What's in a name?

N – Names

What’s in a name? Character, that's what...

Am I the only writer who agonises over names for days on end?  I guess I find it so difficult because I think names are so important in characterisation. They give the reader clues as to what kind of person they should expect. It may seem arbitrary as we are all given names by our parents - when they have no idea what sort of people we will eventually turn out to be.  Then again, many parents agonise over their children’s names too! We give children names and then hope their characters turn out to be what we would want for them. But in the world of fiction we try to choose names that suit the character we are trying to create.

For instance, age and era play a big part in my choices. A woman who was born early 19^th century would not be called Rhianna or Stacy. Just doesn’t ring true, does it? But Arabella or Victoria does. The age of characters is also important in deciding names. I can easily imagine an older man called Hector or Jeremiah but not a young boy. I think most readers meeting a character with these names would automatically have in their mind’s eye and older man even before any physical description is given.

Whether your character is the antagonist or protagonist is also important in naming. Although sometimes one might want to increase surprise by giving an evil character an innocuous name… I think it depends on how you are trying to present your story.

Male heroes names tend to be strong masculine names – they are not usually called Fred or Bert - but female heroines may also be strong ‘no nonsense’ names too. I wouldn’t choose a name like Ophelia or Primrose if I wanted my heroine to be seen as strong and capable. But then again, it is all a matter of personal choice… In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like Ophelia!!

When we are introduced to people in real life we may be told their names but it is not the only information we have of them. We can see how they behave, what they look like and hear them speak. We can make judgements about what sort of person they are (although we may turn out to be totally wrong, of course!)

But in writing fiction we have to give a strong first impression by words only to have the reader ‘see’ our character in their mind’s eye. I believe this is why names are so important.

How much importance do you give to naming your characters? Do you agonise or go with the story and change the name later to fit the character?

High Stakes & Potent Plotting

Step into my World? 

Intrigue and Supense - Chiller Plotting?

All the steps in creating a plausible plot in thriller writing (in my opinion- but feel free to disagree!) must come from the premise of an antagonist (villain) wanting one thing and a protagonist (hero) wanting the direct opposite. This, I believe, creates the basic conflict that will drive the story to its final climactic end. Layered in and around this conflict may be more subplots and story lines that enrich the central story. In other words the story is multi-layered and thick with intrigue and suspense. As far as I can see, all the really good thrillers of recent times seem to be written this way. And it is this potent mixture of forces set one against the other that is the engine behind a rollicking good story.

The stakes in a thriller must also be very high so that menace and threat are around every corner. Of course, the greatest threat (and the one many successful stories have thrived on) is world domination or a catastrophic event that threatens the entire world. For example ‘War of the Worlds’, ‘Alien’ and various James Bond’s epics. The plotting for a novel like this may start fairly worryingly but then the plot (or story arc) should rise to epic proportions and stakes go higher and higher as more danger and conflict is piled on and more people realise the gravity of the situation. A frantic race against time is also often used as a plot device to ratchet up the tension and create even higher drama.

But it doesn’t always have to be about threats to the entire world - it may simply be threats to a main character’s nearest and dearest. And in this case the best way to raise the stakes is for the reader to strongly identify with the characters in peril and so worry for their safety. Every thriller plot cannot be all about action. Suspense, good character development and rising tension can do the job of raising stakes equally well in even the most urban of thrillers. And engendering empathy is integral to the plot too.

In my writing, when I have a basic premise for a novel, I set about developing strong characters with a full back story and personal history that makes them the person they are in the story. The Protagonist and the Antagonist are compared side by side to ensure they will clash and want opposite things and that then sets the story in motion, I hope... I start to design the scenes with conflict and tension and maybe add subplots (which will eventually tie into the story line) to create more obstacles for the protagonist - many will come from the antagonist, of course - that he/she will need to overcome to succeed in their quests.

I try to see the story outline as a whole graph of rising problems which get ever worse until the final climactic scene. Then it is all downhill to the resolution and, hopefully, satisfying ending.

This is just a quick snapshot of how I go about plotting. But how do you do it? Do you do something similar or maybe not plan at all?