So, let's look at a couple of characters from my first novel, Xannu - The Prophecy:
- Teern Truthbringer - A soldier armed with an ancient sword that carries the mark of a winged cobra, who is tasked with protecting the Xannu, the central story figure of the series
- Kriks - Short, armor-clad skin, specialist fighting creatures (they are only three feet tall and would no doubt give attackers cricks in their necks)
- Amber Fleetfoot - A savage yet gentle B'Wot (think saber tooth tiger)
- Vixxa - The cunning seductress and sorceress from the Island of Tane
- Stanton and Tenshun - Princess Ariana's bodyguards (think 'stand to attention')
You're getting the idea. Character names are an important element of any story and you should spend time getting their names just right. Even if your novels are set in contemporary times, it's important to choose a Ben over a Tim depending on the circumstances. Names mean something to us all and if we choose the right name we will write the character better. At school there was a kid named Billy and he was a bit of a bully. I now know that any bully I put in my books will probably be called Billy. It will help me write the character better. Likewise I knew a beautiful girl named Susan (thankfully I've dated several so no secrets given away there!)... You get the idea.
One of the main characters in my latest novel, Melrose - First Blood, is named Beau Tempest. And as one character says when she hears his name: "It sounds like something out of a romance novel. Something my mother would read." It's cheesy. Deliberately so. Beau is a really nasty character and I wanted to give him a cheesy name. For a reason (but I can't give that part away yet, can I?).
So, as you write your novel, spend some time making sure your characters have the correct name. Character names (and their characterization) can turn books into great books. Oh well, I'm off to write some more Melrose. I've got an especially nasty piece of Beau storyline to write...
One of the main characters in my latest novel, Melrose - First Blood, is named Beau Tempest. And as one character says when she hears his name: "It sounds like something out of a romance novel. Something my mother would read." It's cheesy. Deliberately so. Beau is a really nasty character and I wanted to give him a cheesy name. For a reason (but I can't give that part away yet, can I?).
So, as you write your novel, spend some time making sure your characters have the correct name. Character names (and their characterization) can turn books into great books. Oh well, I'm off to write some more Melrose. I've got an especially nasty piece of Beau storyline to write...
I completely agree! It's actually my favorite part of the whole writing process. I rarely sit down and think about the names, they just come. This one time I got the most brilliant name out of a dream, but there are also the dark times when I get a very stupid name like Gogor and wonder how to change it without plucking my hair out...
ReplyDeleteAnyway... I like the name Vixxa. And I love the spin you gave Beau. I like to defy expectations as well like that. I even based a whole story on a name once and I cannot wait to reveal that tidbit at the end. *evil laugh*
So thanks for sharing! Happy writing. :)
I've found that, for the most part, my characters come with their names... I don't recall (often) having to sit & think what a character's name will be. The name seems to be an integral part of who they are, right from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post!
Fantastic post!
ReplyDeleteCharacter names are so key, and often I find my clients make them...shall we say...needlessly complex? This is often a symptom of forcing a name on a character for flash and bang, rather than authenticity. A pity, too, since a rose by any other name...
Side note: I think I'd like a pet B'wot.
RF
Lyn - Thanks for the kind words. What was your character's name? You didn't say.
ReplyDeleteGordon - I agree. Some characters come with names. But occasionally I find a few morph along the way...
Rebecca - Thanks for the kind words. As for the B'Wot, I have a feeling they are not into being kept as pets ;-)
I once named a character who had trust issues Faith O'Dare. She walked in with that name and I didn't even realize the significance until my shrink mentioned it years later. (Thank goodness gut instinct kicks in from time to time.) But for the most part, yes, I choose names carefully, intentionally. Fun post, Paul.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Character names are so important aren't they? I have found myself changing a character's name half way through something because it just didn't feel right. when it feels right you just know. I tend to go for quite regular names, but have just written a middle grade story where the main female character has a bizarre, pretentious name - a bit like your Beau Tempest, it has been chosen for a specific reason... one of the many joys of writing!
ReplyDeleteI hate choosing character names! It's always somethin I leave last! I end up choosing these ordinary names that don't match the character until I figure out what it really should be!
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a treatise by an editor, about how books are accepted or rejected by publishers, in which the writer-editor said 'HIS MOTHER DID NOT NAME HIM THAT." Meaning weird names are weird.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with the names all the time, and change them frequently, but in real life how many times do you meet someone with a "way out there" name anyway? I suppose it depends on what you are writing, a science fiction story obviously lends itself to bizzare names i.e. Spock, but if you are writing a crime drama, Spock would not make a good lead character.
ReplyDeleteThe journey continues, great post.
I keep an eye on the lists of current most popular Christian names so that I move with the times!
ReplyDeleteI agree: names are really important, especially in terms of defining age. I wrote a 60s novel where the main characters were called Bertie and Maud, and although it was technically correct that they would have these names, quite a few readers said they sounded 'too old.' Now I check deaths and births columns in newspapers, and lists of babies' names etc. Sometimes a character just doesn't work as, say, 'Amanda' and has to be changed to 'Caroline' even at the editing stage. But, personally, I don't like made-up names (although I think they work in sci-fi and YA): I hated the way Iris Murdoch gave characters unlikely, unrealistic made-up names.
ReplyDeleteI love coming up with names. Sometimes I get stuck in an alphabet rut though. All my names start with the same letter or have the same rhythm. I'm working on a memoir now and I have to change the names of characters. So hard. It's like my mind won't let me. We'll see what happens!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I like slightly unusual (not wacky) names for my main characters. I tend to look at old census returns to find them, and often take a a surname and use it as a given name.
ReplyDeleteI've had mixed success with names. Sometimes they just come straight away and I can't imagine them ever being called anything else. Other times I struggle immensely, and scrawl endless lists of possibilities. I quite liked the way the writer in Margaret Atwood's "Blind Assasin" called his characters a, b & x while he was writing.
ReplyDeleteI also like coming up with character names, and as with many of you, most have "come to me" while I was fiddling with who the character is, which is sometimes (often?) who the character's parents are (as they may relate to the story). Minus Orth, the sculptor in "What Beauty," came to me because his father is a mathematician, and has a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteI tend to use plane Jane names for secondary characters until they find a name for themselves. While rewriting my latest novel, I discovered I had three characters named Albert. One of them fit the name (think Batman's Albert), but the others are now Bernard and Harry.
ReplyDeleteFor anoth novel about three sisters with have a flighty mother, I tried to figure out what mom would name them. I came up with her naming where they were born. Hence I have Virginia, North Carolina and Arizona. Their nicknames are then tailored to fit them. Ginny is old fashioned. Carol tries to be respectable. And Z is the rebel.
I've always contended that names are regional. You find names in New York you'l never see in Tennessee and some in Wyoming you'll not find where I live in the Smoky Mountains. Since I write about crime in the Smokies and need interesting names for my characters, I always take the new phone book and scour the pages for good candidates. I make a column of first anmes and one for family names. Then I mix and match by sound and for what fits the character's personality. One rule: Make it memorable. I think my crowning glory was a shady private investigator named Telford Bone. Those two came off election posters.
ReplyDeleteI love the character naming part. It's like naming my children all over again. I'm currently writing about a cult leader whose birth name was Wayne. He didn't think that was original or said 'leader' and didn't command respect so he changes his name to Alarik which means noble ruler in German.
ReplyDeleteI find knowing the surnames of NFL & MLB players a handy database fro names! Some of those NFL stars have evocative names
ReplyDeletemarc nash
Love character names, here are some from my latest, 'Rage of Atlantis'...
ReplyDeleteKang Dee - a female dolphin (did some research on that one);
Oediouspelus - a greedy politician;
Plagamus - another slimy evil politician;
Audrey - God's long-suffering personal assistant...
Melrose is an RPG character name of mine since 2000. She was an Air Sprite... but got turned into a vampire. I obviously was watching to much of Melrose Place at the time.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness most of my characters have had names already! As I tend to write fan fiction so far, I've only had to name a handful of original characters. I also tend to use a random name generator for names.
ReplyDeleteAn update to my last comment in January, I wrote an article on naming conventions at Hubpages which could be useful for creating character names. http://tinsky.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-Your-Occupational-Surname
ReplyDeleteFantastic Post! I luckily have had success when coming up with the right character names for my stories but can see where writers can struggle with this area.
ReplyDelete