74 ~on writing

NAMING CHARACTERS

ANITA: “Cruella, isn’t that a new fur coat?”

CRUELLA DE VIL: “My only true love, darling. I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn’t?”

Magic Tip: Cruella de Vil’s name perfectly portrays a cruel and rich woman.

—101 Dalmatians, 1961, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman.

Character Names

How you come up with a name for your characters? There are some methods, from using a phone book or an obituary till running a random name generator.

Names are important because they directly relate to the character. Forget to name two characters with the same name, you’ll confuse your reader. Likewise, I don’t like to begin characters name with the same letter.

Sometimes a writer can even capture the spirit of characters names.

How can I give sense to a name?

  

Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf.

Magic Tip: Clarissa Dalloway is the main character. ‘Way’ and ‘low.’ It relates to the movement of Clarissa, and inner self.

Deconstructing INFATUATION, Merce Cardus.

Magic Tip: Marleen Walker is a tertiary character. She leaves right at the beginning. So she walks away.

 ***For more Magic Writing, click the topic 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' on the right side. 

Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.