This post is sort of a two-parter, in the sense that I will be talking about the process of naming my Steampunk character, but I will also be discussing some of the rules that I feel still fit into my definition of Steampunk as a fandom, thus putting a better name to what I'm hoping to explore here.
With regards to my character's name, I have a habit when creating characters in my writing to search for names which have a distinct meaning that somehow manages to fit the kind of person they are. Also, I obviously wanted a name that existed in the Victorian era. It wouldn't have to be a popular name during that time, so long as it wasn't a modern name that didn't exist back in the 1800's.
We will get back to that train of thought in just a moment . . .
Putting a name, or even assigning rules, is a difficult idea to juggle with. During my presentation. I talked about a descriptive definition to the genre being the best fit for my idea of Steampunk, where fuzzy logic could be applied. But I also mentioned that some rules were necessary so that the idea of Steampunk doesn't go off the rails in the wrong direction. Time for me to elaborate a little bit of what rules I feel do and don't fit my defintion of Steampunk.
Does everything involving Steampunk have to derive from Victorian England as its historical jumping off point? For me (sorry Danahay), the answer would be no. I have seen costumes at conventions that are from a Steampunk reimagining of the Wild West, of the future involving time travel, and there are also genre-bending examples where Steampunk has been applied to the worlds of Disney, Marvel and even Star Wars. I feel like one single period in history is too much of a confinement for any type of fandom. The specific perspective of Steampunk as a fandom means that there has to be room for the ideas to grow and change as time goes on.
Does a character's costume have to be made solely out of authentic materials? Hell no! Only rich people can play that card :P
Do all of the details of a character's costume have to correlate with one another? Yes, absolutely, and they also have to correlate with the type of character you're trying to create. For example, you may think a pair of Steampunk goggles look really cool, but if you are dressing as a character that would have no use for goggles, then you really shouldn't be including them as part of your costume. This rule has painted me into a bit of a corner, since I would love to own a pair of Steampunk goggles, but I'll make sure to include them in my second Steampunk costume.
WHAT ISN'T STEAMPUNK? Here is where I got into some problems during my presentation, because I wasn't able to properly define what rules belong in the Steampunk fandom and which do not, and it was hard to accurately convey what was not Steampunk according to my definition. First off, I think something that will be a big help here is the inclusion of one necessary aspect to the Steampunk fandom: knowledge.
You have to know what you're doing, and you have to know what you're talking about. That does not mean that you need to be a history or literature expert. But this would help me to explain why you can't just glue gears to something and call it Steampunk but still maintain the inclusive ideals that I believe the Steampunk fandom should embrace. If you want to do something badly enough, if you want to create something badly enough, then I believe research is key. You need to take the proper time to learn about what you believe Steampunk to be, and you need to learn about who your character is as well to the best of your ability.
That being said, the Victorian and Steampunk name generator may have helped me decide on my character's name. Whether or not I'll be keeping it is still tough to say, but here is one of the preferred results the generator gave me:
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