Traditional Naming Thread / Character Development thread!
Apr 19, 2014 22:52:17 GMT
Post by !Gingernose on Apr 19, 2014 22:52:17 GMT
Hello! It's back, all O: Here, I'll be talking about traditional naming, as well as explaining the other sorts of naming that exist.
Please note that this is all advice and you're free to do whatever kind you want - but by posting here you're allowing me to give constructive crit! If I come across as aggressive, I apologize. I'll try my best to air on the side of caution, since tone doesn't always communicate well.
Types Of Naming
Canonical:
Canonical naming is where a cat can be named anything that's from the books - traditionalism falls under this, but not all canonical names are traditional. With this, you could have names like Brightheart or Runningcloud - so it can be as ridiculous or as lyrical as you want it to be. Many people use this as an excuse to use a nontraditional prefix under the guise of traditionalism - yes, Leaf- was used by a lot of brown tabbies, but no, it's still not traditional, because traditionalism isn't based on common usage.
Lyrical:
Lyrical naming is when a cat is named something symbolic, or is named out of how the name sounds o flows - basically just naming in a pretty way. These rarely have any significant meaning, and are purely cosmetic, although may also focus on traits (negative, generally). Names like Hollowheart and Brokensoul fit under this, but lots of names can fall under this umbrella, regardless. This is the most popular naming scheme I've seen.
Traditional:
This is the one focused upon in this thread. Traditionalism is a system - the prefix describes the cat's pelt or notably small/large size at birth, and the suffix describes their skills, personality traits, or average...ness. I'll link the site I use for these later on, as it's a useful site and gives a lot of unused prefixes, if you're up to it.
What makes a traditional name?
Glad you asked! A traditional name is comprised as described, and must make sense. A name must give the listener an idea of what the cat's like - a cat named Icefoot would be white-pelted and be a fast runner, a cat named Briarcloud would be a brown tabby who's notably calm but not notable in skill, et cetera. If it doesn't describe your cat accurately in this sense, you might want to rename.
Also, prefixes may not be repeated in a Clan. If there's a Cinder- already, use something else, like Ash- or Ivy- or Pale- or what-have-ya. If there's a cat in another Clan with the same name, refer to them as "___ of ___Clan" when at a gathering or when trying to be specific, eheh.
Renames
These are traditional, to a point. A lot of cats I see with renames are named for a grievery, which I'll post about in my Common Elements post. No worries!
A rename works as such: If a cat is notably scarred during the course of their warriorship, they get renamed for it. If a cat loses its ears over a couple battles, they'd be named No-ear. If a cat's tail is ripped up and broken, it'd be either Brokentail or Deadtail, depending on whether it's still movable or usable. Some suffixes listed in the suffixes section are purely for renames - these are -ear, -eye, and -jaw. They're not usable for a non-scarred cat and should not be used.
Why does traditionalism exist?
This is a system somewhat-set-up by the Erins - it's probably not coincidence that most of the cats in the first arc coincide with their name skill- and pelt-wise. Fans use this system for organization, in addition to the awesome new meaning that can be given behind a name. It can also be helpful when creating characters, because you can stick a trait onto a cat and build off of it from common coincidental traits per suffix!
Traditional Clans
So you want to make a traditional Clan? Cool!
The name has to coincide with the majority of the territory - a Clan that lives in the hills could be named HillClan, FieldClan... or probably MeadowClan. If a Clan lives in a brushlike area, they could be named BrushClan or CopseClan! Additionally, these Clans (generally) don't live under the named-by-its-first-leader rule. The first leader shouldn't be so vain as to do this - if they're good enough, they'll be talked about for generations without having to stick their name on a Clan.
Additionally, each Clan should have a Clan Average - the kind of build, skills, and fur types that appear most commonly would be listed here. It would make sense for a rogue or loner-based Clan to initially be a bit scattered, but if it's a solid-foundation Clan, there'd be an obvious body type and fur color.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM AND ITS LIMITS
Warriors is known for it. Emotions and the like are portrayed because of it. Therefore, there's got to be a certain limit - genealogy should not be excluded for the sake of fantasy. Inbreeding would be monitored and the leader and medicine cat in each Clan would keep an up-to-date record (somehow) in order to keep genes from mixing too much!
COMMON QUESTIONS AND ELEMENTS
Please check the next two posts for these!
Traditional Prefixes || Traditional Suffixes
Forms
Traditional Name Form
Cat's name:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality and Skills:
Brief History:
Other:
Clan Rating Form
Clan's name:
Clan Average:
Territory:
Common Skills:
Other?:
Please note that this is all advice and you're free to do whatever kind you want - but by posting here you're allowing me to give constructive crit! If I come across as aggressive, I apologize. I'll try my best to air on the side of caution, since tone doesn't always communicate well.
Types Of Naming
Canonical:
Canonical naming is where a cat can be named anything that's from the books - traditionalism falls under this, but not all canonical names are traditional. With this, you could have names like Brightheart or Runningcloud - so it can be as ridiculous or as lyrical as you want it to be. Many people use this as an excuse to use a nontraditional prefix under the guise of traditionalism - yes, Leaf- was used by a lot of brown tabbies, but no, it's still not traditional, because traditionalism isn't based on common usage.
Lyrical:
Lyrical naming is when a cat is named something symbolic, or is named out of how the name sounds o flows - basically just naming in a pretty way. These rarely have any significant meaning, and are purely cosmetic, although may also focus on traits (negative, generally). Names like Hollowheart and Brokensoul fit under this, but lots of names can fall under this umbrella, regardless. This is the most popular naming scheme I've seen.
Traditional:
This is the one focused upon in this thread. Traditionalism is a system - the prefix describes the cat's pelt or notably small/large size at birth, and the suffix describes their skills, personality traits, or average...ness. I'll link the site I use for these later on, as it's a useful site and gives a lot of unused prefixes, if you're up to it.
What makes a traditional name?
Glad you asked! A traditional name is comprised as described, and must make sense. A name must give the listener an idea of what the cat's like - a cat named Icefoot would be white-pelted and be a fast runner, a cat named Briarcloud would be a brown tabby who's notably calm but not notable in skill, et cetera. If it doesn't describe your cat accurately in this sense, you might want to rename.
Also, prefixes may not be repeated in a Clan. If there's a Cinder- already, use something else, like Ash- or Ivy- or Pale- or what-have-ya. If there's a cat in another Clan with the same name, refer to them as "___ of ___Clan" when at a gathering or when trying to be specific, eheh.
Renames
These are traditional, to a point. A lot of cats I see with renames are named for a grievery, which I'll post about in my Common Elements post. No worries!
A rename works as such: If a cat is notably scarred during the course of their warriorship, they get renamed for it. If a cat loses its ears over a couple battles, they'd be named No-ear. If a cat's tail is ripped up and broken, it'd be either Brokentail or Deadtail, depending on whether it's still movable or usable. Some suffixes listed in the suffixes section are purely for renames - these are -ear, -eye, and -jaw. They're not usable for a non-scarred cat and should not be used.
Why does traditionalism exist?
This is a system somewhat-set-up by the Erins - it's probably not coincidence that most of the cats in the first arc coincide with their name skill- and pelt-wise. Fans use this system for organization, in addition to the awesome new meaning that can be given behind a name. It can also be helpful when creating characters, because you can stick a trait onto a cat and build off of it from common coincidental traits per suffix!
Traditional Clans
So you want to make a traditional Clan? Cool!
The name has to coincide with the majority of the territory - a Clan that lives in the hills could be named HillClan, FieldClan... or probably MeadowClan. If a Clan lives in a brushlike area, they could be named BrushClan or CopseClan! Additionally, these Clans (generally) don't live under the named-by-its-first-leader rule. The first leader shouldn't be so vain as to do this - if they're good enough, they'll be talked about for generations without having to stick their name on a Clan.
Additionally, each Clan should have a Clan Average - the kind of build, skills, and fur types that appear most commonly would be listed here. It would make sense for a rogue or loner-based Clan to initially be a bit scattered, but if it's a solid-foundation Clan, there'd be an obvious body type and fur color.
ANTHROPOMORPHISM AND ITS LIMITS
Warriors is known for it. Emotions and the like are portrayed because of it. Therefore, there's got to be a certain limit - genealogy should not be excluded for the sake of fantasy. Inbreeding would be monitored and the leader and medicine cat in each Clan would keep an up-to-date record (somehow) in order to keep genes from mixing too much!
COMMON QUESTIONS AND ELEMENTS
Please check the next two posts for these!
Traditional Prefixes || Traditional Suffixes
Forms
Traditional Name Form
Cat's name:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality and Skills:
Brief History:
Other:
Clan Rating Form
Clan's name:
Clan Average:
Territory:
Common Skills:
Other?:
