Names can be revealing about a character’s true nature. Some people even associate names with personality traits. For example, people associate names with hard consonants with strong personalities and those with soft consonants with warm personalities. The author’s personality can be reflected through a well-chosen character name. Often, choosing a name that is descriptive of a character’s personality is essential for a satisfying story.
Character names can reveal a bit about a character’s true nature
A great character name will be haunting and memorable, while not taking the reader’s attention away from the story or backstory. It will also be helpful in revealing the role of a character. There are some authors who have mastered the art of creating characters’ names. Perhaps one of the very best creators of character names was Charles Dickens. Dickens has created some of the most splendid names in literature.
The word “character” is a tricky term. It can have a number of different meanings depending on the context. “Real character” means that a person is remarkable in some way, and “real character” refers to something truly unique. But even the most mundane character name can tell us something about a character’s true nature. This is especially true of children’s names.
They can reflect the author’s personality
While an author may be tempted to use the most common name for their protagonist, they should consider the nuances of the given name and the meaning behind it. Names often give the reader an impression of the character’s class, region, or dialect. For example, a character named Billy Bob would not live in a high rise. Frasier, on the other hand almost certainly does. In either case, the name implies a certain location and a particular dialect. An author must always fight against the reader’s assumptions and choose a name that reflects their personality.
The name of the protagonist can also indicate the author’s personality. Authors, such as myself, often borrow from real life to create a more realistic world for their characters. For example, the tactical genius Hannibal Lecter in a fictional novel shares the name with the real-life Hannibal Barca, so the author’s name is a direct reflection of his or her personality. In fiction, this may not be a problem because an author often draws inspiration from real life.
Characters can be distracting
Some authors focus on the characters’ names too much. Using weird or unusual names can distract readers from the plot of the story, making them less likely to finish the book. Some authors even go as far as to use real-life characters as names, including the aforementioned Charles Dickens. This is a risky tactic, fine while writing and drafting but not so when the final draft is ready for publication. While unusual names are great for sci-fi and fantasy genres, they can also cause ethical pitfalls. Author David Savill accidentally named one of his characters after a real person, which he changed before publication. Editors often spot this before an author does too!
Adding a character’s name too early in some stories can be distracting. Don’t give readers the names of 50 different characters within the first two chapters, the story becomes cluttered and confusing. Readers won’t know which one belongs to which character, and will soon lose track of everything.
Names should only be provided for characters that are significant to a scene and have something to do with that scene. If they’re simply part of the background or later become major characters, a reader may lose interest before he or she even engages with the book. However, a mention of a name that will be part of the future of the story can be worthwhile to help a reader piece things together.
Characters can be “binding”
Binding is the process of creating a connection between an object and its name. The process is sometimes called name-to-object binding. The name of an object is essentially a textual representation of its address in the computer’s network. This makes it possible to make bindings between characters and objects in games. Character names, however, are not “binding” per se, but rather an implicit connection.
When it comes to choosing a character name and fleshing out the character, Reedsy has some superb free tools.
To learn how other authors write and get inside their heads listen to The Writers Workshop podcast with Crime Novelist and Broadcasts Will Shindler.
