• silverwhisper said on Jul 27, 2006....

  personally, i think that names are important. i'm surprised you whipped out a treatment w/out character names, to be honest. i definitely recommend thinking about the names. some names suggest something: e.g., when tennessee williams named blanche's sister stella, he simultaneously invoked the word "star" but also, by putting that name into stanley kowalski's mouth, made it a normal, everyday kind of name, and those things tell us something about the character of stella. ditto, blanche: the name means white and that conjures images of someone who is delicate. ed

• Indiefilm said on Jul 27, 2006....

  ed, I'm kinda suprised myself that I was able to write as big of a story as I have without commiting to a single name. But named or not, I know my characters better on this story then i have in any other story i've written. For most of the short stories that I've done, or rather, [i]attemted[/i] to do, I've started by coming up with names , character descriptions, personalities, settings, etc. But all those stories died before they really got off the ground, they bogged down under the details because I didn't know what story i was writting. So, I tried a different tactic this time. I started by writting what the story was about, then outlining the story and laying out a sequence of action which moves the story from the begining to the end. Now I'm going to start writting the scenes based on my 'road map' and bring each step of the story to life. Or perhaps Its more a matter of bringing it into focus, taking the raw energy of what i've written and sculpting it into something more recognizable, finishing off all the aspects which make it realistic, tangable... As odd as this might sound, I honestly think that if I had stopped writting the story to work out the names of the characters, I wouldn't have finished the story. It would have wandered and gotten lost, the passion and urgency of the story wouldn't be there.

• narbeha1983 said on Jul 27, 2006....

  I have gotten stuck on names as well on some of my novels. You just need to spend a day doing it, and not devote a day to both writing and name choosing. Look online for names, one day should be enough. I'm looking forward to reading your script one day.

• Indiefilm said on Jul 27, 2006....

  Nar. Got a bunch of baby name books at home... probably going to spend and evening going through them. well, after I figure out how many names I actually need... I'm pretty sure i can get away with some poeple not actually having names... especially if they don't have dialog. no need to name the extras I think. another possibility, what if I put together a list of the characters and get input via soulcast... hmm....

• Zayda said on Jul 27, 2006....

  I was going to suggest the baby name book. I've kept two of the ones I had when I was pregnant and have found them very handy for names for story lines. I really find the ones that give you both the eytomology of the name as well as other interesting tid-bits about the use of the name/history of the name the most fun.

• Indiefilm said on Jul 27, 2006....

  Z: yea, my wife actually read a couple ot them for fun.... you can't see it, but i'm rolling my eyes... honest.... We don't have any kids yet, though we are planning on it in the semi near future.

• TheNakedProfessor said on Jul 27, 2006....

  Names are important, for sure. I, too, am a writer of fiction and have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Imagine if James Bond were named Jerome Binderski? If Superman were called Leotardo in Vincible? If John Wayne were named Milhouse Porkerschmidt? Your antagonist shouldn't be called Merle Pinkerson unless you're going for irony. But don't strain for originality. Just listen to your inner voice every time you review your work. I think you'll find that appropriate names will swirl to the forefront. Good luck!

• ALIENated said on Jul 28, 2006....

  Get telephone book. Open telephone book to random page. Close eyes. Point at telephone book page with index finger (or thumb, or toe, that part does not matter). If name sounds good, use it. Otherwise, go to top and start over. Too simple? Also, I was going to suggest writing a profile of each character, but I think maybe your comment about that is right. Sometimes that bogs down the process. I think maybe just getting as much down as fast as you can is a pretty good way to go. You can always go back and edit. Hey, TNP, go write something. This place is turning into weenieville without you and Hunter. And the CreativeWoman. Write on.

• Expendable said on Jul 28, 2006....

  [i]Guy Fleegman: I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just "Crewman Number Six." I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove how serious the situation is. I've gotta get outta here. [/i] [b]Galaxy Quest[/b] Names are very important, they help make the character seem more real to the reader - but it's easy to get caught up in all that. Do you ever window shop for your characters? It's fun, trying to figure just what they'd wear.

• Expendable said on Jul 28, 2006....

  Major characters need development, a history, personality, style (or lack of it) Minor characters can stay cardboard cutouts.

• celestialspace2001 said on Jul 28, 2006....

  Galaxy Quest is one of my favorite movies! I think TheNakedProfessor is trapped in his responses to his blog "America Is The World." Have you seem how many people have put entries on that?? He'll be there for weeks. Send a rescue mission! Well, how hard can naming a character be? you're writing dialogue, right? And the characters have to address each other, right? So what would Hitman # 2 nickname Man In Suit, when angry? When greeting? Let your imagination settle it, and no second-guessing.

• StupidGenius said on Jul 28, 2006....

  In case anyone is interested, ill be posting a weekly chapter of a story im writing. Feedback would be nice but I realise that some dont have the time to read lengthy blogs so im keeping it short and sweet. A sort of serialisation. Subscribe to my blog if interested, first instalment due tommorow.... Thanks in advance Michael

• StupidGenius said on Jul 28, 2006....

  seeing as it is rude to just dump an "add" for my blog into someone elses... (a bit like maria with her 1-click will make you millions!!) Anyway. I have been an wanna-be writter for a little while and when i say wanna-be i mean wanna-be having enough time to do it!!! My point is that charectors are important, they can shape the way your writting goes and even direct it if you think carefully about what they would do if put in certain situations. Before I write a story I normaly put together a few charectors, develope the situation and then let my imagination take the story where it wants to go. hope this helps, oh and sorry for the "add" hope this is not anoying. I havnt posted it anywhere else.

• MrTakashi said on Jul 28, 2006....

  Mr Takashi thinks that a name is very important. It is an extension of the characters personality. The name should also give insight into the characters background and motives. A good example is the classic of American Literature, The Great Gatsby The title Character Jay Gatsby's real name was Jay Gats. A gat is a slang term for a gun. He changed his name from Gats to Gatsby because he was trying to escape his past, nowever as many of you know Gatsby died by getting shot in the pool. He died by the gun. Although he tried to change his name, he couldnt change the past and it eventually caught up with him. The Great Gatsby is one of Mr Takashi's favorite stories.

• Indiefilm said on Jul 28, 2006....

  TNP - exactly... ALIEN - I think i might try that if I get stuck... that or do the random name out of a baby book until i find one that fits, or i think of one... Expendable - Galaxy quest... very cool movie. ;) As for the characters, the names are less important than the identity... because the name is only [i]part[/i] of the identity. Which is why I was able to write as much as i did without actual names. most of what I was writting was the development of personality, motivation, and the sequence of actions that leed to a conclusion. and as for the window shopping bit... not yet but that sounds like a good time! But so far I've only used my imagination to come up with wardrobe... or perhaps my memory, its set in modern day, so wardrobe and costume are going to be pretty easy. StupidGenius - No prob - and ususally i'd put together characters and setting first, and then try to tell a story, it didn't really work for me. The story just never happened. so i tried writting a story where I knew the begining, and I knew how (roughly) i wanted it to end, and wrote out a sequence of events and characters that carried it from the beginning to the end.

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