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Character names important?
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A name carries a lot of information with it. Understanding the kind of assumptions people make with names can help paint a good picture of the character, or give good contrast to the character (i.e. A Boy Named Sue). Consider detective names in crime dramas. They often have no more than two syllables and are often European in origin. (i.e. Jack Cooper, Dillon Black, Blake Rodgers) I don't know if those are actual names from books, but they all could be names of hard nose PI's or FBI agents. Kid often have names that end with a "Y" (Billy, Suzy, Becky), Moms have simple name (Betty, Sue, Donna, Mary) where as woman with sex appeal might have a name that stays on the tongue longer (Susanna, Alexandra, Clementine). If it is important to reflect a given culture, than you would focus on names from that region.
From time to time I got to the internet and look at list of names until I find one that is a good fit.
Definitely agree Matthew! Some names match perfectly with how the author wanted them pertained. Others...not so much. Also the time frame of the book! If their doing a historical them I think it should be fitting to that time. :)
Always a misplaced concern I think. Names are ornamental, not structural.Even at their worst-chosen: they won't sink-the-ship if everything else in the story is GREAT.
When the story itself is leaky--full of cracks and holes--only *then* does a reader notice that yes, 'character-names' were also weird, or bad.
So: concentrate on crafting a solid narrative, and in that case you can get away with almost any character-name you wish.
Names can be very important if you're writing historical fantasy and etc.For example, the main character in my novella is "Hathor" who is known today as ancient Egyptian goddess.
But, also, I think names we choose for our characters add tone to what we write. My story wouldn't have done well if I used "Rick" "Joe" "Bob" "Don" or "Dave". I had to choose/create names that were consistent with the setting. Same goes for the voice of our characters.
I was just playing around with names for something, as for this topic I would say yes they are very important. The best thing to do is be unique and clever with a name, don't be boring and use a common usual name that you will find in a newspaper or see in tons of other books. It's best to be original and think of a name that you know isn't used much and has sort of a mystery to it or sounds good as you read it and it rolls of the tongue.
A name is another nuance of the character and should be given careful consideration. It needs to "fit" the geographical setting, the era, the social standing, and above all, the character itself. As for readers remembering the name? If the character is memorable, the name will be too.
With science fantasy, names are definitely important. Scree and Arak are important characters in my book; readers remember them. The names fit and are unusual.
Using common names has an upside and downside.Upside, people in a weird way may relate to the character or feel they can better adapt if the name of the character is their own of of someone they know.
Downside, a common name sometimes comes off as a lack of creativity and a common sounding name doesn't always give the reader drive. They think what makes this "Sarah" any different from the last one I read.
The level of importance that characters' names play in any novel is directly related to genre.Strange/unfamiliar names in science fiction, fantasy, and stories involving foreign countries and characters are expected and acceptable.
When writing historical fiction, the author should perform at least cursory research to confirm that the names of the various characters were commonly used and would not be considered out of place for the specific time period.
Other than the above examples, the author may use any name which he/she feels best suits the character. Occasional poetic license is also acceptable, at the discretion of the author. Parents do not seek the permission of others when choosing their children's name. An author is not required to seek permission from others when choosing a name for their characters. However, sound advice should never be dismissed out of hand.
Many excellent suggestions! Science fiction also needs different categories of names to fit the different types of aliens. Authors have fun with that one!
Sometimes it helps to research origins of names and certain names are fitting to certain types of genres. It sounds funny but you can tell that some names seem to fit in some genres and not others, I mean if you want your character to blend and win over a reader just right.
So important! I read a lot of YA romance, and when they have crazy names like "Gage" and "Havok", It takes me out of the story for a minute.It doesn't ruin the book for me, but it makes me laugh.
I read somewhere that Margaret Mitchell had originally picked 'Pansy' as a first name for the heroine of Gone With The Wind, and changed it to Scarlett at the last minute. Call me prejudiced, but I cannot image a Pansy O'Hara breaking through the siege of Atlanta as the warehouses burn down around her. So yes, characters' names are important.I am not saying that a Mabel cannot be a plucky heroine, but sometimes when names go bad, they go really bad.Judith Krantz had a character in Scruples Two, a descendant of the Russian nobility: Princess Lenina. Yes, like the revolutionary.
My pet peeve is the legion of Alexandras. There was a run on historical fiction heroines who rebelled against the narrow constraints of the female condition of their time. All of them seemed to have red hair, a penchant for the healing arts, and were too skinny for the beauty standards of the era. And yes, all of them were Alexandras.
For my current novel, I had to strong consider my name choices and research names as my book is set in 1920's Shanghai. Seeing that I needed to use Chinese names and names in China all have meanings I had to make sure it didn't just sound cool to me but I had to make sure the name's meaning fit the character in some way. A character name should be considered important because it has to tie into the story and it fits and makes sense. Sometimes its good to go with a very unoriginal and unique name rather then a common name to which we ourselves come across on a regular basis.
For me, the pronunciation of a name should be provided somewhere in the book if the author is going for the unique one of kind name. Nothing's worst then going through the book butchering the name! Ha :)
I've also read in other discussions readers don't favor the abbreviations on some names?
Example sarah = rah