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 By Judy Ramsook Mar. 5, 2006 Writers have their own adventure when penning what he or she hopes will be an unforgettable piece of fiction. Whether that story is set on some distant planet or closer to home, readers look for characters and scenes they can connect with or relate to. Such a character can be an ordinary boy, girl, man or woman who is thrown into a situation which requires him or her to ultimately become the story’s hero or heroine. Or it could be a magnificent character who has no idea he or she will turn out to be the hero of the story. When the time comes for the creator of the work to seek out names for such characters is when the writer may pause to ponder. Usually when I start the name selection process, I also do so with the prospective reader in mind. For if a writer wants the reader to keep turning the page of his or her work, he might also want the reader to be perusing a name he can remember and is not too far fetched. For names are important. If, for example, you are reading a book in which the protagonist’s name is say, Jack and you happen to know a real life person with the same name, it might encourage you to keep on reading, but more importantly, it will make you remember the fictional character. Furthermore, I try to choose names I can also rememeber easily. I don’t want to introduce a John on page five and end up naming him Jack on page fifteen. So I make a list of potential character names or I choose names I can recall at a second’s notice. Unless of course that fictional character happens to be a member of a royal family or something of that nature. Even so, for the reader’s sake, if the fictional royal family member has a rarely sounding name, maybe give him or her a nick name, something that can be readily remembered and recognised. As opposed to wondering if a list of names has not been made, now what was his or her name again? At which point the writer of the work may end up flipping through pages until he or she finds the name he is seeking; that can be frustrating. Especially if you, the writer, thought it would be easy to recall a name you introduced earlier in the work and need to let him make an appearance again some pages later. Sometimes I even end up using first names of persons I either went to school with or met and to avoid any confusion, I make those fictional characters quite different from the real life ones. For some individuals are quite sensitive and might think you fashioned a certain character after him or her when all you did was use a first name you and the reader will remember. A name that belongs to a character you want the reader to remember, for if the reader recalls the character, he will also recall the work long after he has read the last word of the last page. What is also interesting is composing a character using at least five qualities, each from real life friends, relatives or others who have made an impression on you, the writer, but that’s another matter entirely. ------------ About the author Judy Ramsook: My first book titled: "Karen's Adventure" which is about two young girls who go in search of their missing parents, is now available. I was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, then in the mid eighties I came to the US where I attended San Antonio College and The University Of Texas At San Antonio. Visit: http://www.authorsden.com/judyramsook www.publishedauthors.net/g2rdy Email: j2rdy@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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