August is Awesome Because of David Powers King

It would be my great pleasure to introduce David Powers King to everyone, but my guess is most people have already met David.  And those who know him already know how awesome he is.

This awesome gentleman joined my blog back in its earliest days, back when I was almost completely clueless about blogging.  (That's not to say that I'm significantly less clueless today, mind you.)  But much of what I have learned, I learned by watching this awesome dude in action and from reading his posts.

Break space-dock and plot a course at warp nine for David's Cosmic Laire of Science Fiction and Fantasy the moment that alien delegation disembarks.  It's a destination that almost rivals Risa!  And if you see David with a horga'hn, be sure to snap a photo!

Aspiring Advice: What’s In A Name? Much!

I pulled into a local graveyard the other day. Not to visit anyone in particular, but to look around and read some headstones (who does that?). Many of these people lived in the late 1800’s, early Utah settlers mostly, but as I read the surnames of these folks, I couldn’t help but notice how similar they all were. Come to find out, many of these people were of Scandinavian heritage.

That’s when I started to think (dangerous, I know). These people shared something in common: a culture. They shared a common worldview that other cultures would define differently, express differently, and speak differently. Language, after all, is a complex combination of sounds that carry meaning, and when those sounds combine, they define who and what is around us.

One of my favorite things about writing is coming up with character names, often of the high fantasy nature or the altered/modern names for science fiction. The most common feedback I receive from my writing is how much readers enjoyed my names, both characters and places. I wasn’t sure why. It was all fun for me, but it wasn’t until I took Anthropology of Language in college when I learned the way I create and use names has a psychological association to them.

Combining sounds to identify a person can define who and what they are.

David's awesome new banner on his blog!

Think of your name. Say it. Say it out loud (enough, Edward…)! Now enunciate each phoneme (letter) and syllable. What does it sound like? How does it make you feel? Calm? Empowered? Fun? Being called that name your whole life, does it have an affect on mood, decision making, and relationships? I’m under the persuasion that it plays a part, but it may not apply to everyone. In fiction, however, it certainly can, which may wholly define a personality by their name alone.

You know Shakespeare’s Othello? You know it’s a tragedy by the sound of his name.

Think of stories you know and pair the hero’s name with the villain’s. How common is it for heroes to have strong, easy-sounding names while the villains are rough and hard? Here’s my list: Wesley/Humperdinck. Luke/Vadar. Woody/Sid. Bilbo/Smaug. Marty/Biff.

Stark contrasts aren’t essential, but they are effective and often do the job.

Another thing to keep in mind is the impact a name has on the character’s culture. My biggest complaint with fantasy, sometimes, are the names. In an effort to be unique, they don’t blend with the environment (unheard-of names, narrative doesn’t match), made worse when they are outlandishly large and riddled with accent marks, making them near impossible to pronounce. That’s certainly worth thinking about. I think it best to watch for those and avoid if possible.

This is not the rule, just my thoughts on the matter. Names connect readers to characters. It is their first impression. The next time you create your next protagonist, look up what their name means. Does it sound like a good match? Does it conflict or compliment the world building?

What impression will it leave? How will it read on a headstone a hundred years later?

I’m David, and what’s in your name?

David Powers King is awesome!

About Davis Powers King:

Hello! It's good to meet you. I'm an aspiring author of MG and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy with a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. For now, I live and write in Utah with my stellar wife and rambunctious kids! What do you write?

David blogs at:
The Cosmic Laire of Science Fiction and Fantasy
And moderates for inkPageant
You can also find him on Twitter

August is Awesome Because of Al Diaz

I met Al via the Yahoo Fantasy Writing group.  We've exchanged critiques and ideas on our works in process, offering each other suggestions, encouragement and more than a few laughs. 

Al is one awesome dragon, writing a novel in English even though Spanish is Al's native (and primary) tongue!  And I thought the struggles that I, a born-and-raised American, endured writing a novel in English were tough!

A lot of talent and creativity resides within Al, so give this awesome dragon an awesome welcome!

"Ken Lee"

by

Al Diaz

The lyrics to this song may ring a bell for all those lovers of YouTube. If you’re not familiar with it, you just need to type the name and you’ll be able to enjoy this piece of creativity. Anyway, the singer presumes Ken Lee is English.  Well, this is Ken Lee’s English with its reference in the “other” English. (Bummer, how many English are there in this world?)

Lyrics as Sang	(True English Lyrics)
No one ken to ken to sivmen	(No, I can’t forget this evening)
Nor yon clees toju maliveeh	(Or your face as you were leaving)
When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more	(When I had you there but then I let you go)
New yonooz tonight molinigh	(You always smile but in your eyes)
Yon sorrah shoo, yes, ee shoo	(Your sorrow shows, yes it shows)
Ken Lee	(Can’t live)
Tulibu dibu douchoo	(If living is without you)
Ken Lee	(Can’t live)
Ken lee meju more	(I can’t give any more)

As much as this song has made me laugh real hard, I must confess in my youth I used to sing my “Ken Lee” versions of my favorite songs. I could nearly bet my left shoe that all those for whom English is not our mother language have started with “Ken Lee” singing attempts.

Billy Joel’s “We didn’t start the fire” for example.  Our “Ken Lee” version was;
“Harrison and drum spring. Make Shon and Jhonny away. Sun besin the pot and wishes. Shon Jumanji Oh.”

Corresponding to the “other” English version of:
“Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray. South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio.”

Yes, you can laugh at us too. My mother language is Spanish. Back in my youth I wished I could understand at least half of what my favorite songs said, though. I learned English along with my career. By the end I could manage a simple conversation and I could write a business letter in English, from Dear Sirs to Yours Very Truly.  However, if this conversation went any bit deeper than the status of your order, messages and directions, I could be in deep trouble. God forbids if I’ve got to talk with an actual English speaking person. I could well speak Apache then, or my fingers suddenly became clumsy. After cutting the communication “by accident”, I would hide under my desk with a Mr. Bean kind of expression and hope no one would have noticed that.

It was more than evident English and I didn’t get along well. It was ok by me. Who needs English anyway when all good movies have subtitles and Internet was a only a subject good for Sci-Fi? But fates  had other plans and for circumstances out of my control I couldn’t find a job related to my career. I had English, though. Somebody suggested I should offer translation services. (But of course! Why didn’t I think about it before?)

Only those who work in the translation business can tell that knowing a language and translating to that language and back to your own are not necessarily related.  Actually they are not. I have found wonderful English teachers that really suck at translation and excellent translators that cannot remember one single grammar rule under penalty of death. But hey! I was not nearly an English teacher, so I felt safe enough to try in the translation business. Now that was not a proof of my common sense but sure as hell I proved some chutzpah. I still don’t know how it was that I managed to survive in the translation world without someone to just kick my butt out.  A reason could be that those who were up to try it would have to first find me under piles and piles of dictionaries. Engineering, medical, legal and business dictionaries shaped my fortress. I learned translation along the road out of a need to earn my living and thus the need to make people believe I knew what I was doing, (or in this case, speaking.) I came to be pretty good at it after a couple of years but it needed time and hard work.

I have always loved to write stories. I wrote them in Spanish of course. One day it occurred to me I should write stories in English to further improve my knowledge of the language. Now if I could translate how a scrapper for offshore oil byproduct pipelines worked, or better, translate a whole lawsuit from Spanish to English, writing a story was like child’s play. (Yeah, keep dreaming.)

It was quite a shock to feel I didn’t know any English at all….yet again.  I didn’t know words as common as sigh, scoop, grin, smirk, hut. (Can you hear it? The curse to deaf  Heaven?) Yes. "How many times will I have to learn English, for crying out loud?"

I was overwhelmed by this sense of déjà vu and this time I could not shrug it off. Who needs English? Well, just surf the Internet and you’ll find who needs English. If I wanted more people to be able to read my stories, I had to learn that sort of English. I’m still learning, but I can tell you it has come to be very gratifying. I am proud of my efforts and my level of English. I have not mastered it yet, but it’s way above the “Ken Lee” English with which I started several years ago. The best part is that it didn’t cost me nearly the amounts of money one may guess. My English boost came 99% from writing stories and role playing with English speaking fellows that have become also dearest friends.

This doesn’t mean I’ve given up on “Ken Lee”. Now I sing “Ken Lee” versions of Japanese, Indian, Portuguese and Italian songs. “Ken Lee” is still fun for me but now I know one thing for sure. Learning another language is not matter of money. It’s matter of determination, time and effort.

Al Diaz is awesome!

About Al Diaz

I work as an English-Spanish translator. I also write small articles for a monthly magazine for Risaterapia, an organization of hospital clown volunteers. I have an harem of muses and when I am not writing, I am painting, sculpting with clay or papier mache, doing 3D origami, making puppets (and muppets) training dogs, creating vegetarian recipes for people with gastrointestinal disorders, dancing, practicing PNL or reading about all the above.

Al blogs at Imaginar es crear
Connect with Al on Twitter too: https://twitter.com/CodigoNoble