Need a nickname

AnyaKimlin

AnyaKimlin

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I would do it myself but all I can come up with is Nasty Man.

Book is set in 1985

Warren Glendinning is a gargoyle and was created in mediaeval times (but MC doesn't know that). He has greying skin, grey hair, grey eyes. To bring out the colour in his eyes he wears a grey suit, white shirt, grey tie, grey hat and grey mac. He also has some really unpleasant and some bizarre ideas about how teenagers should behave and a father's role in that. He believes men should be men and head of the family.

My MC has a father who murdered his mother so has a pretty low view of fathers anyway. I've just been calling him Warren Glendinning (Warren is too informal, Mr Glendinning is a mark of respect my MC doesn't think he deserves and Glendinning sounds like my MC is a public schoolboy which he certainly isn't - not yet anyway). My writer's group are all agreed that always calling him Warren Glendinning is too much but I don't like their alternatives any better - none of them feels right. As my MC has a habit of nicknaming adults (he calls his guardian The Professor and his mentor The Hurdy-Gurdy Man which gets shortened to HG) I figured I should maybe come up with one for Warren Glendinning.

All suggestions welcome.
 
So Sir Tiddlybum the Third is out of the question?

What region is this set in. If you give a slice of the lore I can probably come up with a few things. Glennding has an almost Irish or Scottish ring to it. Have you thought of something Gaelic?
 
Harpo said:
Give him a middle name such as Ivan, and nickname him Wiggy after the initials
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Cathbad said:
I can't better Harpo's great suggestion!
Click to expand...

As wonderful as that sounds... I am not sure my MC would know any middle names. Or how to introduce one! Wiggy is a great name though I could give him a wig.

R.T James said:
So Sir Tiddlybum the Third is out of the question?

What region is this set in. If you give a slice of the lore I can probably come up with a few things. Glennding has an almost Irish or Scottish ring to it. Have you thought of something Gaelic?
Click to expand...

Lancashire coast. Southport/Morecambe/Blackpool - at present it's called Ribbleport until I come up with something else. Gaelic wouldn't be in the ken of the MC.
 
Biskit said:
How about Greystrokes (deliberate mis-spelling)
Rabbit (Warren) or Bunny (I once worked with someone who was known as Bunny because his surname started with Hutch.)
Could just call him 'The Suit'
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I like the Suit - I keep wanting to use Grey Man but The Gray Man was a character in the Hardy Boys.
 
How about taking the first 3 letters of each name.
WARren GLEndenning ==> Wargle.
 
How did the nickname originate?

Was it physical trait? Joke? Or something that just stuck amongst friends.

Was it mean to be an insult but the Character ran with it?

It doesn't exactly have to fit.

It can even be obscure.

For some reason Dorian keeps on coming into my head.


You can even somebody call him a name which isn't even related. One character in my story always calls the MC John despite the fact that isn't his name, where as everybody else calls him by his job title.

A few of the former people he worked with called him a name which is his last name, but they mean what it literally means.
 
R.T James said:
For some reason Dorian keeps on coming into my head.
Click to expand...
:) I think I'm getting the picture.....

Suggest: "Gloomy" with all that gray (and that's not misspelled) and strict attitudes he doesn't sound like much fun.
 
AnyaKimlin said:
As wonderful as that sounds... I am not sure my MC would know any middle names. Or how to introduce one! Wiggy is a great name though I could give him a wig.
Click to expand...


Perhaps Wiggy uses his middle initial on a nameplate or business card or similar
"Warren I. Glendinning"

We don't need to find out what his middle name actually is.
 
How about a simple play on names: Greydinning? Or Grady (Grey-D).

You could also have a nickname based on his job, if he has one. Alternatively, call him The Ghoul, or The Ghost, due to him being so grey and lifeless.
He sounds like a right piece of work.
 
Stoney/Flinty. (That sounded better in my head).

Nicknames are pretty random though. Was out doing some animal activism last night with my bro and he was telling me of a friend of his who's called Veg, because she's a vegan- he was saying how he's known her for years but only just found out her real name recently. So it could be literally anything and you could make it work.
 
Started reading this thread and one stray thought keeps coming over and over
"he's a grey man so he'll need a tactical pen" .
very sorry and not relevant, it's still looping in my brain (probably all night!)
 
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