Hello, writers. I’m curious—is anyone planning to do
NaNoWriMo?
Tonight’s topic is another one suggested by Tara the Anti-Social Social Worker, who has this to say about it:
Naming characters. Of course, Dickens and Rowling pretty much own this one. I got interested in when it's appropriate for a character to be nameless, often symbolizing an identity that's been stolen. In "The Handmaid's Tale," the handmaid is called Offred, to show that she belongs to Fred (and there's a little wordplay on "offered," like a sacrifice). She mentions telling her lover her real name, but we never learn what it is. Similarly, we never learn the real name of the war-crime victim "S." in the novel of the same name, or Ma in "Room."
All good points. I think there’s something very Literary about characters not having names at all. In Sounder, only the dog has a name.
Having characters called different names by different other characters—Uncle Vernon, Mr. Dursley, Dursley—is effective. But don’t do it yourself. Don’t refer to the same character as “Walter”, “Higginbotham”, and “the Colonel” in narrative. You’ll confuse and frustrate the reader, especially if you’re treating multiple characters this way.
Beware of having a lot of character names that start with the same letter. Especially if they also end with the same letter—“Sauron” and “Saruman” is really confusing. “Harry”, “Hermione” and “Hagrid” is less confusing, but still not optimal.
And this probably goes without saying, but: Avoid giving characters the same name. In real life you might know 17 guys named Mike, but it doesn’t work in fiction. (Unless it’s Literary and you’re making some kind of point.)
Avoid names no one will remember. It’s all right if the name is completely made up, but try not to make it too long. If all your characters have names like Aiiiee’llu’aalu, you’d be better off not naming ‘em at all.
I think it was Oscar Wilde who said that all character names should come from maps. A map is the source, by the way, of Snape, who may have the finest character name of our times.
Certainly all character names should be appropriate to the time and place in which you’ve set your story. A modern name-your-baby book can be helpful for names in different languages (but always double-check; some of them contain glaring errors). There are internet sites with name dictionaries for various cultures, including some for extinct languages (but be even more cautious with these). Try to be aware of the naming customs of the place and time you’re writing about… for example, whether given names are unique, whether people are named after dead or living relatives, whether a particular type of name is common or rare, whether people have middle names. (A pet peeve: writers who give all Puritan characters names like “Remember” and “Thankful”. Relatively few Puritans had such names.) If you’re doing research for your story, take notes on the given names you run across.
I usually keep a name bank as a separate file in the folder for the novel I’m working on. I separate it into male and female given names, and surnames if appropriate. If the name has an interesting meaning I jot that down. If there’s more than one culture in the novel, I have separate name bank sections for each one. This is useful when a minor character wanders onstage and needs a name in a hurry.
For the names of your main characters, you usually have to wait. You might have to give them a temporary name till the right one comes along. You’ll know when it does.
Tonight’s challenge:
The scene below could be set in a lot of different times and places. Come up with names for the characters. They don’t have to be brilliant names, but they should be consistent with the setting you decide on.
You can then add whatever details you want.
“Your money or your life!” It sounded like a boy’s voice, in the darkness.
The man put his hand on the woman’s arm. “Let me handle this.”
“It’s just a child,” said the woman.
“They’re never children,” said the man. He reached into his pocket.
“What are you doing?” The boy’s voice shook slightly. “Give me your money right now, or I’ll shoot.”
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