Last October I compiled a list of masculine Norwegian names for you, but with one thing and another, I haven't been able to make the female counterpart until now. Well, here it is!
Norwegian names have a really unique feel to them, and though I tried to find the most authentic ones, many of the names on this list are not necessarily Norwegian in origin, even if they're used in Norway. "What does that mean?" you ask. Well, take the name Maiken on this list, for example. It's a Danish and Norwegian diminutive of Maria, which is a form of Mary, which is, of course, a well-known name taken from English translations of the Bible. The reason I didn't list a meaning for Maiken when I put it on the list, is because Mary may mean "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," "wished-for child," "beloved," or "loved," depending on who you ask. When names are vague like that, or pass through four or five variations before what makes it to this list (like Katja, which came from Katya, which came from Yekaterina, which came from Katherine, which may have come from the name of the Greek goddess Hecate), I don't feel qualified to nail down a simple meaning for you, and left it blank, instead. But you didn't come here to read about the evolution of names. You came here to find one for your woefully nameless lady character. So here you go! However, just in case Norwegian names aren't quite what you're going for, here's a few other lists of very different ethnicities that might prove more helpful. • Male and Female English Names • Male and Female Hebrew Names • Male and Female Irish Names Now, let the Norwegian names begin! A Agathe – good Agnes – chaste Agnetha – chaste Ågot – good Aina – the only one; always Alfhild – elf; battle Alva – elf Anja – favor; grace Annbjørg – eagle; help; save; rescue Annelie – ? Annette – favor; grace Anniken – favor; grace Arnbjørg – eagle; help; save; rescue Åse – god Asta – god; beautiful; beloved Astrid – god; beautiful; beloved B Beata – blessed Benedikte – blessed Bente – blessed Bergliot – protection; help; light Berit – ? Birgit – ? Birgitta – ? Birgitte – ? Bjørg – help; save; rescue Bodil – remedy; battle Borghild – fortification; battle Brit – ? Brita – ? Brynhild – armor; protection; battle
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Hello, dear readers of this blog! Unfortunately, due to NaNoWriMo, (which I'm endeavoring to complete this year), and managing a new book release on top of that, (Journey to Freedom, Warriors of Aralan #8), I will not be doing the customary mid-month blog post I usually do. Instead, you get this lovely excuse post, and a promise to round up that list of female Norwegian names by December. :P "Well then, if that's all you have to say, then why am I still here?" you ask. Good question. Perhaps you have very good intuition—or perhaps you just realized that I must have something to say since I started a new paragraph. Or maybe you saw the book covers down below. Whatever the reason, your patience has been rewarded. The release of a new book is always an exciting period in a writer's life, so I thought I'd so something to celebrate! Journey to Freedom comes out on November 18th (yes, this Saturday), and I've decided to kick it off with a couple of book promotions! Through the 18th and 19th, Branwen's Quest (Warriors of Aralan #1), will be 100% free, and Beyond the Mountain (Warriors of Aralan #2), will be $0.99! So if you haven't been able to read them yet, here's your chance! Grab Branwen's Quest for free! When the royal herald came announcing a mandatory Tournament of Warriors, Branwen was the last one to get excited. Sure, she was a good enough archer, but why should she be forced to go to the tournament just because the king said so? She had nothing to prove! Yet when she got there her competitive spirit took over and she succeeded—enough so that she was singled out by the king to take a difficult journey with three others who were as different as night and day from each other. Why? To recover the king and queen's missing crowns. Will they ever be able to overcome their differences and get along to complete their mission, or will they fall prey to an unexpected danger posed from within? Grab Beyond the Mountain for $0.99! Branwen thought her previous adventure to the North Mountain had been her last—after all, Captain Gavel's fortress had collapsed after she and the three others rescued the necessary crowns. She thought that she'd get to see Edyth, Quintin and Silas at the annual Tournament of Warriors for only a few days each year. But most of all, the last thing she expected was to ever go beyond the North Mountain... and that's exactly what she did. When the young princess went missing during the last night of the Tournament, the king and queen turned to the four faithful heroes to rescue the kidnapped child. And that’s how Branwen found herself caught up in yet another once-in-a-lifetime journey, headed north—this time, beyond the mountain. November first is a big day for a lot of people in the writing community, mostly because it marks the beginning of a month-long writing fest called NaNoWriMo, (myself included). But this time I'm even more excited, because I get to bring you an excerpt from Journey to Freedom (Warriors of Aralan #8), a cover reveal, and a release date! This book is special to me because writing the first draft over a year ago felt like pulling teeth. It was one of the worst writing experiences I've ever had, and I was very, very close to scrapping it all and starting over more than once. But now I'm so glad I didn't. Somehow God made what I thought was going to be a truly awful mess into something beautiful, and now, thanks to Him, I'm ready to share it with the world. I'd also like to mention that if you haven't read any of the previous Warriors of Aralan books, Journey to Freedom marks a sort of "new beginning," and can be read without reading any of the previous ones. Some of Josiah's lineage might be a tad confusing if you haven't (and obviously, in my highly biased opinion you should read them all, *wink wink*), but the main plot is not heavily dependent on the previous books, so if you like any of the things mentioned in the following synopsis, feel free to jump right in. :) Synopsis: Josiah is a prince... albeit one that has just about had it with his hypocritical parents and grandparents, the ruling family of Aralan. Sure, he's not that much different than they are, really—but when they turn down a small country's plea for help in an oncoming war, Josiah is furious. A full one-eight of his blood comes from that country, and he can't believe his ears when they send the emissaries away without a promise of assistance. So he flees the castle, hires a cook to feed him in his travels, and breathes the free forest air for the first time in his twenty-one years of life. Sleeps on the ground for the first time in his life. And argues—constantly—with the most stubborn cook he's ever met in his life. Emma is not one to take orders quietly, despite coming from the poorest part of Freymont; a stark contrast with her sweet-tempered, eleven-year-old sister named Hadassah. Add in Josiah's crazy hermit uncle, a pair of mischievous identical twins, an unheard-of amount of sass, a war of epic proportions, and a betrayal or two—and you have a Journey to Freedom. Release Date: "So when does this crazy book come out?" you ask. The official release date is November 18th. Mark it on your calendar, folks, that's less than three weeks! Now, for the excerpt! Excerpt: The peachy hues of dawn were just beginning to streak the horizon to herald a new day as Josiah slumped in the saddle, gazing bleary-eyed at the spot between Archer’s ears as the horse plodded along. He had ridden all night through Freymont, because he had strayed from the only roads he was familiar with and gotten himself lost. Every time he decided that he would head one direction and come to the end of the city eventually, he was met by a dead end. It was like trying to find a clear path through a forest overgrown with brambles and vines—although technically speaking, Josiah was about as familiar with that pastime as he was finding his way out of Freymont. To make matters worse, he had been pursued off and on throughout the night by searchers. Josiah straightened in the saddle and rolled his shoulders, wincing as his spine popped. The street he was on now looked much the same as the rest of the streets in Freymont: narrow, twisting, and lined alternately by houses and shops that kept him from seeing very far. Ahead of him an early riser came out of a building, and Josiah pulled the hood of the cloak up and over his head. He wasn’t sure how well the common folk knew his face, so it didn’t hurt to be careful. As he drew near to the mustached man, he received a cheery greeting. “Morning to you, sir.” Josiah nodded politely, but didn’t stop. He had to find a way out of this labyrinth he called home. Just then a cry floated to him through the still morning air: “There he is! After him!” If you've been following me here or on Twitter for very long, you probably know how much I love names... and on this website that love has manifested itself in the occasional compiling of names lists for writing purposes. "After all," I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where finding character names didn't involve whipping out the bookmarked baby name website every time a new character sprang forth?"
And thus—fueled by my passion for names, and practical writerly puruits, I formed a new excuse to look at that bookmarked baby name website—all so you don't have to. Today's list is male Norwegian names, hailing from that beautiful land of fjords and viking history, but if you're looking for female names, this is the post for you. However—if the unique Scandinavian flavor of Norwegian names isn't really your thing, (or your characters'), then maybe one of these other lists is. Either way, I hope you found this post helpful for that chronic occurrence of a writer's life: the naming of characters. • Male and Female English Names • Male and Female Hebrew Names • Male and Female Irish Names A Aage – ancestor; father Adolf – noble wolf Adrian – from Hadria Åge – ancestor; father Agnar – awe; terror; edge of a sword; warrior Aksel – my father is peace Albert – noble; bright Albin – white; bright Aleksander – defending men Alex – defending men Alexander – defending men Alf – elf Alfred – elf; counsel Alv – elf Amund – edge of a sword; awe; terror; protection Anders – manly; masculine Andor – eagle; thunder Andreas – manly; masculine Anton – ? Arne – eagle Arnfinn – eagle; person from Finland Arnt – eagle power Aron – ? Arthur – bear; man; king Arvid – eagle; tree Asbjørn – god; bear Åsmund – god; protection August – great; venerable Axel – my father is peace B Baard – battle; peace Bård – battle; peace Bernhard – bear; brave; hardy Bernt – bear; brave; hardy Bertil – bright; famous; ruler Bjarne – bear Bjoern – bear Bjørn – bear Brynjar – armor; warrior Being an independent author is a lot of work, as anyone who falls under that category knows. After self-publishing my first eBook back in March of 2015, I discovered that the biggest hurdle is not in fact writing the book. It isn’t editing. It isn’t formatting. It isn’t even writing that super-inconvenient synopsis, the cover, or publishing the darn thing. It’s getting the word out. And this is something that I wish I knew more about when I published Tè Nan Lezar. I was sure that if only a few people stumbled upon my work while perusing Amazon, that they’d read it and love it, and spread the word for me. Well, not only was this thought process naïve, it was arrogant, and I’m glad to say that I’ve changed my tune and reworked my strategy since then.
“How?” you ask. By enlisting the help of five very wonderful—and free—online resources. People aren’t going to know about your work if you don’t tell them it exists. Now, I’m not saying you should scream, “Buy my book!” from the mountaintops—in fact, I’d scream right back, "Don’t!"—but providing a friendly online presence works wonders. Now, let’s get down to what these five resources are, shall we? 1.) Weebly Weebly is at the top of my list for a reason. They host my author website, as you’ve probably noticed, and their drag-and-drop system makes coding unnecessary, which I love. (Although you still have the option to code if you know how.) With lovely, customizable website templates, they were an obvious choice for little ol’ un-HTML-savvy me, and getting an author website was one of the first steps I took towards having an online presence. When people Google someone to find out more about them, they usually look for their website. (At least I know I do.) So it was an obvious choice. But beyond that, how does having an author website help? If you’re not famous, odds are people aren’t going to be Googling your name all that often. Well, that’s why I blog. Offering meaningful blog posts on writing—after all, an author ought to know something about that—gives people a reason to come to your website. But how will they know about your blog posts if they aren’t Googling you? Well… The Traveler is a brand-new novel from fellow indie author E.B. Dawson, and it comes out tomorrow! [cue fireworks and confetti] I'm super excited for you guys to read it, (hint: it's awesome), but since we have to wait another whole day for that, here's a profile of the main character, and afterwards my non-spoilery review of the book to get you ready. (Also, as an author, I of all people know that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but I have to say, the one sitting just to the left of this paragraph is lovely). But first, a synopsis, so you know what it's all about. Anissa Robson is becoming an adult in a society she never really identified with. Forced to choose a career path, she becomes an apprentice to a young, headstrong politician who seems to stand for everything she disagrees with. The dreams she has refused to report grow more alluring to her as she becomes disillusioned with her job. But the lines between reality and her dreamland begin to blur and cross over, launching her onto a path she would never have chosen for herself. Is the government medicating dreamers to protect them? Or to hide something from them? So without any further ado, I give you Anissa. How old is Anissa when we meet her? Anissa is 22 years old at the beginning of the book. In her society, young adults choose an apprenticeship after grade school (so around age 18), but Anissa is just starting hers for reasons that will be disclosed in the first chapter. Is she at all like your protagonist from your sci-fi series, Logan Bailey? They are both stubborn, but I think they are quite different. I would say Logan's a bit more of an internal processor, while Anissa processes things externally. Naturally, Logan likes to think before she responds. Anissa tends to say what she thinks, even when it isn't a good idea, and she tends to be a bit more impulsive. If she were an animal what would she be and why? I have decided that Anissa would be a fox. For reasons that will become clear, she's a bit of an outsider in her society. She's very clever and observant, but can be a bit prickly on the outside. What do you like about her? What don't you like about her? I love her boldness. She's honest when she disagrees with something. She stands up for what she believes, even if she is a little misguided now and then. Also, she is tough as nails. She can be a bit blunt and argumentative. Also, she has her blind spots (but don't we all?). What's Anissa's favorite thing to eat? She loves any type of fruit. Is she more introverted or extroverted? Good question! I think I might classify her as an ambivert (balanced between introvert and extrovert). She definitely needs her space sometimes, but there is also part of her that doesn't want to be alone. What does Anissa like to do in her free time? Her life has been disrupted the last few years and so honestly she doesn't have a lot of hobbies. When we meet her she is starting a new chapter of her life and kind of trying to figure out who she is. Does she have a pet? If not, what would she have? She does not have a pet. She isn't super sentimental so I think she'd need a pet that can kind of take care of itself and be semi-independent (no fish! They'd die). Maybe a cat? Honestly, I'm not sure I'd trust her with a pet. (lol) She might forget about it... What is her favorite article of clothing? This sort of changes throughout the story. But I would say...khaki pants? Comfortable, flexible, multi-purpose. Who is the most influential person in her life? Her father. My Review for The Traveler Now that we've learned all about Anissa, here is my review of The Traveler. E.B. Dawson was awesome enough to send me an ARC in exchange for an honest review, so here it is! (Naturally, the following opinions are my own).
Today marks the date of my two-year blog anniversary, and I wanted to do something special to celebrate. (The fact that I've kept this up for two years is a big deal to me, because my first attempt at a blog back in 2014 only lasted one month). *cough cough*
So what am I doing to celebrate this momentous occasion? Well, as you've probably noticed from the title, I'm doing a giveaway of Branwen's Quest! This is the first book in the Warriors of Aralan series, and if you've ever thought about trying it, but weren't sure you wanted to fork over the usual $2.99 to get it, then here's your chance! Update And the winners are... *drum roll* • Hannah Heath • Maddy Crone Congratulations, and thank you for entering! The Rules First of all, I want to make it clear that this giveaway is for an eBook, not a paperback, but if you don't have a Kindle, it's not a problem! Just download the Kindle app for your smartphone, tablet, or computer, and you're all set. As for time, the giveaway starts today (9/1/17) and will continue through next Friday (9/8/17). At the end of that time, I'll pick two winners (one for each year of this blog), and email them the good news that they won! I'll also publicly announce the winners right here, as well as on Twitter and Goodreads. All you have to do to enter is put the email associated with your Amazon account in the widget below, but if you really want to increase your chances, you can follow me on Twitter, or tweet a message about the giveaway. And That's It! Pretty simple, right? But if you still aren't sure about entering, here's a synopsis: When the royal herald came announcing a mandatory Tournament of Warriors, Branwen was the last one to get excited. Sure, she was a good enough archer, but why should she be forced to go to the tournament just because the king said so? She had nothing to prove! Yet when she got there her competitive spirit took over and she succeeded—enough so that she was singled out by the king to take a difficult journey with three others who were as different as night and day from each other. Why? To recover the king and queen's missing crowns. Will they ever be able to overcome their differences and get along to complete their mission, or will they fall prey to an unexpected danger posed from within? And if you'd like to try a sample of the book itself, here's an excerpt. All right, now that we're past all that, we're to the part where you can actually enter the giveaway. (I may be more excited than you guys about this whole thing, but just bear with me). ;) If you do end up being one of the lucky winners of Branwen's Quest, firstly, congratulations! Secondly, don't forget to leave a review once you've read it. Reviews are so important to independent authors like myself, so please take a minute and help a writer out. Finally, thank you for joining me in the celebration of two years of Katelyn Buxton Books! Your readership and support has meant so much to me, so this one's for you. In my last blog post, I outlined the way I write, and in it I mentioned that when I’m not writing, I’m editing. Well, since I have once again failed the process of planning my next post ahead, I thought, “Eh, why not? I’ll write about that.” After all, my original post on editing went up on October 1st, 2015 (nearly two whole years ago), and was thoroughly cringe-worthy in hindsight. Since so much time has passed, I thought I’d tell you about my current editing/revising process, and what those nearly two years of experience has taught me.
I’m not as much of a rule-breaker when it comes to editing, since English has rules—but I’m sure my process differs from other writers’ in one way or another, so I’ll continue to present my process as a series of confessions. Confession #1: I let my first drafts sit a good long time in their oh-so-rough state before I let them see the light of day again. Why? Because I’m the author. No matter how it turned out, I still have a heavenly picture in my head of how it’s supposed to be. Not how it is, but how it was, in my head, before I ever put a word on the page. This makes it extremely difficult (if not impossible), to spot errors right after I finish writing it. So I let it sit. I used to say “for a month,” but it’s probably closer to a year these days, because of the writing-editing-writing cycle I use. For example, I just finished writing Warriors of Aralan #10. #8 is the one I've just started editing, and when I publish it, I’ll go back to writing and write #11. Then I’ll head back to #9 for editing, and so on. It seems that every time I get within four to five days of my next blog post’s due date, I end up in a mad scramble to get something useful down for the readers of this blog. Well… this time around is no different, but I thought I’d write about something a little more personal this time: my story-writing process. (My blog post-writing process is just a panicked sprint to the finish line).
This is something that’s unique to every writer out there—some fill the walls of their writing space with minutely-detailed post-its during the plotting process—others don’t plot at all. Some write several thousand words in one sitting, while some write only a couple hundred on a good day. My method breaks just about every familiar writing tradition (myth)? out there, and ends up somewhere in between pantsing and plotting. Since I'm such a terrible rule-breaker, I thought I'd show you my process through a series of confessions. ;P Confession #1: I don’t carry a notebook for jotting down story ideas. I find it kind of inconvenient, and don’t really enjoy writing by hand. [distant screaming] However, I still have a strange, groundless obsession with pretty notebooks and pens. (I know, I'm weird). So what do I do with plot bunnies? I figure if they’re meant to be, they’ll stick around. A lot of times when I'm plotting a new book, I store all the information away in my head, where, inevitably, something gets forgotten. Sometimes it's not anything very important, but other times I find myself asking, "Wait... how old was that character again?"
When that happens, I wish I had written such necessary specifics down. Something that makes it much easier and organized is a character development sheet. (Sometimes called a character creation questionnaire). It's simply a list of questions that help you nail down little details like a character's age, physical appearance, hobbies, hopes and dreams, etc., so you can refer back to it later, when—imperfect human that you are—you forget your dear character's eye color. (No really, I'm speaking from experience here... nothing's worse than opening up a proof and finding a character's eye color has changed between pages five and eight). Although the above-mentioned example was largely a lapse in editing attention on my part, it would have been very helpful to have a character development sheet to refer back to whenever I had a question about details like that. And so, I have taken the liberty of creating my own version of a character creation questionnaire. I tried to cover all the bases when I made it, with the result that you probably won't need to use all of the questions—after all, I don't think a fifteen-year-old MC will have grandkids—but I put the slot in anyway, in case you have an elderly main character. I should also mention that there are two versions of it. My favorite, the one I fondly refer to as "the pretty one," has a header image much like the one at the top of this blog post. The other version is for ink-saving individuals, and is only black and white. :P Feel free to use/print/download however many of these you want. It doesn't really matter which you choose, since they have the same questions. • Character Development Sheet #1 (The Pretty One) • Character Development Sheet #2 (The Practical One) I hope you found these helpful, and if you have any ideas for more questions that I could add into the development sheet, fire away in the comments. I'll try and add them in! |
Welcome!Welcome to Katelyn Buxton Books! I'm a Christian author and blogger, with a passion for writing stories that are not just enjoyable, but also lead people closer to Jesus. Feel free to look around, and enjoy your stay! Archives
October 2021
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