Name that Character
Earlier this week – or late last week – Tracy Morris posted an article on the importance of Character Motivation. It’s good reading, check it out here -I’ll wait. No, that’s not the article I was going to write this week. But it *is* about characters and the importance of their NAMES. Names are important. Names can influence how your character develops, how he or she is perceived, and how their actions (and yes, motivations) can be effected.
Now, it doesn’t have to be a conscious decision or choice on their part. It could be how their environment is effected by the name. (This is why parents are – or should be cautioned – about what they name their children. Seriously, there should be classes. And it goes so much farther than playground bullies and the cruelty of children.) Your characters deserve the same attention to names as you would give your children and take on their same attributes. It is unlikely you will be able to pull off a sterling hero with a name like “Benedict Arnold” or “Judas” – unless there’s a good underlying reason for it – like he’s overcoming great obstacles, including his name. In many productions of GODSPELL, the actor playing Judas is rotated because they become ostracized by the rest of the cast. Just like, unless you’re Joss Whedon, you’re going to pull off a truly bad villain with a name like “Billy” or “Moist”.
Names WILL find a way to define a personality. With Redheads of the Apocalypse, we very specifically chose names that were directly opposite from the idea/concept of the Four Horsemen. I write “Death” and chose the name “Zoe” for my character because Zoe means “life” in Greek. My Death is inept at her job. You see where the humor and contradictions can come into play?
Sometimes this even applies to inanimate objects. For those of you who are regular readers and cautioned me against naming my car after a comic book arch villain (yes, I named my 1999 Lexus “Lexus Luthor”), you were right. I was wrong. It’s not that we’ve had mechanical issues with the car – we did have title and licensing issues. The car dealer we bought the car from turned out 1) to NOT be a licensed car dealer, 2) didn’t file the title and licensing paperwork with the state, and 3) took all the money from car sales and skipped town. Fortunately, we knew where the title was and the state was able to help us. It’s legal now, but for 2 months I was – in certain letters of the law – was driving a less than legal car.
For the working writer, a good baby names book is a vital reference book. Foreign name websites are also a great resource for alien and unusual lifeform names. I love using obscure foreign names for non-human characters. But the same applies – the meaning of the name will find a way to infiltrate the character. So have fun with that in your next project.