We know the power of a name from Shakespeare. As Juliet says: “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for thy name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.”
But how to make it count with the characters in your novel? Whether it’s the protagonist or the minor character that only appears on the forty-fifth page in the third chapter, the name carries weight. The name is not merely a trifle needed only when calling upon the character; no, the name can offer purpose. The name “sends a message to the reader about who the character is, where she came from, and where she is headed (Bernays and Painter 2004).”
So, let’s practice. Use the following personality traits and descriptions to name each character below. Try to see how much story you can provide in just the name.
· An alert baby who does not cry when surrendered on a church stoop at midnight
· A quiet eleven-year-old who likes to sit at the window and draw birds
· A sixteen-year-old track star who effortlessly wins every race
· A widowed construction worker raising three girls
Take a look at the names you chose. Do the names follow any pattern (i.e. all the same gender, ethnicity, or specific genders/ethnicity for stereotypical reasons, etc.)?
Now take your own name. If you were writing the story of your life, what would your name signify? (If you want comedic help, look up your name on Urban Dictionary).
Describe the way each character speaks. What can you portray based on the way your characters sound? In The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller does a wonderful job describing how the goddess Thetis speaks:
“The words were snapped off, like an owl biting through a bone.” “Her voice hissed like water poured on coals.” [Her voice was like] “the scrape of jagged rocks against a ship’s hull.”
Review my answers to jumpstart your brainstorming:
Providence, alert, aware, will grow into a powerful speaker, will chart her own path; speaks softly but earnestly, like a brook tripping over stones in a stream
Jihoon, quiet, introverted, enjoys time with his thoughts, he has time to draw only after his studies; speaks like he’s asking a question, the tenor of his voice sounds like a melody
Aziza, strong, fast, emboldened, brazen, will not diminish her light, takes a stand; speaks quick and impatiently, like a bird chirping for food
Hunter, hard-working, loving, works the graveyard shift and comes home in time to relieve his mom from babysitting and braid his daughters hair before school; speaks like he’s laughing
Shea, gift from god, perceptive, caring; called to do something important; speaks to process her thoughts
*Bernays, Anne; Pamela Painter. What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers. Pearson Longman Press, 2004. Pg. 67
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