Kingdom Come?

[kjboe]

So I've been deeply sucked into the book I'm writing at the moment, I'm around 50 - 60 pages in but I'm beginning to think that the world they are situated in sounds a little daft or basic, and them other times i feel it sounds solid and epic. Its just called Kingdom.

Does it sound too generic?

 

[Fluffypoodel]

I think that it depends on what kind of a world you are working in. Does the name Kingdom have any significance? are there any other places with Kingdom in the title? If you want to stick with Kingdom then you should probably make it a unique name. you could do this by taking away the meaning of the word kingdom and starting from scratch. this way it could be the first Kingdom and not need any other label.

 

[ShortHair]

Considering that most languages literally refer to the world as "dirt" and themselves as "the people," you may have something here.

 

[kjboe]

I think that it depends on what kind of a world you are working in. Does the name Kingdom have any significance? are there any other places with Kingdom in the title? If you want to stick with Kingdom then you should probably make it a unique name. you could do this by taking away the meaning of the word kingdom and starting from scratch. this way it could be the first Kingdom and not need any other label.

I see how you mean, thats just lit a few lightbulbs off in my head! Thankyou.

And thanks for the reassurance ShortHair.

both of these have given me ideas!

 

[ScipioSmith]

The only reason to have names is to define something against an other, so if there are no other kingdoms it makes perfect sense.

It might also say something about the nation concerned. One of the reasons I liked that the Empire in the Inheritance Cycle was just called the Empire was that its such a statement of intent: there is no elsewhere, there are no other nations, there is only us and there is nowhere that you can go that we will not follow you. Far more badass, I have to say, than anything it actually gets up to in the books.

 

[Zophos]

Probably need a "The" or "The Elder" or whatever other adjective you want in place of "elder" in there.

 

[Roc]

Epic novels aren't made in first drafts, they're made in revision, so it's natural to feel that way. Sometimes I think it helps to look at the big picture, past your main characters, and past the government, and start focusing on the lonely housewife that lives three blocks down. You have to populate your world to give it that feel that it's not generic, and it is unique because three blocks down there is a lonely housewife, and four blocks up there is an assassin. Even though they probably won't come up in the story, that doesn't mean they can't be there.

That always helps me get past that feeling of it's a small, small world and everything is basic and 2d.

On the fact your kingdom is called "Kingdom", I personally don't like that. I want some creativity, like what are the people known as in the Kingdom, and you could use that name. They can't just be not called something.

P.S. Just a little bit of advice that you might find interesting:

"Many otherwise perfectly serviceable authors (particularly YA authors, for some reason) ignore the book is about your protagonist, but it shouldn't be ALL about your protagonist. I think there's a distinction between the two.

I find it annoying when an author's universe seems to gravitate — almost absurdly — around the life of the protagonist. No matter how amazing or extraordinary they might be, I don't think life happens that way. Life happens to everybody, and sometimes, it isn't about you. A good author knows when to let secondary characters shine. A great example, of this, of course, is an ensemble cast like in Harry Potter.

This also fits under flaws in main characters. Many authors, amateur and famous, forget that their story is about everyone. They forget the big picture.

This really hit me hard and made me realize — wait, I do that! So, remember to look at the big picture and let your secondary characters shine even brighter than your protagonist."