Names are important. Names give clues about us, where we live, who we are. In some cases they can even say what we do! There is a certain tone about George W. Bush, you know he’s American! You can almost feel the Texan and taste the oil
When selecting names, try to make them suit the person and place, you may not think about it, but the name says a lot about a character, think of Scrooge, in Judas, call someone by those names and people will just know what What does it mean. Rental. Rental. Rental.
If you are writing a story set in the 1950s, check what names were used then. A helpful tip to rent an old movie and look closely at the names in the credits at the end. Hear what the people are called in the movie.
I like American gangster movies and I get some of my names from popular movies of the time. I’ll rent a Humphrey Bogart movie and watch the credits. It’s amazing the names you can come up with!
Choose names that sound true to the place you are writing about, for example you would hardly have a Padrig in Spain, it is an Irish name. Tarquin Fortesque-Smythe might come from the American working class, but you wouldn’t think of it by the name that you’d probably say belongs to the London G&T group.
Is your character 6, 16, 26, 36 or 76? Remember that people of different ages have different views on life and different values. At 6 you are more interested in a new toy, at 16 you are thinking of a living toy. At 36 you worry about bills and at 76, well, I haven’t arrived yet! How would a 6-year-old react on a day trip to Disneyworld? Would a 76-year-old do it?
Sometimes it is true that an author can write better about the opposite sex than about his own sex. You may want to give it a try.
Attributes and physical characteristics: a good exercise is to sit down and describe in detail how your character looks: the color of his hair, his eyes, what type of complexion he is, what kind of clothes he wears, what kind of footwear. They have obvious marks, scars, etc. We have a habit of judging people by their appearance.
Know your character as well as you know yourself. You may never use it, but why not interview it? Ask them questions: questions about their life, what they like to eat, favorite movies, favorite drinks, where did they go on vacation last year, where will they go next year. Vote? Who do you vote for?
© Kevin Hart MA BA (with honors) ABC Writers Network 2005