The strangest name...

[PlotHolio]

Today, while working on a seemingly innocuous assignment in Microsoft Access, I accidentally created a strange name: Cheguille Beleugula.

That's pronounced shay-geel, not cha-gwilly.

I love it, but I don't think I can use it in my work because it's so ridiculous sounding that it would instantly yank the reader out of their immersion.

Here are some examples, using popular/recognizable quotes from film and literature, of why this name should never be used in fiction.

"Who is Cheguille Beleugula?"

"Just another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne? Cheguille Beleugula? Marshall Dillon?"

"The trick, Cheguille Beleugula, is not minding that it hurts."

"Mufasa! Stampede in the gorge! Cheguille Beleugula is down there!"

"I am, this is my trusty servant Cheguille Beleugula."

 

[Fluffypoodel]

Creative names are great. They sound cool and they add a little flavor to where you see them. Strange names are a staple in fantasy. You see them all the time. I have come up with some wild sounding names before and then tried to use them. I ran into problems there. big, multi-syllable names look great when they aren't doing anything, but put them in a story and you find yourself wondering why this person has such a difficult name to pronounce. I therefore have steered towards more realistic sounding names or at least have tried to be consistent with my naming. if one name sounds weird then they all should sound about as weird. If you really don't want to give up the fancy name then remember that it is only the full name that you have created. Shortening the name can help you out a lot. especially with the name you created above. Personally I think it works just fine, but you could consider shortening it to just Che or Guille. I think people are used to regular sounding first names and more exotic sounding last names anyway.