Comments on: Learning to be specific with culture http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/ The daily journal of a puppeteer and SF writer. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:25:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Mary Robinette Kowal http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40391 Mary Robinette Kowal Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:25:59 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40391 Wow. Yes. Even to my eye those are not good. Wow. Yes. Even to my eye those are not good.

]]> By: Mary Robinette Kowal http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40390 Mary Robinette Kowal Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:24:57 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40390 Tough question to answer. It's only loosely based on Hawaii, so I felt free to make up a lot of stuff. I remember researching clothing, housing, weapons and flora, but otherwise, I think I just winged it. My husband is from Hawaii and I've been out there a couple of times but that only gave me a general feel for the landscape. Tough question to answer. It’s only loosely based on Hawaii, so I felt free to make up a lot of stuff. I remember researching clothing, housing, weapons and flora, but otherwise, I think I just winged it.

My husband is from Hawaii and I’ve been out there a couple of times but that only gave me a general feel for the landscape.

]]> By: Mary Robinette Kowal http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40389 Mary Robinette Kowal Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:22:52 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40389 Alma, those are definitely fantasy names. I just meant that I used a vowel/consonant pattern that was based on Croatian patterns. I'm using the Everchanging Book of Names, which is the same program I used to generate the Hawaiian based ones. Neither place is intended to actually be Coatia or Hawaii since I have an entirely different mythos built than exists in the real world. Alma, those are definitely fantasy names. I just meant that I used a vowel/consonant pattern that was based on Croatian patterns. I’m using the Everchanging Book of Names, which is the same program I used to generate the Hawaiian based ones.

Neither place is intended to actually be Coatia or Hawaii since I have an entirely different mythos built than exists in the real world.

]]> By: Joe Iriarte http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40383 Joe Iriarte Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:50:47 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40383 Speaking of, the hispanic names generated by http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/ are just awful. I have yet to see one where the entire name rang true. In particular, I don't know where they got their first names from. Speaking of, the hispanic names generated by http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/ are just awful. I have yet to see one where the entire name rang true. In particular, I don’t know where they got their first names from.

]]> By: Alma Alexander http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40381 Alma Alexander Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:36:31 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40381 Where did you get your original "Croatian based names" from? Because... well... they're... um... not. Zinad and Mivaza are not names I've EVER heard of in the right context - if I saw them in a story I would not think "Croatia" I would think "generic extruded fantasy product" because there are fantasy names. If they belonged anywhere within the borders of ex-Yugoslavia one might make a case for them being vaguely Bosnian, because they have a thin veneer of Islam on them somehow and that's the trademark of Bosnian Muslim names around there, NOT Croatian ones. Cojko is not so much a name as a diminutive, a nickname, or would be if there was remotely a name from which it might have been derived. I agree with you - your Hawaiian setting works beautifully. But the Croatian one fails on a number of different levels, which is why it felt "generic" to your beta readers. If you should feel the urge to set things in Eastern Europe again, I'm offering my services as fact checker.. Where did you get your original “Croatian based names” from? Because… well… they’re… um… not.

Zinad and Mivaza are not names I’ve EVER heard of in the right context – if I saw them in a story I would not think “Croatia” I would think “generic extruded fantasy product” because there are fantasy names. If they belonged anywhere within the borders of ex-Yugoslavia one might make a case for them being vaguely Bosnian, because they have a thin veneer of Islam on them somehow and that’s the trademark of Bosnian Muslim names around there, NOT Croatian ones. Cojko is not so much a name as a diminutive, a nickname, or would be if there was remotely a name from which it might have been derived.

I agree with you – your Hawaiian setting works beautifully. But the Croatian one fails on a number of different levels, which is why it felt “generic” to your beta readers.

If you should feel the urge to set things in Eastern Europe again, I’m offering my services as fact checker..

]]> By: Joe Iriarte http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40380 Joe Iriarte Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:10:28 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40380 Thanks for sharing this inside look. How much research did you feel like you had to do to get a Hawaiian setting right? Thanks for sharing this inside look. How much research did you feel like you had to do to get a Hawaiian setting right?

]]> By: Amal El-Mohtar http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40379 Amal El-Mohtar Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:41:43 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40379 You may want to watch the SF Site, by the way; there should be two reviews of CP2 appearing there in the next few days, very different from each other. You may want to watch the SF Site, by the way; there should be two reviews of CP2 appearing there in the next few days, very different from each other.

]]> By: Mary Robinette Kowal http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40378 Mary Robinette Kowal Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:10:07 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40378 Glad you liked it. Yeah, I look back at the original and just shake my head. What was I thinking? Glad you liked it. Yeah, I look back at the original and just shake my head. What was I thinking?

]]> By: Amal El-Mohtar http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/learning-to-be-specific-with-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-40377 Amal El-Mohtar Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:08:30 +0000 http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/?p=5579#comment-40377 I loved that story so much! This is fascinating, to see where you were setting it originally. I loved that story so much! This is fascinating, to see where you were setting it originally.

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