In the TV Show Lost, his name is Sawyer. Rename him and see how that changes the character. Bad boy Ralph, the forbidden fruit she craved. The stubble on Timmy's strong jaw ...."
Names have power. Names need to fit the setting and the time period. Names put the reader in the character's shoes or pull them out of the story.
From my website andreageist.com: "I enjoy etymology. As a writer the meaning and history behind a word can add richness and depth and heck it's just plain interesting. My character in the short story Dreams of Summer is named Rayna Engel. If you know any German, Engel is easy = Angel. The origin and meaning of Rayna is varied. In Latin, from Regina, the name means Queen. In Yiddish the name is similar to Katherine, clean and pure. The website Thinkbabynames.com lists the origin as Scandinavian and Israeli meaning: counsel; song. My heroine sings . She always gets the words wrong (great fun rewriting lyrics) and she is a pure soul, a free spirit. I didn't want to name my character Aria or Carol, too transparent. Rayna is the perfect name."
Character names are important. Example, should your alpha male, sex-god, kick butt and take names hero be called Phillip, Irving, Chance, Billy, Pepe', Jack, Wally or Devon? Does this work?
"Wally's intense steel-gray eyes made her yearn for the forbidden." Now try a different name.
Good examples of character names:
Good examples of character names:
- Charlaine Harris's character Sookie Stackhouse wouldn't be the same if her name was Jane or Sophie.
- Scout and Boo Radley are wonderful names in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Do you have examples of well-named characters?
2 comments:
Love this topic. Today in 4th grade the kids were brain-storming their next essay over a Scare Crow. The kids discovered that the name they choose for their Scare Crow could give an instant image for the details of their Scare Crows.
Names can give us instant recognition and some names just absolutely fit a certain characters.
My favorite character name is Joe Black for the Angel of Death. Joe, how an assuming and Black is simply perfect for being the Angel of Death.
I have to be honest that your chosen graphic has me HIGHLY distracted, so a coherent contribution to this blog may not be possible, but the one that comes to my mind is Jesse DuFrayne...both the outlaw connotation and the obvious similarity to "train" (from LaVyrle Spencer's Hummingbird) I'll try to think of more.
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