![]() I participated in a thread recently that questioned whether or not characters should have names (and if they did have names, should they have last names, too). If you recognize the man in the picture, chances are, you've already recited his name along with the rest of his declaration. One cannot think of his name without thinking about his entire purpose. His character is tied to his name. His name is memorable because of his character. This was essentially the argument given in the thread. Another was which types of works can you get away with not giving a character names-- short stories. Ok, I can agree with this because, in my short story Pigeons, my POV character and her grandmother do not have names. Similarly, my POV character for another story (soon to be published) started off without a name... but the longer the story became, the more I realized that someone would have to say her name sooner or later. My thoughts shifted once again when I finished reading Wild Spaces, a novella by S.L. Coney. When is it acceptable to give a character a name? What are the prose and cons? Like a lot of things I daydream about, I fell down the rabbit hole of research. Names of characters in stories are like the names of acquaintances in real life – the better we get to know them, the more important it is we know their names. -- Michael Haughe Every detail is important, says TV Tropes. Even names. Like Inigo Montoya, names stick with you far longer than plots (I watched The Princess Bride in elementary school and remember next to nothing about it except for Inigo). Another would be Bartleby the Scrivener, the subject of Herman Melville's short story of the same name. When you think of his name, you automatically think of what he says: "I'd rather not..." (ironically, though Bartleby is the subject of the story, the POV character who takes issue with him is unnamed). Michael Haughe, an author, lecturer, writing and consultant, likens characters to acquaintances. If we want to get to know a person, we ask for their names. If we want a connection to someone, a name is a good way to start. In concurrence, "only people that are relevant to the plot or a sidequest will be blessed with names," (Nominal Importance, TV Tropes). Yet, there are a few acceptations.... Leaving a character unnamed is also a way to show that he or she is experiencing a personal crisis of identity. Instead of the person’s name, we focus on how he or she is affected by a drastically different world, a different culture, a new job or new relationship. -- Writers Relief
Spoilers Ahead! ![]() Wild Spaces is about a boy ("the boy") and his dog Teach (the only active character with a name). His parents are simply known as "his mother" and "his father." The story begins after the boy's grandfather (known as just that) arrives and begins living with them. Though the boy, Teach, and the boy's grandfather are very important characters to the plot, they are (with the exception of Teach) nameless. In fact, when the boy's father tries to call the grandfather by his surname, the grandfather vehemently rebels against the name ("That's not my name!"). This leads into the theme of control. The mother leaves the grandfather because she didn't want to be controlled by him. The grandfather rejects his human name because he doesn't want to be controlled by it. The boy fears losing control of himself and letting the nameless thing inside him take over. It's my assumption that this is why they don't have name. Teach, the dog, knows who and what he is. In fact, Teach is very special and knows a lot more than the boy what kind of monsters are out there. The novella is 120 pages long and a 2 hour listen on your audio apps. ![]() Similar to Wild Spaces is The Bear by Andrew Krivak. I listened to this audiobook during the height of COVID while required to work from home. It was very beautiful and deeply emotional (a book that had me calling my father and sobbing about how much I missed him). In it, none of the characters have names. It is simply "the girl" and "her father." Even the setting is nameless and the events prior leave nothing telling of the setting. The story follows the girl as she learns from her father about how to survive in the wild. The two share a cabin and only have each other. When the girl suddenly finds herself without her father, she uses everything he's taught her to live her life all alone. The animals know her; though her father taught her how to hunt, he also taught her how to respect nature and in turn, nature will respect her. The animals watch over her and she begins to think of them as her father watching over her. When she dies, the animals welcomes her back into nature. It didn't occur to me during the book that they had no names, but now, I wonder why that is. I wonder if the emotional journey would have been compromises had names been given to everything. Would the allegory have less of an impact if it was all spelled out for the reader? The Bear is also a short listen at 4 hours. Do you always name your characters? Have you read the stories mentioned above?
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![]() Last week, I watched a live interview with Erika L. Sanchez about her book Crying In The Bathroom. I had never read anything by Sanchez before, but her interview made me pick up a copy of her memoir. “What are some reactions that you’ve received from other people about your memoir?” the interviewer asked Sanchez. “Well the most surprising thing as I mentioned was you know people thought I wrote too much about my pussy… or that I’m too vulgar or I swear too much. Whatever.” Through out the interview there was “fuck,” “shit,” more “pussy” and “damn” and I cringed each time as I looked around the room at my five attendees— between the ages of 17 and 60— hoping not to see them offended by the humorously crass interview. I don’t swear myself— or at least, it is not a big part of my vocabulary. It has never been part of my vocabulary and I’m not saying it out of some need to sound high and mighty. My parents never swore around us kids. My grandfather was famous for using alternatives like “Great Googa Mooga!” and “Cheese And Crackers!” (instead of “Jesus Christ” or “jeez”). My mother used “Fudge” as a substitute for Fuck. The real words just never sounded right coming out of my mouth (and I tried…. I sound like a dork, especially when I ended up stuttering! We can’t all be Samuel L. Jackson). Reading such words in books always filled me with giddiness as I hunkered down over the book like a coveted secret, snickering as I read the “real” word. To this day, I can't help myself from displaying titles like Nightbitch and Boyslut front and center while I picture myself becoming the purple devil emoji. …And so, I checked out Crying in the Bathroom, sold on Sanchez’ easy way of speaking and unwillingness to sugarcoat her words. “I write the way I speak,” Sanchez said. This has got me thinking: why do we have a fascination with swear words? How is it that I still get a reaction from reading curse words— It's everywhere. The first time I’d heard a swear word (that I remember) was in the first grade. We were walking single file across our school campus when a boy in front of me said “bitch.” The other kids giggled mixed with a few “awwws.” Me, being the intellectual know-it-all-wanna-be at a very young age said “Do you even know what ‘bitch’ means?’ (I didn't). My teacher had overheard me, and I was the one who got in trouble for saying the word… and then again for arguing that I wasn't the one who said it first. My first lesson in swearing came from a high school English class that follows more or less from Writers Digest:
![]() The Writer’s Digest article then goes on to say: we use these words because we are human. We get angry. “Well-written raw talk can make your characters seem lifelike and more authentic.” This is why, while the words are not in my spoken vocabulary, I have no problem reading them or writing them in my pieces. My fictional characters have their own way of speaking just like I do. You’ll find Aminat in The Red Lord particularly obscene, while Genta in The Path of the Cave Stars can be prone to profanity and swearing using his deity's name in not the best of light. I do these things for a reason. Genta, for example, has lost all faith in the gods and goddesses and doesn't care one way or another how he speaks about them. On the how to use vein, “Spicy language generally works best when it’s used sparingly, or at least in moderation" (WD). Since we are in the Romance (of various spice levels) Era, I feel its safe to update the WD’s list:
In this context, I cringe. I like Romance/Erotica as much as the trend dictates, but, while reading the “bad words” thrilled/s me, reading the “spicy” words makes me feel dirty. Like a voyeur peeping into the explicit thoughts of lovers. I am not a prude (that's it… there is no following “but”). Reading smut doesn’t offend me or make me clutch my pearls. The Red Lord is my first venture into the spicier side of writing. Aminat and Thane go pretty hot and heavy on multiple occasions… in multiple locations. On the scale, it would be a Level 3. What keeps it from being a Full-Frontal-4 would be my lack of graphic talk. In the context of Spice, I just can’t make the words sound sexy… because it doesn't sound sexy to me (sorry!). What are your thoughts on foul language? --------------------------------------------- Bonus Article: I Can’t Believe Readers Are Still Getting Upset Over F*cking Swearing by Amy Poeppel (Musical Chairs) ![]() Question #45676 of questions that never fail to stump me: What's your favorite genre? (its right up there with "what music do you listen to?") I use to say something like, "Everything" or "I don't have one," but then I realized how short and conversation-ending it was, so here is my answer: My favorite genre is whatever genre I am reading at the moment. I like to call myself a "Mood Reader," for lack of a better term. Not the kind of person that can see auras or a mood ring-esque reader, but someone who lets their mood carry their interests. This has led me down some pretty interesting paths. A couple of years ago, I did a library series of programs on Death: I hosted Death Cafes, featured an art historian to talk about Death in art, Dia De Los Muertos and other death celebrations. My reading habits followed. I read all of Caitlin Doughty's books and binged her Youtube videos (most may know her my her channel, "Ask A Mortician"). I delved into her group, The Order of the Good Death and read books by her fellows, such as Dark Archives and Rest in Pieces. During my Epic Fantasy Mood, I binge read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and David Eddings' Belgariad books. ![]() Weird Science Mood: I was obsessed with Pandora's Lab: Seven Instances of Science Gone Wrong, Gory Details, and The Icepick Surgeon (I had to wait for this one to come out after I finished the other two!). Beneath the Tamarind Tree set me on my path to seeking books relating to Islam and the Middle East (The Underground Girls of Kabul, The Bookseller of Kabul and A Woman Is No Man). This was never the case when I was younger. I stuck pretty much to Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) and Horror for much of my my life with a bit of coming-of-age titles thrown in (I think every young girl has read at least one Sarah Dessen book). It wasn't until I started working at a public library and took on the duties of a Readers Advisory and Collection Development librarian that I started to explore other genres-- Amish/Inspirational, Erotica, Mysteries, Romance, International, etc. With that being said, the next question that always seems to follow around writers is: Do you write what you read/read what you write? For some writers, yes. I can't tell you exactly how many, because I don't know. But for me personally, my reason for writing is much the same as my reason for reading. Through books, I can escape to places I've never been. I am different people experiencing different things. I am learning. Don't get me wrong, some genres are more fun to write in than others (like SF/F, for example). Some genres allow me to explore emotions and feelings I don't typically explore (literary and romance as other examples). In the end, though my reasons for writing and reading overlap across all genres, what I write is quite different (see my earlier blog post on Core Stories). Current Mood (if you haven't guessed from last week): |
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