How to Name Characters | ronovanwrites

The Character Series Part 2/5: Things to Avoid When Creating Characters

CHARACTER CLUTTER

Cut down on the number of characters you have by having one character take on the roles of others. You don’t need your heroine to have five girlfriends that keep appearing. One girlfriend is enough with two at the most. Make it simple for the reader in regards to characters to remember. Put their focus on the story and the main characters, and make it easy on yourself as well. The fewer the characters the easier it is for you to have to remember while writing.

I have a Romance/Love story novel where the leading lady meets up with her high school team for lunch. In this case, it’s okay to have several characters, but not as recurring characters. Maybe two or three show up again.

SIMILAR CHARACTERS

Along with Character Clutter, you have characters that are basically the same. You don’t need that unless it is specific to something in the storyline. When I read Gone with the Wind there are a few too many characters in the beginning for my liking, but slowly it dwindles then it picks again to similar characters in Atlanta. Yes, there is a party in the beginning so I get it, but it is still a touch difficult to keep up with at the party itself. In Atlanta, there are the matriarchs of society that are almost impossible to keep up with. They all become a blur, and perhaps that is part of the story. They are all the same. Scarlet is different and Belle Watling is different and that is why you remember them.

METAPHORS AND SIMILIES

You have the characters and you need to describe them. Be original.

A simile is when you describe something in comparison to something else.

Her skin was as pure as the white of a Magnolia petal.

A metaphor is when you say something is something, you transfer the characteristics onto the person.

Her lips were sweet red berries and he needed to taste them at least one time.

One very important thing to remember. Don’t do the literary version of the mistakes people look for in time period movies. The digital watch on the Civil War soldier. Make sure when you metaphor or simile that you keep in mind what you are using and the words you are using, they need to be time period applicable.

Part 1: Creating Character Names

Part 3: Giving Your Characters Their Character

Part 4: Creating Believable Characters

Part 5: Character Beyond the Internal

Much Respect

Ronovan

The Character Series Part 1/5: Creating Character Names

You have a great story idea then you begin to write and you come to that moment . . . what is the name of the primary protagonist? The problem continues as you come to each character thereafter, including secondary and incidental characters. It’s a bear of a problem even if you don’t think so right now. You may even have written the novel and now realize you have name problems.

Following are some things to consider when naming characters:

CORRECT NAME FOR THE TIME PERIOD

There are a lot of names that can be used in present-day novels because people are becoming creative or retro in naming their children. However, when writing one easy way to help immediately let a reader know if your story is in the present-day or in the past is by the names you choose to use.

Example 1

Khloe looked out over the sloping green lawn down to the path below. Would he be there this morning . . . as every morning? Would Jayden ignore her father and still pass by regardless of the threats? Did he love her that much?

Think for a moment what time period these names bring to mind.

Example 2

Mildred looked out over the sloping green lawn down to the path below. Would he be there this morning . . . as every morning? Would Edgar ignore her father and still pass by regardless of the threats? Did he love her that much?

The First example includes popular names for 2014, while the last includes names from the early 1900s. Even not knowing this information you would know the first should be set in modern-day by the names, they are not names to fit into The Great Gatsby. And Mildred and Edgar are not common names these days. Sure you could use them in a modern setting but just keep in mind how easy simply choosing names will help in having to not explain a lot more in your writing about the time, era your story is set in.

REGIONAL NAMES

We talked about using names to help set the general time period of a story, now how about the place, the region, or country? In the United States names are slowly mingling but on the whole, you can use names that will give the reader a feel for where you are headed.

Missy looked out over the sloping green lawn down to the path below. Would he be there this morning . . . as every morning? Would Billy ignore her father and still pass by regardless of the threats? Did he love her that much?

I get a rural feel from the above names. More than likely in the south.

This pairing gives me a feel or the urban, probably a larger city as well.

I know, all of you could and are coming up with better examples than I am but you get the point.

BE ORIGINAL

When you do create names, even Regional ones, be original. You don’t have to go with Billy Bob to let people know the man lives in the South. Beau is a Southern name and so is Luke. One of those is a little stereotypical and the other less so. It is all up to you how you want to do it, maybe Beau is the name you want to use and it fits somehow. You want the name to stand out but also to be comfortable for the reader to say. Make sure to say the name out loud while using it in a sentence. I like the name to feel good coming off my tongue.

AVOID GENDER CONFUSION

If you really want to mess with your readers’ minds then use names that can be either male or female. As the years pass by this is becoming more of a thing. If you say Logan one may think of Wolverine the superhero or they may think of the little girl that was best buddies with their son in preschool and he pushed her in her little walker thing in between two baby beds and said “Bye-bye” as he looked around and saw his parents had arrived. Ashley and Paris are two other examples as well as Sandy. Add Morgan to that as well.

Don’t cause confusion to your readers. Make them comfortable as quickly as possible. You don’t want them to even have to think about gender, you want them falling into the story.

NOT THE SAME LETTER

Don’t have your main characters all having names starting with the same letter. You want distinction for them quickly and no confusion with any other character, especially a protagonist and antagonist.

Next:

Part 2: Things to Avoid when Creating Characters