 For Authors: January 09, 2008 Issue [#2166] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Cubby  
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Hello, everyone! Welcome to another edition of the For Authors newsletter.  As I sit here at my computer, I can't help but wonder if our road is going to flood this week. We live on a dead end gravel road, so if the creek floods, there is no way out other than our kayaks. It's happened before, but I always choose to stay home and take advantage of a day off, while my hubby is determined to kayak to the other side of the creek to make it to work. What dedication he has! But what a grand opportunity for some serious writing, wouldn't you say? I must admit though, it is strange to have a Flood Watch in Michigan the first week and a half of January. Except for the mounds of snow the city and county trucks have piled high, most all our snow is melted here in mid-Michigan. Well now, I'm not going to complain of course!  But still... it is strange. However, strange weather can be good for us writers, giving us ideas we may not discover while snowmobiling trails in the dead of winter, or jumping waves at the beach on a hot, sunny summer day. It could, perhaps, be the perfect time to get to know the characters we are writing about... or the ones we intend to write about.
 Quote: To understand any living thing, you must, so to say, creep within and feel the beating of its heart. ~W. Macneile Dixon |
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Age Level Traits
Whether your character is a newborn, toddler, teen or from any other age group, you need to get his or her traits straight. As a mother and grandmother, I've been around enough babies to know that they don't walk at two months old. If you've had little or no experience around the age level of your character, other than perhaps being that age yourself, be sure to do research before proceeding. You want your characters to be believable to the reader. Don't give them unbelievable traits unless, of course, you are a sci-fi or fantasy writer.  That gives you a bit more leeway. But on the most part, know the basic traits about the age group you are writing about.
Recently, my two-year old granddaughter watched Charlotte's Web. It seemed harmless enough to me, but when the horse fainted after Charlotte showed herself to him, my granddaughter became very upset. "Horse hurt! Horse hurt!" she cried. Only after she saw the horse standing up again, was she satisfied that he was okay. "Horse okay. Horse okay," she told me, nodding her head as she spoke. But later in the movie, after Charlotte laid her eggs and her life was quickly fading away, Wilbur's face saddened. Though there were no vocal references to death, my granddaughter burst into tears. It broke my heart. I shared this story with my sister and she told me about the time her oldest daughter had watched Frosty the Snowman for the first time as a toddler; she'd become extremely upset when the snowman melted. Although she is now a college graduate, the story continues to disturb her somewhat.
While movies are not the same as books, it is still important to be aware of age level reaction as part of a trait. I remember when I worked in a middle school library, it seemed like most of the teen-aged girls requested tear-jerker books. Though I am not an expert in explaining why this age level feels the need to read sad stories, I can tell you as a librarian (and former female teen!) that they do. Again, know your age group. While most teenagers can handle reading about bad accidents and death, you most likely would not read a tragic story to a two-year old. They haven't developed the concept of knowing the difference between what is real and what is not. In their eyes, what they see is happening.
It is also beneficial to know the basic physical traits of your character's age level. For example, everyone ages differently: some children walk or talk before others and some adults get gray hair earlier than others. Each of us have our own unique make-up. But there still should be a comfortable window for your character's physical aging traits. A couple years ago, as I was approaching the fifty-year age mark, I reviewed a story written by a member here at WDC. I had to read the character's description twice. She was fifty years old, but the author had given her traits of a ninety-year old women.  It was obvious the young lady did not know her character's age group traits.
Here are a few links I discovered while browsing the web on character age level traits:
http://12.106.150.212/walkwithme/support/agelevelcharacteristics.asp?SupportMenu...
http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/agelevel.htm
http://goteach.gcp.org/tod_agelevelcharacteristics.asp
And few books I found on Amazon.com:
Writer's Guide to Character Traits (Paperback - Aug 9, 2006)
by Linda N., Ph.D. Edelstein
Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints (Write Great Fiction) (Paperback)
by Nancy Kress
45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters (Paperback)
by Victoria Lynn, Ph.D. Schmidt
Have a safe and cozy winter and...
Keep on Writing!
Cubby ") |
Excerpt: The moon’s rays reflected off the slow falling snow in such a way that it began to glow. He would pick out a snowflake when it was high in the air, and trace it’s path to the ground below with his eyes. The wind seemed to have a particularly strong effect on this flake and forced Matt to slam his head against the window to watch it fall to its final resting place around the corner of the building. Then he saw something. A dark shape scurried across the white plane and was gone.
Excerpt: With the fireplace crackling with warmth, her old friend at her feet and new life growing in her belly, Charlotte was very content. As if he knew she was thinking of him, her friend lifted his head to look at her, then turned to look at the door. Suddenly, he was on his feet and growling viciously at the front door. Charlotte got up, covered her shoulders with her wrap and went to stand beside her friend.
Excerpt: On the thirteenth floor of Newton Tower, Winter woke a small, seven year old girl from her slumber by nipping at the toes that peeped out beneath her thin blanket. Linda rubbed her eyes sleepily and shivered. It was a few moments before she realised just how cold it was and when she did, rather than curl up tighter and snuggle deeper into her bed, she sprang out of it. “Lesley!” she yelled, her dark brown eyes twinkling excitedly. “Lesley, y' felt the cold?!”
Excerpt: The waning moon materialized from behind a pocket of clouds, adorning the tapestry of the heavens. Lyall and I strode in silence through the Carpathian woods, in search of the killer. Wisps of fog teased the woodlands, and appeared akin to apparitions ready to take corporeal form. Each time we walked through a patch, I struggled to see the path in front of us while trying not to freeze to death, as a wintry gale haunted the forest. Sandulf gave his orders. Until we found the creature, we were to remain on constant patrol.
Excerpt: Winter could come on suddenly, up in the mountains. The young woman shivered and pulled her soft shawl tighter around her shoulders, frost nipping through the weave as the hardening winds played around her thin frame. There were some signs of life – a green leaf cloaked with its burnished brothers – but they were few now. The sky was heavy grey, settled low on the land, and her blue-tinged fingers tightened.
~Submitted by WDC Members
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Feedback
 Vivian  Great first newsletter, Cubby. You give readers much to read and work with. Good job. ~~ Viv
Thanks, Viv. I feel honored to be part of the editorial staff here.
ESTyree  When I was naming the main character for my novel, "My House", I needed a good strong Irish name, with a strong meaning behind it, for my female. I searched for Gaelic Dictionaries and finally found the name I new was waiting for her!
Isn't it fun when the name practically jumps out at you? I love it! Thanks for sharing.
Ronis brain tumor is gone! This is a great newsletter for the first one you have done in the authors!! Love the ideas you have given in naming characters, whether they be the main or minor ones in the piece you are writing! I cant wait to see more of your author newsletters!
 Thank you so much! I hope to share encouragement and helpfulness in all future newsletters.
dizzyduck Cubby, what a fantastic "For Authors" inaugural newsletter! I was perfectly riveted. I love names, especially their histories and meanings, and I for one realize that your character's name is as important as anything else. Think about it: Names are such a big part of society. How often have we lamented meeting someone and never learning their name? They could have been the most incredible person we've ever encountered, but what we seem to focus on most is whether we knew what they were called or not. I believe it's a part of a character that should be treated with as much value as any other part.
You know, I had no idea about the name Wendy. "Fwendy-Wendy," huh? Interesting... The info about Winnie-the-Pooh's friends' names was pretty neat too (I knew about the bear's, but not about the others'). Thanks for sharing. You did great.
Thank you. I appreciate your response. And I certainly agree whole-heartedly about treating a character's name with value.
Ladyoz Great article with excellent suggestions and examples! Thank you for listing my article too .
Thank you very much! And you are welcome. It wasn't easy finding articles here on names, so I was thrilled to find yours, along with the others.
cwiz Hi Cubby,
I have a paying market I'd like to let the various authors here on WDC know about. I was wondering if there was any way you might mention it in the newsletter.
I don't see why not. You can either email it to me, or send it through the Feedback window below.
racingpeanut I found the different ways of 'coming up' with names interesting and I think I will use these techniques.
Glad to hear it! Thanks so much for your response.
cadburycountry I was particularly interested in your piece about naming fictional characters as, for better or for worse, that's exactly how my first (and, currently, only) story started! The name Tolly popped into my head for some reason and then I thought I'd like to write a children's story about this character. I then had to make up a story about how she got her name..! "Invalid Item" .
Many thanks to all who have reviewed my story and happy holidays to all!
CC
Isn't it so exciting how that can happen sometimes? Thank you for sharing.
Jay is studying What a wonderful newsletter, Cubby! I love reading about how authors (past and present) come up with character names. I also like using names derived from mythology and/or ancient times, and spinning them into something present day.
It's all so fun and interesting, isn't it? Thank you for your enthusiastic response!
workin nights Cubby, I enjoyed your first article. I never really thought about the names I use in my stories. It puts a different spin on things chosing the "right" name. Something more for me to think about, darn. Thanks again!
Sorry 'bout that! But I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Darikana Wow! That part about Peter Pan and all their names was cool! I found that very interesting.
Write on!
-Darikana
You never know what you will discover while doing research. I found it very interesting also!
Amarisa Babynamesworld.com is also a great place to look for names. You can pick points of origin or meanings. A lot of times I take descriptions from my characters or important things they'll do and base a name off that. For example, if a character is a girl and a powerful lucid dreamer, her name is Lucinda (aka Lucy). I resort to that site any time I make a character when any other method comes up short.
Great advice! Thanks for sharing.
J. A. Buxton  Naming Fictional Characters
Although the names for my main characters come naturally to me, it's what the minor characters should be called that can be difficult. Therefore, this year I bought Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
This extremely helpful book is broken down by nationalities and includes suggestions by female, male, and surnames. It also gives tips for where to research names online such as travel sites. There are also sidebars by various writers throughout the book. I highly recommend this book and refer to it quite often.
Judity
Yes, I agree. I also own the book. Who ever thought that naming characters would be so time-consuming? Not that they always are, but some characters more than others, sure can be demanding.
weeowl flying free! One of my characters in my novel is named Brace. He is a psychotic antagonist and as I wrote him I felt that whole "Brace yourself!" feeling so I called him that ;) I hope my readers are as scared to read him as I am when I write him ;) Weeowl
Good idea! I like that very much.
Mark well done, it's a delight to see you onboard as an Editor. Thank you for an informative, helpful and useful newsletter. I look forward to your future editions.
Thank you, Mark. I'm glad to be here. Hope to hear from you again in the future!
Kyna  the newsletter on names. Thank you so much for it. It told me exactly what I wanted to know. Much appreciated.
Glad it was helpful. That's my goal.
Lauriemariepea hi, cubby--
thank you for a fun newsletter! i enjoyed learning about how a few of the great characters in literature got their names.
i have a tendency to toss whatever name comes to mind onto the page at first, and then change it later as my character develops. this approach can be risky, though, if i get attached to the on-the-spot name even if it's not appropriate for my character.
I think we all tend to do that at times. And if it works out, that's great! If you get attached, perhaps that's a sign you should keep it. I've written stories, however, with names that I just bulked at each time I read them. I knew they were not the right ones. It hung me up so much, I began to leave where the name went with an underline to be filled in at a later date. It might not be the same for everyone though.
casper-writer Naming fictional characters... what great ideas and inspiring thoughts you have provoked in my mind. Thank you. That's just what I needed.
TTYL
Tim
Glad to be an inspiration. You are very welcome!
alicengoreland Here is how I find my names. I often have small homages to movies or other stories. Like if I am writing a scary cat story, I pull from Cat People.
No one every catches them and have a name. Otherwise all I seem to do is come up with the same dozen over and over and over. Which I did not know I did, until I read some of my older stuff.
Hmmm... that's interesting. Another resource idea to consider! Thanks for sharing.
GirlsNGlasses I spent hours researching appropriate names for my novel. I liked some of them, but some, I just wasn't comfortable with - largely for some of the reasons you stated: mostly the gender was unclear or they were too hard to pronounce.
I was discussing the problem with my sister (who has been one of my best, and most consistent, editors). She suggested that, since Biblical principals rule the city, why not use some Biblical names! I was able to rename several of the characters - and they fit much better.
I'm still thinking about renaming the city, but at this point, I think it would be like trying to rename my 8 year-old.
Sometimes names will grow on us after a while. It seems like whenever a baby is named, there is usually someone who doesn't care for it. But then after time, it ends up growing on them.
Seisa-sleepingcatbooks.com Cubby, thanks for including my "Invalid Item" in the For Authors newsletter!
You are very welcome.
JudithJean France Information was quite good. We all go through similar blocks, you make it sound so simple. Blessings...-
Thank you!
ftrinta Hi,
I found this a very interesting newsletter as I had struggled a lot till I find a name for my main character.
I found a name that a priest could use in two countries without problem and without having to change it as it was already a "sacred" name: Lucas.
I invested time on that and it was really funny sometimes but it was also something that blocked my thoughts as you mentioned!
Thanks and cheers!
Nanda
Yes, a name (or no name at all) can certainly block our flow. Sounds like your time investment paid off!
Lumix de Luminous Thanks guys, I am in the right place. this is the writer's heaven.
Sounds like you are enjoying yourself. Welcome to the site!
maryelle Thanks for this, I'm just a newbie who's always written poetry - But just wrote the first three "paragraphs (i.e. thoughts)" on a short story. Right now don't know where it's going, (i.e. Mystery, etc.) but this will help.
New territory can be a fun challenge! And you don't always need to know where it's going. Sometimes the characters take over the story and all you need to do is write it down.
DB Cooper I named a character Belgrade Glendenning because I heard about Paris Glendenning.
Yes, the former governor of Maryland. I actually like your character name: Belgrade. It's a strong name. Good choice.
April Sunday Character naming reminds me of baptizing without ritual. In DEATH OF A BOTTLE HUNTER, names got umpteen compliments. In: A TREE FOR IDA QUINCY, sometimes once the name's hit on, you just feel lucky. Last week in a public review I ran across the best names from an author. Sure, it makes the story better as readers read easier and bond.
A baptism without ritual. I like that thought. And choosing a name for your character is not only for the character's sake, but for the reader, too. Like you state: [...] as readers read easier and bond.
larryp
Hi Cubby
What an informative newsletter about names for characters. Though I write very little fiction, I do put a lot of thought into the names. For some reason, I also often entitle the story the same as the name of the main character. I think the setting of the story has a lot to do with the names I select.
Good newsletter.
Larry
Thank you, Larry. There are many published works that include the names in their title. It actually makes the title more personable, in a way. Nothin' wrong with that!  Glad you enjoyed the article.
BreenaRose Thanks for this newsletter. I've always had a hard time naming my characters. But your advice was very helpful.
I'm always thrilled to be helpful!
lulubelle Thanks so much for your newsletter. I always try to pick out a good name for each of my characters. I think names are very important, and this newsletter helped me a lot.
You are very welcome. Glad to be of help!
arrowwrites Your newsletter about naming the character hits on one of my major obstacles. I see a character in my head and know who they are and yet I fumble around at finding the right name. I often wish that as my characters appear in my stories they would just introduce themselves because I certainly don't know their names.
arrow
Wouldn't that be great? I'm game; too bad the characters weren't more cooperative though! 
What great feedback I received this week! I love hearing from you. Your comments have been appreciated and inspirational. Till next time...
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