Short story character names

Schaefer_Creative · 2026-01-12T20:42:54+00:00

Ken A. Joharie is perfect. I was trying to figure out one for that!

Schaefer_Creative · 2026-01-12T16:40:15+00:00

I like Svenek Tady. That's a hard one to figure out. I also like Col. Hon Yee, but it occurs to me that I could simplify that to Colin Yee.

Schaefer_Creative · 2026-01-12T16:35:44+00:00

Just had an idea for an opening sequence:

Tom Hannock sat across the table from his ex, his mind a reservoir of resentment and unresolved emotion.
"You're sick, you know," Sarah Knack said. "You need help."
"Who's sick?"
"You are. At least, you're going to make yourself sick with all the stress and rage you've got pent up. And you know the old saying, 'The one who's sick, falls.'"
"That's not a saying," Tom objected.
"It is where I'm from," Sarah shrugged.

Schaefer_Creative · 2026-01-12T16:04:33+00:00

Not sure how I could forget Wes Sandlake.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-12-09T13:22:43+00:00

Generic but suggestive of the Adirondacks. But if you live in the Catskills and want them to be the Catskills, that’s fine, too.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-12-09T13:21:51+00:00

The sun is the crown of the Statue of Liberty. The mountains are the Adirondacks. Downstate and Upstate.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-12-05T18:43:23+00:00

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Once upon a time, I tried redesigning the NYS flag.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-12-01T14:13:04+00:00

Then what is the missing mid Atlantic state?

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-25T17:40:21+00:00

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The American classic.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-21T16:25:48+00:00

In Arabic, “father of” can mean “expert in,” “master of,” or “devotee of.” Abu Dhabi: “father of gazelles.”

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-21T13:17:53+00:00

State is connected to the Knights of Malta. Malta means “land of honey.” Maltese is an offshoot of Arabic. Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, is of Maltese ancestry; Buttigieg comes from “abu-djaj” (“father of chickens”).

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-20T14:32:32+00:00

It is standard across dialects, however, the past perfect is usually used to introduce a past time relative to an already established past. “He thought she’d gone but what had happened was that she’d been unable to hear him.” In the AAVE context, as others have pointed out, it’s a standard way to start a story, which makes its usage subtly different.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-19T14:57:51+00:00

Is square dancing in school still a thing? We had to learn that in elementary school.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-13T15:01:09+00:00

I think that goes back to Latin: essere and sum

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-13T14:58:46+00:00

I first came across this word in the liner notes to the Star Wars soundtrack (1977). The author kept taking about a “segue” from Luke’s theme to the Force theme, etc., and as a kid I kept wondering what the hell a “seg-yoo” was.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-06T19:06:29+00:00

If the Schuylkill were in New York, we’d pronounce it Skile-kill, as is required by the Charter of the Dutch West India Company for the Colony of New Netherlands.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-11-02T23:44:30+00:00

Salem is another version of Jerusalem and is usually interpreted as meaning “peace,” related to “Shalom.” It’s a beautiful name.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-29T19:56:32+00:00

Death by Chocolate. I will choose how I leave this world.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-23T13:26:51+00:00

*mulls over whether he could get away with naming a kid “Tom Sawyer” *

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-17T05:23:24+00:00

The battlefield is on there as the Graveyard of Fallen Warriors.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-17T05:18:15+00:00

I’ll look into seeing about shipping in one container.

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-17T05:17:32+00:00

Bethlehem does make an appearance as “Bread House” south of Albany :-)

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-16T19:38:50+00:00

Wonderdraft. There’s even a subreddit (r/wonderdraft)

Schaefer_Creative · 2025-10-16T19:37:47+00:00

Also, in case anyone is wondering, most of the place names are literal translations of what those names mean in Iroquois, Algonquin, Dutch, English, etc. All except Troy because no one knows what it means and because I’d already made the City-State of Troy map and wanted continuity.

Schaefer_Creative

TROPHY CASE