It's halfway through the month and halfway through the alphabet, so I guess it's appropriate that I find out about this A to Z challenge and get started, since I only halfway know what I'm doing anyway.
I have talked about the naming of my dragons before, and how it all started with the movie The Glass Slipper and the fairy godmother and her pickle-relish. Jambalaya was the first word to present itself as a perfect dragon name, and then came Mulligatawny. At first it wasn't intentional that they were food words (in particular soups), but as the cast of characters grew and I needed more dragon names for the other kids' dragons, sticking with food just seemed easier. There are simply too many cool and fun words to say in the world, and it actually is easier to pick one when you limit your options. Instead of fishing out of ALL the nouns and adjectives and whatnot in the ocean, I toss my net in the relatively smaller lake of 'exotic' food (I can pretty much guarantee that I will never name a dragon Hamburger or Milk). Once I decided to stick with food, it seemed natural to keep naming the boys' dragons after soups and name the girls' dragons after desserts or sweet stuff (Sassafras is another awesome word to say). And I'm really hoping that when I get through with this round of editing (the goal is by this summer!) and start sending it off to agents that they won't think it's too kitschy.
There is no hidden meaning to Jambalaya and Mulligatawny. They are just fun words to say, and since these dragons represent whatever children might imagine a dragon to be, they seemed prefect. (Mulligatawny is camo-colored because my son loves camo. How cool would it be to have a dragon that looked like camo?)
Showing posts with label Mulligatawny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mulligatawny. Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, March 26, 2009
on naming dragons
Though nobody but family and friends has read my story up to this point, and they know why my dragons are named the way they are, I can't stand it anymore and I'm going to explain why they have the names they do.
First I have to start off with The Glass Slipper vs. The Slipper and the Rose. Everybody goes crazy for Slipper and the Rose. Whatever. I am woefully under impressed with it. On the other hand, nobody has ever heard of The Glass Slipper, and I love it. Cinderella is feisty and has a temper and the fairy godmother is delightfully loopy. I found on You Tube the best clip in the entire movie. Not only does it show Ella's temper, but it also has the best line in the whole movie, given by the fairy godmother.
Ella: You're getting wet.
Mrs. Toquet (fairy godmother): It's the water.
Very simply stated but beautifully executed.
The link to the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AnGaBWowkA&feature=related
In the clip, Ella complains about everyone calling her Cinderella because she's covered in soot. Mrs. Toquet muses over the name Cinderella and decides she likes it, along with apple dumpling, pickle relish, and other words. She likes how they feel on her tongue when she says them.
And that is exactly how my dragons are named. Jambalaya was first. It is simply a fun word to say, and years before I had any kind of a story in my head, I knew it was the perfect name for a dragon. Jambalaya. Wonderful word. Mulligatawny followed about a year later. There was still no story, but there was now a second perfect dragon name. Mulligatawny. I love it. Once the story did come along, I kind of had a pattern set, so I started looking for fun food words to name the other dragons. I stuck with soup for the boys (though Pumpernickel is not a soup, but he is also an older dragon, not one connected to a child) and used dessert/sweet words for the girls (Flummery and Sassafras). They are just fun words to say.
That is the extent of the mystery of the dragons' names. They don't have funky southern or middle eastern accents or anything. They're just fun to say.
The other day I saw the word Knickerbocker. Totally fun word. Though Knickerbocker is not an actual food word, the context I saw it in was the name of a sandwich. I'll have to see if I need a name for another dragon, or if it might be the name of something else entirely. A wonderful word to say.
Knickerbocker. Pickle relish. Cinderella.
First I have to start off with The Glass Slipper vs. The Slipper and the Rose. Everybody goes crazy for Slipper and the Rose. Whatever. I am woefully under impressed with it. On the other hand, nobody has ever heard of The Glass Slipper, and I love it. Cinderella is feisty and has a temper and the fairy godmother is delightfully loopy. I found on You Tube the best clip in the entire movie. Not only does it show Ella's temper, but it also has the best line in the whole movie, given by the fairy godmother.
Ella: You're getting wet.
Mrs. Toquet (fairy godmother): It's the water.
Very simply stated but beautifully executed.
The link to the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AnGaBWowkA&feature=related
In the clip, Ella complains about everyone calling her Cinderella because she's covered in soot. Mrs. Toquet muses over the name Cinderella and decides she likes it, along with apple dumpling, pickle relish, and other words. She likes how they feel on her tongue when she says them.
And that is exactly how my dragons are named. Jambalaya was first. It is simply a fun word to say, and years before I had any kind of a story in my head, I knew it was the perfect name for a dragon. Jambalaya. Wonderful word. Mulligatawny followed about a year later. There was still no story, but there was now a second perfect dragon name. Mulligatawny. I love it. Once the story did come along, I kind of had a pattern set, so I started looking for fun food words to name the other dragons. I stuck with soup for the boys (though Pumpernickel is not a soup, but he is also an older dragon, not one connected to a child) and used dessert/sweet words for the girls (Flummery and Sassafras). They are just fun words to say.
That is the extent of the mystery of the dragons' names. They don't have funky southern or middle eastern accents or anything. They're just fun to say.
The other day I saw the word Knickerbocker. Totally fun word. Though Knickerbocker is not an actual food word, the context I saw it in was the name of a sandwich. I'll have to see if I need a name for another dragon, or if it might be the name of something else entirely. A wonderful word to say.
Knickerbocker. Pickle relish. Cinderella.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)