Names

[ElFewja]

How do you guys feel on names?

To me, personally, I feel that they are shallow and unnecessary husks; sure, they can easily serve to differentiate between characters, but isn't that sort of a lame reason to give a character a name?

I personally do not feel any sort of attachment to names in general, and even less so in the stories I write. Most of the time when I drop a name for a character, it feels unnecessary and arbitrary. However, the stories that I have posted where I did not give names were not as well received, though that may be for any number of reasons.

A lot of the time I think I can do without them, though.

But anyway!

How do you guys feel about names for characters? Assume whatever situation you want.

Etc

 

[Sablesword]

I'm the opposite: Names are magic.

Knowing the characters' names doesn't guarantee that I'll be able to write the story, but not knowing them will guarantee that I won't be able to. Also, it's practically impossible for me to use "placeholder" names, the way some writers do. Once I come up with a name for a character, the character will have that name, and I won't be able to change it later on.

Once I have a character's name, I can (magically - names are magic) start telling you a lot about the character. Before then - nothing. Of course, not everything I know about the character will make its way into the story. But it's good for me as a writer to know all that stuff.

And as a reader, if the characters in a story don't have proper names but only titles, or tags, or referents, then the story has to be very very well done to avoid invoking the Eight Deadly Words: "I don't _care_ *what* happens to these people!"

 

[Sablesword]

To add a concrete example to this abstract discussion: If a story features a pretty woman, ankles locked in wooden stocks, giggling uncontrollably as the soles of her bare feet are stroked with a feather-fan...

... then it matters whether her name is Stefana clan Elkhound, or Jane Willowflower, or Princess Brenda Cathlene Teresa Joanne DuCord. Or it should matter. It matters to me, anyway. The tone and flavor of the story will depend on just who the woman is, and a story where her name doesn't matter will just be a flat, limp, lifeless scrap.

 

[ElFewja]

But a name is not character development or establishment, more of an icon that pretends outwardly to be that, but truly isn't. I mean, not giving names is sort of lazy, but I thoroughly build my characters, whether or not that shows in my works. A name isn't really a substitute for me. But then, a name is also just about the last thing I throw down; I can't start until I have one though, unless I'm not rocking one.

However, I can totally see how a name can also begin character development, and to some extent I do start with a name half of the time, if you assume a title to be part of a name (like your example, princess).

However, I think it works a lot of the times I've employed it, mostly just because of first person. I don't think of myself as Mr. X, I think of myself as myself. It feels more natural.

Overall I think I'm preconditioned by the amount of dystopia novels I've read, so maybe my point is moot. I don't feel names, in general, are of any real importance or significance. hmm.

At any rate what I see you saying seems to be more character development than a name inparticular. I see your examples as showing the audience very very briefly without any other facts that this person is of this rank, or is a commoner, or... etc. Which makes me wonder if titles are part of your names, or relevant to names in general. Hm.

Etc.

 

[Sablesword]

Well for me, names are a big handle on character development, both as a writer and a reader - as I said above, names are magic. They're also a clue wrt to setting and world-building.

As a reader, the story can get away with not naming a character if the lack of a name is Significant somehow (or if the character is a very minor one). Otherwise, if I'm not given a name, then I start thinking about the Eight Deadly Words. All the character-development that the writer puts into the nameless character counts for little without a name to attach it to. And it goes for naught if, for the lack of a name, the Eight Deadly Words get spoken.

Also, for me, titles and names shade imperceptibly into each other. Consider a character: "Mr. Brown." Is the "Mr." a title, or part of the name?

Maybe your reading dystopia novels does have something to do with it. I thoroughly detest dystopia stories, and refuse to touch them. IMHO the real world is already dystopic enough; non-fiction feeds me all the Bad Stuff I could possibly want, thankyouverymuch. I don't need even more of that Bad Stuff in my entertainment - what I need there is escapism.

 

[chicag0]

I like researching names and picking ones whose meanings reflect the character's personality. For instance, in the comic I'm working on now, one of the 'ler's names is going to be "Bec" which means "to tie".

 

[Journia]

Well for me the name only solidifies the character.

For instance, the name doesn't have to mean anything, but the name has to match well with the character by sound atleast

However, names might be used after the initial creation of the character to signify the personality.

Most people identify ith names because it is bringing the character into more familiar terms.

However, names need not be used as you say Adam. I posted a story on here recently where the characters had no names at all, throughout the story, and it ws actually pretty good. The whole story went well.

 

[ElFewja]

Yeah, I had this course on dystopia novels a year or so ago. It really wasn't a running theme - names - but identity and the loss thereof was. It caused me to come to a realization that names are sort of just a blank form of an identification, an arbitrary mixing of symbols, that don't really serve any purpose other than helping identify one individual from the other within ones mind, or if you're calling out to someone, etc.

Mostly, there was a novel - I believe it was We - where the characters all had names such as I-1336 (I am almost entirely positive that that is not a characters name, but it was something like that). And here was the thing; yeah, it probably is weird or a little scary to be called by something like a serial product, but it worked. I mean, those ID's functioned entirely as names for these people, with the characters going so far as to come up with nicknames for each other (narrator constantly refers to the one woman as O). So it worked very well.

I think I lost my point. I do like Annie's suggestion on names, and it's not the first time I've heard it nor have I never employed it, but it generally isn't something I have the patience for, unless I already know the information offhand. Like, if I want a city to have buildings of white plaster, which are painted this lovely gold in the setting sun, then I could easily call it Aurum, since I know that to be the latin word for gold, but it's also not something I'd go and look up if I didn't know off hand. So I can accept names employed like this, since there is meaning.

I had this idea in my head about discussing identity, loss there of (if it can really be considered to lose something that never was), and other things, but I forgot it all somewhere. But, reading over your post again sparks a question in my head, so I'll have to open up another topic for it.

Etc.

 

[David Presents]

I generally spend quite a bit of time thinking up the names for my characters, even the minor ones. They are like my children to me. Sometimes I will skip a name if it is a very unimportant character in a story, but that is the only instance I will do so.

 

[melanie2]

ah i'm afraid i took the easy way out and used my own name for the main character..

 

[Dave2112]

I personally feel that all characters should have names, at least the main ones. Why? For the same reasons I believe in characterization as my #1 Tip For Writers. A name means something. It's part of the character you're creating. I guess a lot of these tutorials are going to be dependant on the same thing...the desire of the reader to read a "good story", not just a tickling fantasy.

There are times when you might not want names, but those are usually when the namelessness of the characters is a literary device that emphasizes a certain kind of tale. Say, somthing in which the point of the story is lonliness, or emptyness...or maybe as creep-factor in a horror story.

But usually, names are important. They help a reader easily identify with a character, rather than having to track by description and point-in-plot...who is who.

I also agree with Mai on something here. Choosing names with some sort of subtle meaning only strengthens your presentation. I've used it myself in "As Needed for Pain." The three female leads were representations of the main character's Ego (Rieko), Id (Sid or Sidney) and Addiction (Addie). The main character, whose pain created these manifestations, was Payne. More than simply cute or clever, they give the reader clues along the way as to what's really going on before the story makes it more obvious.

Always remember to give your reader credit for figuring things out or seeing into your more subtle designs. I think one of the things that keeps many beginning writers from exploring literary individuality or subtext is the worry that readers "won't get it". Give 'em credit...it'll free you up to be more creative.

 

[AddieJuniper]

How did I not know that you had a character named after me? Doh! That's so cool of you, though, thank you! I never thought of that sub-name, Addiction, hehe.

I personally feel that all characters should have names, at least the main ones. Why? For the same reasons I believe in characterization as my #1 Tip For Writers. A name means something. It's part of the character you're creating. I guess a lot of these tutorials are going to be dependant on the same thing...the desire of the reader to read a "good story", not just a tickling fantasy.

There are times when you might not want names, but those are usually when the namelessness of the characters is a literary device that emphasizes a certain kind of tale. Say, somthing in which the point of the story is lonliness, or emptyness...or maybe as creep-factor in a horror story.

But usually, names are important. They help a reader easily identify with a character, rather than having to track by description and point-in-plot...who is who.

I also agree with Mai on something here. Choosing names with some sort of subtle meaning only strengthens your presentation. I've used it myself in "As Needed for Pain." The three female leads were representations of the main character's Ego (Rieko), Id (Sid or Sidney) and Addiction (Addie). The main character, whose pain created these manifestations, was Payne. More than simply cute or clever, they give the reader clues along the way as to what's really going on before the story makes it more obvious.

Always remember to give your reader credit for figuring things out or seeing into your more subtle designs. I think one of the things that keeps many beginning writers from exploring literary individuality or subtext is the worry that readers "won't get it". Give 'em credit...it'll free you up to be more creative.