Love that story, too, Min!
Character names are, when it comes to the written word, their visual representaion.
Sionainn
Haven't thought of it in those terms before, but that's exactly how I feel. Agree absolutely that names themselves have their own connotations that will influence how you think about a character wearing them. After a while, the character will influence the name, too, and your perception might change - but in the beginning, the name does carry its own influence, absolutely.
I once was a member of a smaller discussion board for writers. Every once in a while some newbie would ask for character name suggestions, and start describing the looks and personality traits of the character in question. Each time the same, grumpy regulars would come and knock them over the head with fierce realism: people are not given names to fit their personalities! It's their parents who choose their names - tell us about your character's
parents!
Didn't help to counter with: hey, these characters aint real, it's not their parents naming them, it's
me, the writer! And
I need to have a name that fits their characters in order to write them well. 'No such thing' said the grumpy old regulars. ::) So yeah - didn't stay on that board for very long....
(Did I just completely derail this thread now?) |:|