Kingdom Hearts Magazine Issue #1

KH Advice

Hello! My name is TomboyTrouble. Like most of you, I am a huge Kingdom Hearts fan by heart. Welcome to the Kingdom Hearts Magazine, where it's a party for all things Kingdom Hearts and all KH fans are welcome. I'm the second Advice Columnist of this magazine. The first is Amber in Amber's Corner. Her job is to give life advice and support to those who are in need of help in personal situations.

My job is to give you KH fanfic writers writing tips.

As a KH fanfic writer, I can understand the struggle. You want to write better, and to do that you'll need feedback, and for that you need more reads, and for that you need to write good. It's a never ending cycle, so let me help you pinpoint your situation.

So basically what I do is help you guys with your writing from craftiness to story-wise. For the English portion, I'll help with style, grammar, structure, and other components of literature. For plots, I'll help make your story make sense, such as character roles, dialogue, fight scenes, or keeping consistency with the KH universe.

I can help spark up ideas, but also remember that you are the writer, so I can only help you to a certain extent. What do I mean by this? I'm not the author of your book, that's what.

So here's an example of what I can do.

Say someone needs an idea for an original character's name: 

Naming characters is one of the most aggravating things to do in writing a story. There are a million names in the world. To narrow it down in terms of Kingdom Hearts, the naming process usually have some sort of significance to it. In the world of KH, the names of our protagonists not only have symbolic meanings but contain motives as well. 

Let's start with our primary trio: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. For those who don't know, these names are Japanese for Sky, Land, and Sea.

Now let's analyze how their names fit their characters. Sora is named after the sky, based on speculation, generally due to connection. As Kairi said before, all worlds are connected by "One sky- one destiny." Sora has the ability to connect with all hearts, and holds a great destiny of saving hearts. We can also see the sky as vast and unknowable. There may still be great potential within Sora that we don't know about that all we can do is wonder.

Riku's name means land. This can refer to his stern and strong personality, or reflect his desire to see other lands (worlds).

Kairi's name means sea. If I had to guess, I would say she was named that because of how she mysteriously arrived to the island, and the only possible way that she could've reached such an isolated world (knowledge limited to KH 1) is by the sea. Not only that, but the ocean does capture a bit of her essence, how she can be serene, but can become stronger when you least a expect it.

Another way to look at all three of their names is how wide their notation is. How they are expansive elements that make up the world. Because Kingdom Hearts has to do with exploring worlds, Nomura probably wanted to name his characters something that is beyond understanding. Well, maybe not beyond understanding, but in a wider perception.  

Moving on to our next trio is Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. These three names are all Latin for Water, Earth, and Air. Anyone seeing a pattern here? Their names show a connection to their successors. Another thing to keep in mind is the naming of Nobodies. 

The names of Organization XIII members are anagrams of their original names with an additional "X". For example: Sora + X = Roxas Ansem + X = Xemnas Lea + X = Axel, Isa + X = Siax So if your O.C. is a new member of Organization XIII, this would be a good way to go. 

Keep in mind that this formula only applies to Organization XIII members. An example of this would be Naminé. Although she worked under the Organization, she was never a real member, therefore she wasn't named after Kairi with an X. So how did Naminé get her name? Well, let's take a closer look. Naminé could've derived from the word Nami, which also means "ocean wave," which further emphasizes the connection between her and Kairi. 

Another exception is Xion, another very special Nobody. To get technical, she's not really a Nobody, but a puppet created by Sora's memories to imitate Roxas' powers for the Organization's favor. As an early replica created by Vexen (Even + X), her serial number is no. i, with an added "X" to spell Xion. Xion's name also has a deeper meaning. Her name contains the letters for the Japanese word Shio, meaning "tide," which continues the theme of water between our female protagonists.

As a final option, since Kingdom Hearts is a Fantasy/Sci-fi genre, you can just make up the name. Basically, when you're naming the O.C. of your KH fanfic, consider any deeper meanings to their name that could serve well in your story's theme or plot. While those are some things to consider in a KH fanfic, here are some general tips for naming characters that might help.1) What's the character's role?If you're protagonist is adventurous, don't give him/her a weak name. If you're coming up with a diabolical evil villain's name, don't name them Harold McStuffins. It doesn't sound threatening in any way. Try looking for a name that fits their persona. 2) What's their background? A name can reflect someone's lifestyle. If your character is an average teenager, then you can give them a common name like Drake, Emma, or Sam. Sam was your average teenage boy who only worried about girls... Until he was sucked into a dark portal and found himself surrounded by Disney characters.Knowing what kind of family they came from also helps. Since it's the parents who usually name their child, name the kid how that particular couple would realistically name them. If the kid was born in a Christian family, give them a Bible name like James, John, Hannah, or Daniel. If they're from a rich family, then maybe something a little fancy like Nathaniel Stone or James Cambell (III). Knowing where you're character comes from can also play a role. If they're from a Middle-aged setting, Nathaniel or Elizabeth are some good examples.3) If you're naming more than one character, don't forget to diversify the names. You don't want to use too many names that sound too similar. For example, Jack, Jackie, Jackson, and Jacklin. It'll be too confusing for the audience. Fun fact in KH, Rikku from FFX was actually supposed to be in KH 1 as one of the beginning characters in Traverse Town, but because Riku and Rikku sounded too similar, Nomura scratched her off and placed her in KH 2 instead, where Riku made less of an appearance until the end.One last thing. If you're having difficulty on deciding how to make your character between several different names, make a list. It'll help you evaluate which name suits better. Then you can use the leftover names you haven't used to name other characters, depending on their character of course.So that's all I a have to say about names today. I hope this was helpful to you. If you have any questions concerning naming O.C.s or how to write stories in general, just leave a comment in the comment section or PM me and I'll answer it right here. I'm very excited to be contributing in this magazine and hope that we can build a huge KH community here. Until next time, stay awesome.