How I Name (Or Don't) My Characters

I know there are writers who put a lot of thought into naming their characters. Name origin, ethnic connotations, new and inventive spellings of old names - you name it (pun intended) it's been done. And yes, there are some pretty cool ways to go about naming your characters.

But, I'm just not one of those writers.

I'm what I call an extreme pantster. I don't do any planning or plotting, and there's sure as hell no outlining in my world. I generally know what's going to happen and how the story will end, but I don't know how it will unfold.

I don't even know my character's names.

When I was writing this post I was reminded of a Neil Gaiman quote from Coraline:

“What's your name,' Coraline asked the cat. 'Look, I'm Coraline. Okay?"
"Cats don't have names," it said.
"No?" said Coraline.
"No," said the cat. "Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names.”

Not only is this a great example of how cheeky cats could be if they spoke English, but it's also how I think of my characters before I need to assign them a jumble of pronounceable letters that we call a name. Who they are is what's important, not what I'll call them.

I generally think of them as Girl Character, Boy Character, Quirky Friend, Silly Pedestrian... whatever the situation calls for. This is how my brain accesses that character file right up to the point in the manuscript where common sense demands they have a name, at which time I have them tell me.

I stop for a beat, and say, "What's your name?" And they tell me.

In the case of NOT A DROP TO DRINK I needed a name pretty quickly. I knew the first line of the book long before I started writing it -- "Girl Character was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond." But, that doesn't quite have what it takes, does it?

So I asked, and she told me her name was Lynn.

I was like - "WOW! That's a totally perfect name! Your mom would have picked a practical one-syllable name because she might have to yell for you in dangerous situations. She needed something quick, something that would carry in the wind. Yeah. That makes total sense. Your name is Lynn."

How serendipitous was it that much later - as in, months - I looked up the meaning of her name and it's derived from the Gaelic for pond or lake, and is usually used for someone who lives near water.

Um, yeah. She totally knew what she was doing.

Wednesday WOLF - Hacker

I've got a collection of random information in my brain that makes me an awesome Trivial Pursuit partner, but is completely useless when it comes to real world application. Like say, job applications. I thought I'd share some of this random crap with you in the form of another acronym-ific series. I give you - Word Origins from Left Field - that's right, the WOLF. Er... ignore the fact that the "from" doesn't fit.

I thought I'd share with you the origin of the term hacker.

The word itself has been around for awhile, most always with a negative connotation. It seems that at one time a hacker was someone who made furniture using only an axe as their tool, with the end result being that their furniture... well, kind of sucked. Later on the word hack was used as a noun to describe someone doing routine drudge work, and I hate to tell you this but it was most commonly applied to writers. In turn, this may have influenced the usage of the word when it came to writing computer software, and it looks like that's where it made the jump from the page to the keyboard - as early as the 1960's.

Interview with Shawn Proctor

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today's guest is Shawn Proctor, a fellow author of short stories who is published in the latest anthology from Elephant's Bookshelf Press alongside myself. Shawn's writing resides at the intersection where the traditions of literature and pulp fiction meet. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Rosemont College and is the book editor for Nerd Caliber. His work has been nominated for Best New American Voices and published in several literary journals and anthologies, including Apiary, Anthology Philly, and Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Short stories aren't easy to write, and - if we're being honest - even harder to get published. So with a fellow short-scribbler to jaw with, I asked Shawn a few questions.

Do you find writing short stories to be harder or easier than writing novel length projects?

I started by writing short stories because I believed the power of storytelling went back to mythology and fantasy and horror stories, rooted in the oral tradition. They were the kind of tales that kept you awake. They were short and haunting.

Over time, I realized that novels have the same potential, but they immerse the reader more than a short story. The end goal is still to create a lasting impression. I have less experience writing novels, so crafting a longer yet focused story is an exciting challenge.

Do you tend to work in the same genre with shorts as you do with novels, or do you feel free to dabble a bit more?

In the last two years I have been writing more superhero fiction, including a novel and a prequel short story that's coming out next month from This Mutant Life. However, I tend to be much more experimental in shorter pieces and write fiction that straddles two or three genres, mostly because there's less plot to manage. I worry less about what to call the genre and more about telling a knock-you-on-your-butt story.

What has your experience of publishing with an Indie been like?

Generally, I have had positive experiences with Indies. As an author, you are your own best advocate though. Keep your head. Read the contract. Understand what could happen if things don't work out. In short: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Matt Sinclair at Elephant's Bookshelf has been awesome. He communicates all of the details very well and is a great partner in all phases of the publishing process. Matt's gets it. He wants writers he works with to succeed. Better yet, he's a guy I could imagine talking with over a beer.

As a reader, have you ever discovered a new writer or genre that you like through an anthology?

Absolutely. I always read the "best of" anthologies that come out each year, including Best American Short Stories and the Pushcart. You get to see the new work from familiar names along with emerging authors.   

Indie anthologies are the center of publishing right now and for good reason. There are fewer journals and many of the ones left either running endless contests or charge for submitting, which I ethically oppose. Anthologies fill the gap where literary journals used to shine. They are where you're going to find the stars of tomorrow.

EBP's seasonal anthologies all fall under a theme. Did you write your short story "Just A Perfect Day" to fit the theme, or was this a story that already existed and it was a good fit for submitting?

This was a very odd horror story called "Leaving the American Sector" that I wrote a few years ago after a trip to Germany. I believed in the concept, but was never sure how to make the love-gone-awry beginning mesh with the Lovecraftian turn in the end. It turned out that by cutting the supernatural elements it became a surreal story about love tainted by delusion. 

"Just A Perfect Day" is about a relationship that is supposed to be working, but it's not. Do you think it's human nature to resent it when others fall short of our expectations?

We're fixed in our own point-of-view and that means even when we say in the moment, "It's not your fault, it's me," we mean, "It's totally your fault." It takes time to realize that maybe those failings weren't as monumental as they seemed. It takes perspective to consider that perhaps my expectations were unfair. 

What's next for you, as a writer?

I'm finishing up a revision of my novel Stand-In Heroes, which is a story in which two people receive half of a fallen superhero's powers. They have to learn to quickly learn to use their abilities because the man who killed the hero is coming for them next.

Tales of capes and costumes are obviously exciting, but the novel also examines the lives and relationships of two people who must find extraordinary courage to oppose a threat to the entire city.