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From: Daily Writing Tips
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 10:48 PM
Subject: Naming a Character - DailyWritingTipsNaming a Character -
DailyWritingTips
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Naming a Character
Posted: 09 Mar 2020 02:49 AM PDT
The most unforgettable fictional characters begin as a glimmer in the
author’s mind. Only in writing the novel does the character go on to acquire
the dimensions that will make him or her live in the imagination of the reader
years after the book has been read.
Sherlock Holmes, Captain Ahab, Huckleberry Finn, Jo March, Dorothea
Brooke linger in our memories as if they were real people we have known.
These examples are all from the English classics, but even the writer
whose ambitions focus on something less monumental than Moby Dick or
Middlemarch needs to give adequate thought to the principal character/s who
will carry the story, whether it’s a light mystery, a romance, or a middle
school adventure.
The place to begin is with the character’s name.
Some writers, in a hurry to start that first draft, will tack the first
name that comes to mind on the main character, intending to come up with a
better name “later on.”
Bad idea.
A purely practical objection is the danger that the substitute name will
creep into a few paragraphs in the completed draft, creating embarrassment for
the author and confusion in the reader.
A more important reason to begin with the most appropriate name is that
the name is part of the character’s persona and can inform the developing
action. The right name can also send a subliminal message to the reader. Take
the name Atticus Finch.
The antique Roman name Atticus suggests formality and is imbued with
connotations of law and justice. Finch is the name of a harmless bird and, as
such, reflects the title of the book, To Kill a Mocking Bird. Harper Lee may or
may not have been aware of the useful qualities of the finch as a destroyer of
weeds and harmful insects, but Atticus Finch lives in our memories as a
dignified representative of the law doing what he can to protect the social
garden from destructive influences.
The very letters in a name can connote characteristics. The k sound
suggests strength and courage. Consider: James T. Kirk, Kinsey Millhone, Alex
Cross, Brother Caedfal, Kate Beckett.
Other sounds, like those of h and r and the vowels, can suggest such
characteristics as weakness, hypocrisy, and—sometimes—evil. Consider: Iago,
Humbert Humbert, Professor Moriarty, Dorian Gray, Uriah Heep.
A combination of strong and weak sounds can produce a name that suggests
a multi-layered character who possesses strength and courage, together with a
willingness to use others to their advantage. Consider: Becky Sharp, Scarlett
O’Hara.
The sounds of l and n may suggest sexiness or feminine weakness: Ulalume,
Lolita, Annabelle Lee, Anna Karenina.
And, finally, it’s possible to incorporate a suggestive word in the name
of a character. Holly GoLightly’s name contains the sexy l ‘s, together with a
word that conveys her unconscionable view of life. Bigger Thomas, born in
different circumstances, could have had a bigger, better fate. Edward Murdstone
has a heart of stone and a murky disposition. Sam Spade digs ploddingly for
information, while Mike Hammer gets what he’s after by any means necessary.
Before you get too far into that first draft, take the time to give your
protagonist the right name.
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