Don't give your characters boring names with the assumption that you can always change them later.
I just tried to change the name of one of my major characters, and I found that I couldn't do it and continue writing about him. It was like I was suddenly writing about someone else.
Anyway, FYI. YMMV. IMNSHO, it shouldn't be done. I shouldn't, at least.
Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
YMMV?
Posted by pickled shuttlecock (Member # 1714) on :
Your mileage may vary.
Posted by srhowen (Member # 462) on :
I did that once--not gave a boring name but in a second book I named a character--then got to a scene where a character came from the first book and their names were so close together that I had to change one or the other. I changed the new character's name--but--
not until I was done with the second book.
Put the characters boring name back then when you are done do a search and replace.
Shawn
Posted by Alias (Member # 1645) on :
I think it's a sign you have a very good character if he/she has a specific name that glues to them. It's like meeting people in real life, your friend David when you frist met him could have told you his name was Todd. But now that you know him any other name than David, including Todd, would definitely seem out of place.
At least for a while, but I am equally convinced that after sufficient time Todd would seem more natural and David would seem odd. I think it's just part of human nature to grow accustomed to something and not want to change it.
Posted by nellievrolyk (Member # 1616) on :
I've done the very thing you warn about in the novel I'm working on. I gave one of my two protagonists what was supposed to be a temporary name while I thought of a better one. Now he doesn't want any other name than the one I had given him.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
It can be surprising the degree to which the actions, thoughts, and character of a character, let alone the reactions and perceptions of other characters and the readers, can all depend on that character's name.
But even leaving that aside, a character's name tells you a lot about background, culture, personality, and all manner of things. Richard, Skip, Dick, Rick, Richie, and El Montoban are all variations of the same given name, and which one a character is called by (as well as which he--or she --prefers) tells you a great deal about him (I was just kidding about the her part).
So, even though it can be surprising, it really shouldn't take us by surprise, eh?
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
You're all so right, names are very important!
I've been working on a story line for fifteen years, ever since I was 11. At the time I didn't think about all the rules for naming that I've learned now, like the fact that people will associate the character with certain cultures based entirely on their names. So when I learned all this I tried to go bak and rename some of my main characters. I had fallen completely out of love with the name Allison anyway. But I just couldn't! Furthermore, I haven't and I won't. In the end the names of these main characters may be all that the finished story has in common with the original two page thing I came up with in sixth grade but it just goes to the point of how much names matter, and right up front.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
I've changed characters names before, when I realized that four of my nine characters had names beginning with 'M'. I tried to find names that had similar properties to the one that I had chosen originally. One of the characters wouldn't change, so I waited to the end and did a find/replace. Now the new name is fine.
Posted by mags (Member # 1570) on :
something that I was recently warned against is using common names. The reason being that people will have images in their mind of a character with that name... and although this could work for you, it is more likely to work against you. - not to say you should never name a character "Jane", but be aware that if you put "Dick" in the story also, people are going to go back to first grade.
--prefers) tells you a great deal about him (I was just kidding about the her part).