Post by Hollow, Sky, Laurel, Jay, Rye on Nov 27, 2014 16:30:47 GMT
So, if the cat is to be named for appearance unequivocally, how do we know when the names we choose are too indistinct to work to their full potential? There’s an easy way to check, follow these steps.
1. Close your eyes.
2. Think of the prefix, and note what colour or trait connotations instantly spring to mind.
3.
4. Profit!
For example, think of night-. I’m quite sure most people would see just pure, perfect black, possibly with stars? Apply that to the character - a jet-black cat. This can be done with any prefix, but the best prefixes to use are those that give consistent results. Since this post seems to be all about activities, or something, here’s another one you can do, but you’ll need a few volunteers (or hapless friends that are too slow to escape).
Take your prefix, no suffix attached, and tell your friends/volunteers/victims the word, whether it be daisy- or golden- or what have you. Ask them, separately, what the first colour or colours they imagined were. Most Warriors prefixes will probably yield similar results. If three people or so have the same vision of the prefix, you’re onto a good one.
But just as there are good ones, there are some that should really be avoided. There’s a lot, so I will just cover the general categories that tend to be reliably inaccurate with their connotations.
Certain types of animals:
The prefix wolf- is notorious for this. Wolf pelts can range from grey to brown to black, and even white. As such, there is no clear image of a cat when it is called Wolfkit. It could be any of these colours - you might as well name it Catkit for all the description the prefix gives.
Gender or age of animals:
It recently came to my attention that in Crookedstar’s Promise, there was a Vixenpaw. To the best of my knowledge, there is no significant difference between male and female foxes in appearance, and therefore, this name doesn’t say anything more than fox- does. The question must be asked, why the differentiation in prefix? I have absolutely no answer.
Sometimes, there is confusion about the prefix fawn- as well. Deer- is a perfectly valid fauna prefix, but fawn- actually references the colour (a light brown/beige). To have fawn- represent a young deer encourages the use of gosling-, cub-, chick-, owlet- and any other baby animal that can be imagined. Most of these are pretty vague at best, as they do not specifically note a species of said baby, and between species young can look vastly different in size and colour.
Natural environments:
A stream can change dramatically, from a clear trickle to a brown flood, just as the sky changes a hundred times a day - from rose-coloured dawn to bright blue, dull overcast grey to stormy black and purple. The wind, other than being supposedly sacred to Windclan, is invisible and so has no visual connotations whatsoever. There is a Marshkit in The New Prophecy, but his colour is never determined. When I think of marshes, I see hazy green.
What do you think of? I bet there’ll be a lot of divergence of opinions. For this reason, I don’t advise using anything in the landscape, as it is so changeable~
—oh dear, James Moriarty—
Generally ambiguous prefixes:
Feather- is a prime candidate for this. It’s a very popular prefix, no doubt due to Feathertail (who was a silver-grey tabby). However, feathers do not have a specific colour. They can come from any bird - be it crow or robin. You don’t call a cat Furpelt, because it has reddish fur like a fox, do you? Well, I hope not.
Petal- is another, for the same reason. In the books, there is a Riverclan she-cat called Petalfur, who is grey-and-white. Petals, however, can come from any flower, not just grey-and-white plants (now I am inordinately curious as to which flower her namesake came from from).
Colours:
This is probably more being pedantic than anything else, but I would like to draw your attention to how many times the prefix scarlet- has been used in the series.
…
The answer is none. Not once. In place of scarlet-, red- is always used. There is no crimson- either. Long story short, the most basic colour form is chosen, and this is the prefix that is given. It makes sense, when you think about it. Why would cats have a dozen synonyms for one colour? For this, I suggest keeping colour prefixes plain and simple.
1. Close your eyes.
2. Think of the prefix, and note what colour or trait connotations instantly spring to mind.
3.
4. Profit!
For example, think of night-. I’m quite sure most people would see just pure, perfect black, possibly with stars? Apply that to the character - a jet-black cat. This can be done with any prefix, but the best prefixes to use are those that give consistent results. Since this post seems to be all about activities, or something, here’s another one you can do, but you’ll need a few volunteers (or hapless friends that are too slow to escape).
Take your prefix, no suffix attached, and tell your friends/volunteers/victims the word, whether it be daisy- or golden- or what have you. Ask them, separately, what the first colour or colours they imagined were. Most Warriors prefixes will probably yield similar results. If three people or so have the same vision of the prefix, you’re onto a good one.
But just as there are good ones, there are some that should really be avoided. There’s a lot, so I will just cover the general categories that tend to be reliably inaccurate with their connotations.
Certain types of animals:
The prefix wolf- is notorious for this. Wolf pelts can range from grey to brown to black, and even white. As such, there is no clear image of a cat when it is called Wolfkit. It could be any of these colours - you might as well name it Catkit for all the description the prefix gives.
Gender or age of animals:
It recently came to my attention that in Crookedstar’s Promise, there was a Vixenpaw. To the best of my knowledge, there is no significant difference between male and female foxes in appearance, and therefore, this name doesn’t say anything more than fox- does. The question must be asked, why the differentiation in prefix? I have absolutely no answer.
Sometimes, there is confusion about the prefix fawn- as well. Deer- is a perfectly valid fauna prefix, but fawn- actually references the colour (a light brown/beige). To have fawn- represent a young deer encourages the use of gosling-, cub-, chick-, owlet- and any other baby animal that can be imagined. Most of these are pretty vague at best, as they do not specifically note a species of said baby, and between species young can look vastly different in size and colour.
Natural environments:
A stream can change dramatically, from a clear trickle to a brown flood, just as the sky changes a hundred times a day - from rose-coloured dawn to bright blue, dull overcast grey to stormy black and purple. The wind, other than being supposedly sacred to Windclan, is invisible and so has no visual connotations whatsoever. There is a Marshkit in The New Prophecy, but his colour is never determined. When I think of marshes, I see hazy green.
What do you think of? I bet there’ll be a lot of divergence of opinions. For this reason, I don’t advise using anything in the landscape, as it is so changeable~
—oh dear, James Moriarty—
Generally ambiguous prefixes:
Feather- is a prime candidate for this. It’s a very popular prefix, no doubt due to Feathertail (who was a silver-grey tabby). However, feathers do not have a specific colour. They can come from any bird - be it crow or robin. You don’t call a cat Furpelt, because it has reddish fur like a fox, do you? Well, I hope not.
Petal- is another, for the same reason. In the books, there is a Riverclan she-cat called Petalfur, who is grey-and-white. Petals, however, can come from any flower, not just grey-and-white plants (now I am inordinately curious as to which flower her namesake came from from).
Colours:
This is probably more being pedantic than anything else, but I would like to draw your attention to how many times the prefix scarlet- has been used in the series.
…
The answer is none. Not once. In place of scarlet-, red- is always used. There is no crimson- either. Long story short, the most basic colour form is chosen, and this is the prefix that is given. It makes sense, when you think about it. Why would cats have a dozen synonyms for one colour? For this, I suggest keeping colour prefixes plain and simple.