Nickname my Character!
30March 30, 2013 by Kira Lyn Blue
How can you say no to a helpless kitten? Image from http://www.quickmeme.com.
Ok fellow blogizens, I need your help. I’m drawing a complete blank on what to have one of my main supporting characters call my protagonist as a nickname.
Think of the fanfare and admiration I will heap on you if you come up with the winning entry! Think of the satisfaction of seeing your suggestion in print on multiple pages of my book! Think of the good karma you’ll reap for helping out a fellow writer! Think of…
Ok, fine, I’m just trying to butter you all up because I don’t have any tangible reward to offer other than crediting you in the Acknowledgements. But, don’t let that stop you! This is your chance to prove your creative and intellectual superiority over mine and that of your fellow bloggers!
How to Help: Leave a comment on this page with your suggestion. It’s that easy.
The Rules: There are no rules! However, I do suggest that you review the character summaries below for proper context.
Wait! There is one rule. ‘Sparky’ is out. Sorry, no dice.
The Context: The character who needs a nickname is the protagonist of my (still in progress) Urban Fantasy novel, Jacquelyn Montgomery aka Jac. Jac would be your everyday twenty-something trying to make her way in the world and working as an EMT, except for one little problem: She’s a Jinx. Jinxes are more politely known as chaos class sorcerers. Jac’s magical abilities are unpredictable and have a tendency to cause her all sorts of misfortune at the worst possible times. She’s petite, raven-haired, green-eyed, snarky, and stubborn, but has the requisite heart of gold and wants to do the right thing in spite of her… ah… condition.
Jac’s Character Board on Pinterest.
The character who will use the nickname is her roommate, Levi Cooper aka V. V is a tattoo artist and sorcerer of unknown class and probably very little class. He and Jac are friends and she looks on him as a sort of big brother figure. Levi’s Character Board on Pinterest.
Alright, that’s all you get. Show me what you can do with it! Impress and amaze me!
Click the “Leave a reply” link below and hit Jac with your best shot!
The fine print: I’ll keep entries open until 4/11/2013. The Husband will serve as judge, jury, and exec- I mean rewarder of epic loot, er prestige. Winner will be announced right here on this blog! Dun Dun DUNNNNNN!
kiralynblue 
How about “Glitch”?
Oooh, that’s a good one! Thanks!
I quite like this one.
I looked up synonyms for Jinx and Hoodoo was one of the words that came up. I know this probably would not work, but the sound of it made me laugh. Also, if someone called me that, it would eventually annoy the hell out of me. I love your blog – can’t wait to read more!
Thanks so much for the compliment! I tried the thesaurus route, too, and got stuck for the same reason, lol! So, that’s why I’m here shamelessly begging for help 😀
If Levi is British, he could ironically refer to her as Montgomery. (is he the ironic sort?) I’ve always like the last name as a nickname thing. Other ideas … well, there’s the classics — Jackie, Lynn, etc. Or playing off the Jinx thing … he could sometimes refer to her as a “hot mess”. Or … go the opposite of jinx, call her his “lucky charm”. … Calamity … Cat (short for “catastrophe”) … or black cat, because they’re bad luck … Vex (because she vexes him). That’s all I got! Hopefully you like at least one of those 😀
Good suggestions. I was rather hoping for something to play off the Jinx thing, but am open to other ideas. I like that “Cat'” has the two negative connotations but seems fairly innocuous at first read. “Vex” is also an interesting idea.
Thanks for the submissions!
No problem 🙂 Looking forward to seeing what you decide!
Submission via Facebook from Mowt: “Jac Monster” and I can only assume he’s running a GLaDOS (from the video game Portal) theme. Jac is a gamer, so, hmmmmm…
Why not just refer to as Chaos? or CJ like Calamity Jane (only Jac)
Oooh, not bad at all! Thanks for the suggestion!
If Levi is V, why can’t Jac be K, as in cha-os? (first attempt, will be back with others)
I wouldn’t have thought of that, but that’s pretty good! Thanks for the suggestion!
I’m starting to be really glad I delegated the duty of choosing a winner to the Husband. 🙂
That’s a good one, although I like all of them. So yes, good thing you delegated the duty of choosing the winner to your hubby, Kira 🙂
Calamity, trouble, Miss Fortune. That’s all I have that are fit to print.
Uh ohs, you found one the Husband suggested early on. Methinks the two of you are in cahoots! It may be time to find a reliable third party to play judge… hmmm.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Your husband is obviously very clever!
This is such fun! What a great idea. I think “Smash” suits – especially after I viewed Levi’s character board. Jac would hate it, but that’s the fun of nick names.
Oh yes, that is the fun of nicknames. They should definitely annoy to a certain extent. I keep thinking of how Jean-Claude annoys Anita Blake with ‘ma petite’ and Cat will only let Bones call her ‘kitten’ and even then begrudgingly 🙂
Exactly!
If she is snarky, possibly grumpy without her coffee, he can call her Sunshine, especially in the morning.
She’s guilty as charged! Thanks for the suggestion!
My suggestion is Pixie, first thing that came to mind when I read that she’s petite. Also, like that it has an X like Jinx. Hope you find one you like (even if it’s not mine) 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve made a new post on this topic and made a poll. Yes, I am playing with blog features. Why do you ask?
Sorry, not sure what you meant by “Yes, I am playing with blog features. Why do you ask?”
Doh, sorry. Trying to be clever and failed. I made a poll for the Nickname ‘Contest’ and it’s my first poll.
The important thing: I included all of the above suggestions in the poll 🙂
Nah…I’m just dense sometimes. 🙂 I voted earlier. Hope its okay I voted for my suggestion! 🙂 Btw, I think a poll is a great idea. I’m very interested to see the results!
Of course it’s okay 🙂 There’s only one rule for the contest: If you attempt to choose ‘Sparky’ as the nickname, I send a pack of ninja squirrels to your house to sabotage your computer.
Even without the threat of squirrels, I would never choose “Sparky”! 🙂
Flatline. Vertigo.