kelly
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Posts: 64 
Joined: June 2011
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Post by kelly on May 3, 2012 21:29:13 GMT -5
Does anyone else have problems naming their characters? I've been mulling over the names of my main two characters in my current WIP for ages. Now I've whittled the list down to two possibilities: Melodi Sherman and Douglas Everett. What do you guys think?
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Lily
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Posts: 2,197
Joined: May 2011
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Post by Lily on May 3, 2012 22:33:56 GMT -5
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Post by joshuachrisstoff on May 4, 2012 8:38:01 GMT -5
I never have issues with naming my characters.
As with almost all my writing, I just need to sit there long enuff and the name comes to me.
MC virtually has no name. It is Wulfgang von Wulf but that is even false. His real, name. . . I have no idea. He is literally so special that in his business, HE, HIM, are reserved for him.
#2 MC is Bet, no last name. It is again another code name, about a gambling joke no one can remember.
All characters after that get name Paul, Seth, Pedro. It is automatic codenames within the team.
There is 'the old man' and 'that corporal'. The corp is a good one. I call him that since I can't remember his name. Cool, eh?
After that there is the name of the recruit b4 it is changed to the team's codenames. A Tony, Alexander, Samantha. So I do have to come up with names but as you must know, there are millions of unique names out there that are not that different from your own.
I remember in primary school, we had to write and illustrate a story. I cunningly used the names of boys [of course] in the class and swapped the first and last names, just to make them so no one would know who they were. I still recall that in detail.
You don't mention genre, which is critical. Mine is military spec ops, so secrets and codes and saying what you don't mean so your team knows what you do mean is all part of the ruse. It randomly makes it harder and easier, case by case.
To me, I need to name the character b4 I can write about them. It is all about getting in deep with their character. Even hair colour can be an indicator of race which can lead to their right name. Currently I have a Pedro who is a Hillbilly. So he has no Spanish origins whatsoever. So, Jethro, is a unique character in all those special ways, and even Pedro suits him, in my mind anyway. He is the second iteration of Pedro.
My recommendation, without knowing you, is to settle on a name as you create the character. I doubt there are too many people like me but I really do need the name and a basic physical description of the character to really get into them, get inside their heads and have them do things that are in keeping with their essence.
Give us the genre. Doug is a man or boy, and Melodi could be female. But, see, modern times YA he would be Dougie and she would be Mel. Genre is critical.
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Post by joshuachrisstoff on Dec 13, 2013 2:54:48 GMT -5
Thinking on it some . . . I do open a new doc in the writing root directory with the character's name. In there I record the specifics of the char as they come to me or I use them in each work. That I reuse characters in the series then I need to be consistent. As in the character's height, I write those down in their personal files, hair colour, beard, mustache, same for the guys! <GRIN> So in volume 21 you are greatly advantaged by having read the fist 20 volumes and gain the build up of the regular character's building, so to speak.
I think names are critical, to all of us.
I have found people who hate having their names shortened or changed to a nickname. Others hate the long version and demand a shortened or abbreviate form. When I introduce a character, their physical appearance is important to me even if it is irrelevant. To me the character is not complete without a name. Similarly, I need a first name for them but the last name never bothers me and many chars never have a family name.
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Post by jacklawson on Dec 14, 2013 19:35:53 GMT -5
Names are a challenge and yet so important.
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