Character names - make them original and clever!
Couldn't do without them, could it? While there are exceptions in the literary world and in the movie world, the vast majority of heroes we admire or hate in the pages of books have names.
And choosing a proper name for your characters can be a tricky business, almost as much as writing the book itself.
I've had the opportunity to beta a lot of manuscripts lately, and it never ceases to amaze me how some authors undervalue this aspect of the story. Today I've put together a summary of the most common mistakes I encounter when naming characters.
1. Out of genre
Fancy a tough detective whose lines are as sharp as the razor used by the main villain of the entire story? No problem, our hero's name is Ales the Adorable and he's... Do you know where I'm going with this?
Charlotte Elen and her lover Edward Rayn don't really catch on in horror either. And in a science fiction novel, Captain Third Class, Karel Vomacek.
Sometimes I feel like the author did this on purpose, and the absolutely out-of-place names, they'll have a reason, but they don't. Of course, it's always up to you what you name your characters, but sending Esmeralda and Fernardo to take out a bunch of killer aliens seems ridiculous to say the least.
2. Original at all costs
Another common problem. If you avoid point one, you want to come up with a name that hasn't been done before. And that often turns out even worse. Perhaps the fantasy and science fiction genre suffers the most from this.
You get pearls that the reader isn't even sure how to read, let alone remember. The only icing on the cake is the template that the author chooses and follows to the end of his work. Please meet Ateorindel, Lediamsel, Fonaterika, their arch-enemy Corsadel... Occasionally we'll throw in an apostrophe and we're done.
Do you really think a simple name won't get you readers in this genre? Have you ever heard of a guy named Harry Potter?
At this point, I want to mention another popular way to name your book hero. Using a translator. It's not complicated, you write down a few words to describe the character and translate them into different languages. Usually some foreign language version will then appeal to you and you have a winner. That's still a good option. But then we also have those artists who just casually open a Latin dictionary and there's a fearless warrior woman named Betula pendula.
3. It doesn't fit the setting of the story
This mistake is the most difficult for authors to explain. They have a relationship to their heroes' names. The names aren't far-fetched and fit the genre. But then it's very hard to wade through a love story where Elena and Sarah are vying for the heart of a handsome guy named Matt. All of this is pursued by the conniving Iris, good guy John, and wealthy Jack... and their peripeteia is set in a small Moravian village in 1937. So there you go.
Coming up with a name is hard and may not always fit the reader at first, but if you know why you put it in the story and stand by it, it will make sense. If you've just succumbed to trends or the last book you read, give it more work. Your readers, your characters, and the story itself deserve it.
P. S. Do you know what Betula pendula means in Latin? It's a white birch, folks, so be really careful with those dictionaries and translators.
