovery will kick start some character development and give some oomph to my tales.

p 119 - out of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s there were no popular names beginning with A.
In 2010 - we have Alexander, Aiden, and Anthony for boys, and Ava, Abigail, and Alexis for girls.

And now my find for the letter A:
Girls: Abela (French) meaning A breath or sigh, source of life. I picture this girl with long dark hair, in a romance novel.

Boy: Alon (Hebrew)  of the oak.    He's our obvious hero or maybe not. Perhaps he could be the shy, studious type who must grow into his name.

Do you have any favorite A names?

and we are off and running in the challenge.

Most popular names of the 1920s - Betty for girls

Betty and Barbara in the 1930s

and in 2010 - Boys names with B - Benjamin, Brayden, and Brody
Girls in 2010 - Brianna, Brooklyn, and Bella

as for my B character names - Drat -  Beatrix is taken thanks to Divergent

Thus I shall pick Blair - it's Scottish and means "from the field of battle".  This young lady will have cropped red hair, piercing green eyes, and she carries a sword in her left hand. Fleet of foot, she helps her village regain their riverfront rights.

As for a boy - I pick Baldwin. From the German, it means "a brave friend", and I think my gal Blair could use a faithful follower. Baldwin is shy, but reliable and resourceful. He's able to extract secrets from other towns, just by blending into the background and listening.

(source - Complete Book of Baby Names edited by Lesley Bolton)

I'm casting characters based on a name book. I tend to get bogged down in boring, so this April I'm looking at options.  Hope you enjoy my journey and feel free to pipe up with an awesome name.

From the way past - my grandmother's name was Clarissa
My husband's grandmother was Cleo
Not a lot of those running around these days

1920s - no popular girls names.   Charles for boys
1930s - no girls.  Charles hung in there

2010 - Christopher, Christian, and Caleb for boys
Chloe, Charlotte, and Claire popped up for girls.

Now for casting a character - how about a gal named Cadence (latin) a musical woman, rhythmic and melodious?  I might use this for a showgirl. Too obvious....nah

Okay - this is weird - in the boy's category they list Crowther (English) meaning a fiddler
 That's my maiden name.  Who knew?
Let's throw in another boy's name -  Cuthbert (English) meaning bright and famous. He can be a lawyer in my book.

The letter C is Crazy

I'm trying to come up with names that mean something for characters in my future books. April is a good month to explore.

Popular in 1920s - boys - Donald (rather bland)
Girls - Dorothy and Doris (Ray's (my husband)  great aunt Dorothy is a pip, so much to be said for that name)

How about in 2010?  Boys - Daniel, David, and Dylan (all three are nice and conventional. Maybe Dylan is poetic)
Girls - Destiny (rather daring),

Let's dig into my list and make some bold choices
Female:
Darcie (English) A dark beauty - okay potentially dastardly or daring
Daring (American) - hmm. That's way too obvious

Male:
Dwade (English) - a dark traveler.   (this name has potential)
Dugan (gaelic) - A dark and swarthy man  (even more potential)
Drefan (Anglo-Saxon) - a troublemaker (now we're talking)

too many D names were happy and from nature (i.e. Daisy).

D was a tad Dull.  Let's hope some E names prove to be Ebullient

1920s popularity - no boys or girls
2010 - Ethan, Elijah, and Evan for boys
Emma, Elizabeth, and Ella for girls

Let's kick the E names up a notch:
Young ladies - Ebony (Egyptian)  A dark beauty - no doubt enigmatic
Edel (German) A clever woman
Esen (Turkish)  Of the wind

Young men - Egan (Gaelic)  A little flame. One who is fiery.  (Kick-ass!)
Ezio (Italian)  resembling an eagle (how can you go wrong with this guy?)
Enos (Hebrew)  a man.    Guess he can be molded into any form.


My grandfather's name was Elmer (English) a famous nobleman.  I just remember a kind man who wore suspenders.

any E - men in your past?

Greetings to F day. I'm deviating slightly from my normal pick character names. Since our last name is Faries, I decided to bring in a guest picker: my husband Ray Faries. When I met him, he already had two boys - from 1979 - Christopher Ray and from 1981 Kevin Michael - now stalwart upstanding young men with families.

"So Ray, let's look outside the box. What boy names would you pick today?"
(admittedly he'd stick with Chris and Kevin, but let's pretend he goes crazy. Yes I made him pick)

Flint Faries -  Flint is from the English and means resembling the hard quartz; from the stream.
Rather cool, edgy. I like it

Flux Faries  - Flux is from the English and means one who is constantly moving. Actually that fits Kevin - always on the go with projects.  Or for Chris - he has truly moved a lot due to jobs.

As an added bonus - Ray picked Farrah for a girl.  Gee, do you think he worshipped a Farrah Fawcett poster?
Farrah is from English/Arabic and means fair haired woman. Hello, Charlie's Angels.......

Thanks Ray Faries for participating in F day.

G equals lots of Goddess types. This can make for some fun characters. I'm going out on a limb with some unpronounceable names, but let's just GO with it

Boy names from 1920s and 1930s - George.  That's my father's name and he's bemoaned the fact that often George characters are wimpy.
But - 2013 brought us the new Prince George - now very cool. "Hold your head high, Dad."

No girl names from the 1920s or 30s
In 2010 - Grace, Gabriella, and Gianna get a nod

Here are my picks for some characters - Gjalp (Norse) in mythology - the frost giantess. If I ever write fantasy, this gal could overpower many.
Gota is Swedish meaning having great strength.
Gudrun is Scandinavian - a battle maiden.  Sounds like I have a war story to create

For the males  - Grail (English) one who is greatly desired
Grant - a tall man (and he must have dark hair, I think.  hmm secretly channeling Cary Grant?)
And let's have Gunnar (Scandinavian) - he's our bold warrier.

The G-men are tough. (Even George, now)

Hercules, Hades, Harper - names evoke emotions

2010 popular names for boys - Hunter, Henry, and Hayden
Girls - Hailey, Hannah, and Hayden

Let's see what catches my eye in the H category:
Males - Heathcliff (English) from the cliff near the heath. I can't do justice to Wuthering Heights, but it's a great name and I'm using it.

Heaton (English) from the town on high ground.  Sounds like money to me.
Hewett (French) the small intelligent one.  could have fun with this fellow as he sneaks through a mystery.

Ladies - Harlow (American) an impetuous woman. She's going to be strong and sassy
Haze - (American) one who is spontaneous. I see her on a motorcycle
Hye (Korean) a graceful woman.  She'll be a classy heroine

Any H names from you?  I have a good friend named Helen - not many kids named that these days. Will it come back?

I  - singular. It's all about the person.

2010 popular names -
boys: Isaac, Isaiah, Ian
girls: Isabella  (prettiest Isabella in my opinion is Isabella Rossellini - her mother was Ingrid Bergman - good genes all around)

For characters -
actually I've always liked Ian (Gaelic) from John, God is gracious
Ignatius (Latin) - a fiery man, one who is ardent. He's going to lead the fight
Ingram (Scandinavian)  a raven of peace.  He's going to quietly battle Ignatius and will win.

Ladies - step forward
Isaura (Greek) of the soft breeze.  She'll be the flighty best friend
Ita (irish) one who is thirsty - she shall always be seeking the truth
Iwa (Japanese) of strong character.  she'll stand her ground

Lots of strong "I" names - not a conventional letter obviously

 Selfishly I shall share J with no other names.  I am Joanne. I've always liked my name. It has caused no issues through the years. My father liked Joanne Woodward - excellent actress, married to Paul Newman (my mother's fave). Thus I was their first born and named Joanne. Apparently no argument at all. I'm fine with this. Joanne Woodward, now age 84, was superb and smart.  Check out the pics below


Nope -  Just Joanne


Contribute J names folks - the sky is the limit..........................

K has a shorter list of names than other letters. A lot of the names have C counterparts, but I'll dig deeper than that. K shall contribute some interesting characters.

Women:
Kizzy (African) an energetic woman. Someone needs to get a group up and moving.
Kisha (Russian)  a genius.  Quiet and alert, she'll provide data that leads to solutions for the group
Keiki (Hawaiian) resembling an orchid

Men:
Kantrava (Indian) resembling a roaring animal.  But does he really have bite?
Kyros (Greek) a leader or master
Kemp (English) the champion

All of my male K characters will clash, and I'm guessing it will be over Keiki.

What do you think?  Is it Karma?

L - I shall start with Lee - my middle name and my uncle's name. He was my mother's eldest brother. It's from the English and means from the meadow.

No L names from the 20s or 30s for kids

2010 - boys - Liam (oh yeah - Liam Neeson or Liam Hemsworth, both yummy), Lucas, Levi (love the jeans), and Luis.
Girls - Lily (I'm guessing Modern Family), Lillian, Layla (Eric Clapton - you've got me on my knees).

Let's explore the labyrinth of L names - female first - Lachlan (gaelic) - from the land of the lochs. I'm going to have her exploring the coast due to a mysterious seafaring death.

Lajita (indian) - a truthful woman
Lupita - (Spanish) - from the valley of wolves.  too obvious if I do a werewolf story?
Lynette  (Welsh)- resembling a songbird

Boys - Leif (Scandinavian) - born at night.  But not last night............oh, he's got the full package - good looking, charming, and ready to woo any young lady in my stories. I'm putting my fingers through is blond locks

Levant (French) one who rises above.
Longfellow - a tall man. He's going to be soulful too - his heart shall be broken
Lucky -(English) a fortunate man.  There's always a Lucky in a gambling tale.

And finally - L is for Love - let's go with Lubomir (Polish ) meaning a great love.

What L names do you love?

M - Marooned on an island?  Married with ten kids? Morose?   What characters evolve from the letter M?

1920s popularity - no boys, Margaret for girls. 

2010 - boys - Michael, Mason, Matthew
girls - Madison, Morgan, Maya, Mackenzie, Madelyn, Madeline, Melanie, and Mariah

We have a grandchild named Makyla.  She's awesome smart at age five almost six. But my rule that I joke about is you should name a child if you can get a Christmas ornament with that name. Not custom mind you. Just a flat out ornament. Oops - Makyla does not meet that requirement. And one of her kindergarten teachers argued with her as she wrote her name. The teacher kept writing Makayla.  Nope.  Makyla knew it was Makyla and the poor kid got in trouble for insubordination.

So, let's root for other magnificent M names - Mackenzie (Gaelic) - daughter of a wise leader, a fiery woman.
Magnolia - the flowering tree. She's going to appear soft and appealing, but she's a southern belle with flash
Mahogany (English) the rich dark wood
Mireille (French) one who is greatly admired

Mystique (French) - woman with an air of mystery. Let's see Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in X Men this summer. oh yeah!

boys - Macallister (Gaelic) - just like this name
Let's just say the whole roster of Mac names rules
Mulazz - (Arabic) a powerful man
Moses (Hebrew) a savior...................well, that's the name of the day

Lots of M to choose from - give me your faves

Nothing in 1920

2010 - boys - Noah, Nathan, Nicholas (oh my beloved Nick appears)
Girls - Naomi, Natalia

Let's explore N
Naama -(Hebrew) an attractive woman
Nabiha (Arabic) one who is intelligent. Could these two women work together?
Nyura (Ukranian) A graceful woman
Nousha (Iranian) a sweet woman

Men - Nael - (Gaelic) - a celebrated birth  My guess is this guy is an ass
Nagid (Hebrew) a great leader
Namdev (Indian) a poet or saint.  He's going to annoy Nagid to no end
Nordin (Norse) a handsome man.  He's going to charm all of the above ladies, that's for sure.
Nuriel (Hebrew) - God's light

Never say never as to who will woo whom. Nice batch of names

O dear, no O names in 1920s. Not even Ophelia - you would think that Shakespeare name could stand the test of time

2010 -
Boys - Owen and Oliver made the cut
Girls - Olivia  is it

What shall I pick?   Females:
October (American) born during Autumn. Indeed - I'm an October gal, so this is a good name
Ode - (English/Greek) traveler of the road.  I love to travel, so this hits my heartstrings
Opal - (Sanskriti) a treasured jewel.  I have an opal from Australia - we traveled there and loved it.
Ozora (Hebrew) one who is wealthy.  She can buy lots of opals.

Men -
It's not in my book but I'm going to pick Odibe - former Texas Ranger baseball player.
Obedience (American) a well behaved man. This is fantasy. A totally manufactured man.......
Okal (African )  to cross.  Uh-oh. sounds like trouble in whatever story I write
Owen (welsh)  a wellborn man, a youthful man.  Yes, I like Owen Wilson, so just go with it.

O dear - do you have an O-man in your life?

P should be Perfect or Prissy or Party-on Dude

Nothing from the 1920s

2010 - Boys - I am shocked - not even Patrick makes this list.  What?

Girls - Peyton, Payton, and Paige. It's a sorority.

I've got good friends named Patricia but they go by Trish.  P's get no respect

Pacifica (Spanish) a peaceful woman
Pacquita (Latin) - unbounded and free
Palani (Hawaiian) free and independent
Paradise (English) from the perfect place

Men - Pitt (English) from the ditch. He's going to have to work his way back into good graces
Phoebus (Greek) - a radiant man
Plutarco (greek) a wicked man
Prine (English) one who surpasses others
Pusan (Hindi) a wise man, sage.

Lots of good P names.  don't let Puma (resembling a mountain lion) pounce ..............

Q is very unique.

Nothing from 1920s, 1930s. or even 2010. Hmmmm. No surprise

But there are some very cool Q names. Look at James Bond movies - just the letter Q is enough.

so, girls - Qi (Chinese) a life force
Querida (Spanish) one who is dearly loved
Quinby (Scandinavian) from the queen's estate
Quorra (Italian) from the heart

boys - Quadir (Arabic) a capable man, one who is competent
Qing (Chinese) of the deep water
Quaid (Irish)  commander of the army
Quinn (Gaelic ) one who provides counsel
Quon (Chinese) A luminous man

Query Q names and question not......

 It was a choice between rapscallion or Ray day. Guess I shall salute my husband who is a bit of a rascal, with a tweak of rogue, and a sweet romancer.

Popular in the 1920s - Robert and Richard and Ruth
2010 - Ryan, Robert for boy names
Riley and Rachel rule the girls
Ray (means a wise protector) is actually his middle name, but that's what everyone calls him. Let's see what else he could be - does he look like a?
Rad (English) one who provides counsel
Rafe (Irish) a tough man
Rafferty (Gaelic) one who wields prosperity
Ryder (English) accomplished horseman
Ruiz (Spanish)  a good friend
Roe (English) one who hunts deer  (Bingo - we might have a winner)


Now the ladies - we'll do a female Rae - means innocent lamb
Rainbow (American)  symbolizes promise
Rhedyn (welsh) resembling a fern
Rohini (Indian) a beautiful woman
Ryo (Japanese)  an excellent woman

This has been a salute to my RAY of sunshine.
I feel like Sesame Street - sponsored by the letter R