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dragonjournal) wrote2010-03-19 10:26 am
dragonjournal) wrote2010-03-19 10:26 am
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Names in fiction
Perhaps one of the most memorable parts of writing a story is the names. It's certainly what's usually the most memorable thing to the reader. Say the name Draco and what pops to mind? What about the name Edward? How about Anita? Or even the name Logan?
They are memorable names. Plain in the real world, throwing them into fiction has given them a new layer and made them into something more.
Choosing these names is often an agonising process. A name that fits the personality of the character but also fits into the world that you're attempting to create among the pages that you're writing. Obviously, if you use the real world, you have some leeway with what names you use. We've all heard unusual names. Some of us may even have them. Depending on the country you use as your setting, you can even have a little girl named Faith living next to a little boy named Achmed-Akeem.
If you use a world of your creation, however, you need to be slightly more careful. Why? Because unless you establish a diversity among your populace, then, you cannot have Thom the blacksmith in one house and Frenkilinskowich the butcher. It just doesn't work, and takes the suspension of belief just a little too far.
As a writer, unless a name sits up and says "HERE I AM" to me, oftentimes I use something we call 'placeholder names'. Meaning names that can be used for the character, until a "real" name sits up and smacks us in the nose with a rolled up newspaper. (Hey, sometimes writers can be a little dense when it comes to our stories. Especially our characters. And any writer who tells you any different - with a straight face - should be read immediately, because obviously they have storytelling skills.)
These names can be anything from a number, to something that describes them. It's rather amusing to reread the names and try to figure out what to really call them. Sometimes, the characters even grow into the "temporary name" that was given them.
Right now, I'm editing a work that I've been working on for far too long. And one of the things that has come up is that a lot - if not all - of the names need to be changed. As I'm slowly going through it (and it's so damned SLOW trust me) little pieces of names keep popping up here and there. I'm not sure if I'll use any of them, but perhaps, when I take a break later, I'll work on changing the names, just so I can have something ever so different, and it'll be one more thing crossed off the to do list for this story.
Now, back to editing.
They are memorable names. Plain in the real world, throwing them into fiction has given them a new layer and made them into something more.
Choosing these names is often an agonising process. A name that fits the personality of the character but also fits into the world that you're attempting to create among the pages that you're writing. Obviously, if you use the real world, you have some leeway with what names you use. We've all heard unusual names. Some of us may even have them. Depending on the country you use as your setting, you can even have a little girl named Faith living next to a little boy named Achmed-Akeem.
If you use a world of your creation, however, you need to be slightly more careful. Why? Because unless you establish a diversity among your populace, then, you cannot have Thom the blacksmith in one house and Frenkilinskowich the butcher. It just doesn't work, and takes the suspension of belief just a little too far.
As a writer, unless a name sits up and says "HERE I AM" to me, oftentimes I use something we call 'placeholder names'. Meaning names that can be used for the character, until a "real" name sits up and smacks us in the nose with a rolled up newspaper. (Hey, sometimes writers can be a little dense when it comes to our stories. Especially our characters. And any writer who tells you any different - with a straight face - should be read immediately, because obviously they have storytelling skills.)
These names can be anything from a number, to something that describes them. It's rather amusing to reread the names and try to figure out what to really call them. Sometimes, the characters even grow into the "temporary name" that was given them.
Right now, I'm editing a work that I've been working on for far too long. And one of the things that has come up is that a lot - if not all - of the names need to be changed. As I'm slowly going through it (and it's so damned SLOW trust me) little pieces of names keep popping up here and there. I'm not sure if I'll use any of them, but perhaps, when I take a break later, I'll work on changing the names, just so I can have something ever so different, and it'll be one more thing crossed off the to do list for this story.
Now, back to editing.