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Hello, everyone! And welcome to my first editorial in the For Authors newsletter.  I truly hope I can be of some help. As a librarian, I order hundreds of books each year. As a writer, I make sure the library is well-stocked with a variety of writing guides such as Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents, just to name a few. As an editor, I'd like to use my resources to not only encourage you, but offer inspiration.
Quote: Learn as much by writing as by reading.
~Lord Acton |
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Naming Fictional Characters
Naming my fictional characters is something I take very seriously. If I cannot come up with the perfect name immediately, I sometimes leave a blank space or add several underscores instead, to be filled in later. I tend to get hung-up on the exact right name quite often, and when that happens, my creativity is blocked.
Here's an example of what I might do when names fail to fall in place right away:
__________ thrust the child into the dark, empty closet and slammed the door. She snickered, turning the skeleton key in the hole before slipping it into her apron pocket. ________ beat his feet against the door, his screams for help, muffled. Tying the rich boy's wrists and ankles had been a good idea, but taping his mouth shut was smarter yet. ________ basked in the thoughts of little _________ parents begging for their son's return... alive.
After a few days of throwing several names around, I came up with this:
Carlotta Krump thrust the child into the dark, empty closet and slammed the door. She snickered, turning the skeleton key in the hole before slipping it into her apron pocket. Charles P. Miller III beat his feet against the door, his screams for help, muffled. Tying the rich boy's wrists and ankles had been a good idea, but taping his mouth shut was smarter yet. Carlotta basked in the thoughts of little Charlie's parents begging for their son's return... alive.
Though I'm still not completely happy with this paragraph, at least it is evolving. And since it's a draft, I can go back and make changes at any time.
Whether browsing the Internet, reading endless lists of baby names, or scanning phone books, the right name eventually seems to find its way to your character. Though I wouldn't recommend for you to obsess about giving your character the perfect name, putting thought into it is well worth the wait; both you and your character will be happier for it in the long run. Think about this: Pregnant women do not name their babies the moment they find out about the pregnancy (okay, maybe some do!  ). It's normally a process of what names she likes, what names he likes; what names the mother-in-laws do not like, etc. "Should we name him after Grandpa George, or perhaps Uncle Luigi?" or... "What's wrong with MY dad's name?" There is much to consider in this naming business!
There are times when researching your character's name is inevitable. If your modern-day story takes place in Ireland, you might consider names that are popular in that country. If your piece takes place in Medieval times, you might not want to use first names like Dallas, Dakota, or Cheyenne. While writing fiction, we have the advantage of anything is possible, but it's probably best to coincide names with the era and location. I'm not saying in India, no one's name is Frank, Sue, or Johnny; nor in the US... no one's name is Li, Ammar, or Katinka . What I am saying is, it's not a terrible thing to stay in accord as much as possible, especially with your main character.
The meaning of a name isn't always important, but sometimes the sound of the name helps it to stand out. It's also fun to make up your own names, especially in the fantasy and sci-fi genres. Did you know that 'Darth' is a combination of death and dark? I tried making up a name by combining two words, but it ended up being harder than I thought. It is a fun challenge though.
Pay attention to the minor character names as well as the main character's. Especially be careful not to begin the minor characters with the same letter as your main character, and try to apply this to all characters. If you have a Peter, Petra, and Pella, how many times would readers need to flip back to make sure it was Petra who stole the diamonds, and Peter who discovered Pella in the trunk of his Pontiac? I'm already confused!
Last names are not to be ignored either. Would you name a handsome Italian man in an upcoming romance novel Antonio Hull? Hmmm... I would consider something that flows much nicer, such as Antonio Romano or Antonio Moretti.
Cross-gender names can be confusing, especially if there is more than one in a story. If you have a male character named Chris, you may want to refer to him as Christopher now and then. For example, Chris picked up the envelope addressed to him: Christopher Allen Magee. Or perhaps Chris's mother calls: "Christopher Allen, where have you been?" If Chris is a female character, you may want to refer to her as Christina or Christine now and then. If you have characters named Chris, Jessie, and Shawn all in one story, it could be a struggle for the reader to decipher genders right away. The way a name is spelled nowadays, is no longer a clue to gender. Anything goes, it seems. We as authors may see our characters clearly, but the first-time reader of our story may not.
Another good rule to follow is to choose names the reader can pronounce. It is extremely frustrating to be reading along and stumble into a name that you have no idea how to sound out. Sometimes I just acknowledge the name by sight and continue on reading. But after a while, I'm not satisfied by that, so I make up my own pronounciation of the name.
Think back to unforgettable characters you have read about in the past. Many of the names stick with us not only because of a story or poem well written, but the actual name of a character which could be catchy, such as 'Fancy Nancy', Georgie Porgie', and 'Humpty Dumpty'. Let's pick on Peter Pan:
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan, the story began as a play written by J. M. Barrie and was later adapted as a book, Peter Pan and Wendy. These stories were first created when Barrie told them to the sons of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, whom he'd had a special relationship with. After her death from cancer, Barrie was named co-guardian of the boys and unofficially adopted them.
It also states that Peter Pan was named 1) from one of Sylvia's sons, Peter Llewelyn Davies, and 2) Pan, the mischievous Greek god of the woodlands.
Though the name Wendy was already in existence in the US and the UK, it was extremely rare. Wikipedia writes that at one time, it was thought that Barrie had made up the name himself. An acquaintance of his, poet William Henley, often called Barrie "Friend", but when Henley's four-year old daughter tried to say it, it came out "Fwendy-Wendy".
John and Michael Darling are based on Jack, Michael, and Nicholas Llewelyn Davies, while Mr. Darling was named after George, the oldest Llewellyn Davies boy and Mrs. Darling was named after the Barries' family nurse, Mary Hodgeson.
I found this information quite interesting since I never gave any thought of how J. M. Barrie came up with his character names. And what about Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell and the others? What great and unforgettable names.
Now let's peek into A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh. We know Winnie is a bear, but how did he get his name? According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_the_pooh, Christopher Milne and his father often visited London Zoo where a bear named Winnipeg was kept The popular Canadian bear's name was eventually shortened to 'Winnie' and Milne's son, a big fan of the bear, named his own Teddy bear 'Winnie'. How the 'Pooh' was added, is vague, but Mr. Milne and his son did meet a swan named 'Pooh' while on a holiday. The author does, however, mention in his first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh, "But his arms were so stiff ... they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose he had to blow it off. And I think - but I am not sure - that that is why he is always called Pooh."
Most of Milne's other characters in Winnie the Pooh are named after son Christopher's stuffed animals: Tigger, Eeyore, Kang, Roo, and Piglet. Wikipedia also adds that Rabbit and Owl were based on real animals, and Gopher was added in the Disney version.
Names are all around us. They are not only in books and on mailboxes, but the tags on our clothes. And if you are creative enough, you can make up your own. Have fun with figuring out names for your characters, and most important: Don't make it a chore. If you cannot find a name right away, one will find its way to you.
Have a safe and happy holiday and...
Keep on Writing!
Cubby ") ** Image ID #1349072 Unavailable ** |
Items About Names
~by WDC Members
Peter Pan and Winnie
~by WDC Members
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Feedback
Being it is my first edition for this newsletter, I have no feedback to share this week. I do, however, look forward to hearing from you!
Again,
Have a safe and happy holiday and...
Keep on Writing!
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For Authors: December 12, 2007 Issue [#2106]
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