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Nicknames



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Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:38 pm
lakegirls says...



So as the title suggests this topic is about nicknames. Mainly I need help figuring out nicknames for two of my main characters.

The first one is April. I like the nickname "A" but I don't know if it would be too confusing for people. Also for Brooke I was thinking of using the nickname "B" but again I don't know if it would be too confusing.

If anyone has any suggestions that would be great!
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Tue Jun 03, 2014 2:31 am
eldEr says...



Well, nicknames usually have a reason. If someone's name is already that short, then there's really no way to shorten it to be a nickname. "A" and "B" is a little bit entertaining because, you know, consecutive letters in the alphabet, but. That's all you have to work with shortening-wise.

We can't really help you nickname your characters unless we know more about them, though. What are they like? What do they like? Any weird physical traits? Quirks? Interests? Did they end up with nicknames due to a bizarre happening, or because someone found out something about them that turned into an inside joke? Is it just April and Brooke who use the nicknames for each other, or is it their entire friend group, or the general community they're associated with?

And why do they even need a nickname? If their names work fine, then use their names. Simple as that.
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Tue Jun 03, 2014 2:40 am
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crossroads says...



Also, are the nicknames supposed to be nice? I mean, they could be called Ape and Broke, or something along those lines, and it might not be too flattering =p
And! Must they be related to their names? Nicknames can be anything - they could be called Pillow and Shoe because of some crazy old story, totally unrelated to their names. Or is it just about shortening the names?
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Tue Jun 03, 2014 2:41 am
Rosendorn says...



Why did they get the nickname?

Is it because their names are too long? There's another name that sounds really similar to those within the group? They always sign their emails with that? Do people want to annoy them?

We usually don't pick our nicknames ourselves, so figuring out the people using the nicknames and why they use it comes in handy.
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Tue Jun 03, 2014 4:12 pm
lakegirls says...



Well their nicknames are A & B. I'm just wondering if that's too confusing. The reason behind it is to shorten their names
Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.
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Tue Jun 03, 2014 5:20 pm
Holysocks says...



I think it's a bit obvious, and not all that creative... but I don't think A and B will be too confusing. You might want to spell them rather than simply using the letters, because I think it looks a bit weird being like: "Hey B!" You know? What I think would be better is something like: "Hey Bee!" That feels better to me.

Also, if you're still open to talking about nick names... I have a pretty good history of giving them, and recieving them. So yeah.

Nick names can be anything that your characters/people can think up around the name. As long as the character that made it up thinks it sounds good, or it's faster, or it's funny, or it ironically goes really well with the nick namee, then it's perfect. That doesn't mean the person recieving the nick name is going to like it, nor does it mean it will be pretty.

So let's take April for an example. There's lots of things in the name April that can be used as an nick name. Things like 'Prill', 'Prilly', 'Ape' ( as sugested by Aria ), 'Rill', 'Pill', and I could even see someone calling her 'Al'. But of course these are only shortenings... now you've got me onto Pet Names.

Pet Names are even funner, because they can have little or nothing to do with the persons name. They can mean something about the named to the namer, or they can just be fun, and easy to say.

Someone mentioned if there are two characters with the same names, you might need a pet name. This is terribly true. A few years ago I had a friend that had the same name as me... naturally, my friends gave us pet names because they were tired of both of us, or the wrong one answering when they called.

What did they call us? Well, for awhile we were 'Micky Mouse' and 'Donald Duck'. Are friends decided on that because 'Mic' or 'Micky' is a possible nick name for us... So they gave my friend 'Micky' and my name followed suit. However, after awhile one of my friends ( the one that came up with the pet names ) decided that it was too cruel and they began adding our middle names when adressing us.

For a name like 'Brooke', there's many ways to create a pet name. This is an obvious, but someone might call her 'Book' or someone might see or think of the spelling one day, and decide that 'Roo' is a good thing to call her. Heck, someone might like the way her name sounds backwards! Or, let's just forget her given name all together, and call her 'Calic' or 'Boon'.

Let's face it; our friends and family are wierd. It's best to use it to your advantage. :-P
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Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:01 am
niteowl says...



Okay, so I know it's been a while since you posted this, but I had a relevant thought but didn't get a chance to post it at the time.

A and B might not be too confusing for your readers...but what about the people in their universe? Maybe you don't have any other prominent characters with A or B names, but in an average high school classroom (or any other setting), you're going to have Allisons, Alannas, Beccas, Briannas, etc. Why do these characters get the "A" and "B" monikers and no one else does?

The thing that made me think of this thread was the dynamics of email signing at university (I think there's actually a Ph.D. comic about it). Basically, if you're an undergrad emailing a professor, you're (hopefully) going to start off "Dr. Smith" and not "John" or "J" and sign off politely, like "Sincerely, [name]". Assuming the professor responds at all, he'll probably answer "John" or "J" or "j.a.s." (all real signoffs I've gotten from profs). He has the power, so he can be more casual. As a teaching assistant, I've sort of been on the other end of this--I go by my first name, but students have called me "Mrs. [last name]" in emails before, which always cracks me up. Basically, how you are addressed (and how people address you) is a reflection of power.

All that to say that the one-letter monikers would work best IF April and Brooke are THE top dogs, the Regina Georges of their world. If someone finds a note talking about A and immediately knows it's about April, or someone can yell out "Yo B" and no other B-names would even bother looking because it's obviously for Brooke, then it works nicely. Otherwise, I'd suggest different nicknames or none at all.

Of course, if they want to be anonymous, then it could work as well.

I know this is late but hope this helps!
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