Otherways- Fiction Fanatics

As any person out there with children knows, the choosing of a name is an important business. Parents are at a disadvantage when compared to authors in this department, as they end up naming their children before they've even arrived in the world, let alone had a chance to reveal their personalities. Still, the names they choose, whether I understand them or not, mean something to them. Perhaps they've chosen a family name in honor of a loved one, or one in honor of their heritage. Other names are chosen for traits they hope their child will have, or perhaps simply because the parents liked the way they sound.

Names in fiction are just as important as the names given to living children. No, your fictional characters will not endure painful playground teasing if they end up with a trainwreck of a name, but the results for the reader can be disasterous. 

Especially in science fiction and fantasy, there is a temptation to give your character an alien sounding name. In many cases, this works. Giving them a name that no human tongue could pronounce, say H'chrix'otl, can seriously work against you in a reader's mind. After all, the reader has to invest in the character, and they have to immerse themselves in the story, both of which are extremely difficult if they are struggling constantly to decide how a name should be pronounced. This is especially true of the main characterd. I don't care if you've named the hive-mind alien species attacking Earth H'chrix'otl, because I didn't like them anyway. The plucky hero, on the other hand, should definitely not annoy me by going through the entire book with a name like that. If he has to have an alien name, choose something that is easy to pronounce, or give the poor guy a nickname.

On a similar note, if you want to irritate your readers, give your character a cutesy name for no reason. James Bond notwithstanding, I don't want to read a novel where all the female characters have demeaning double-entendre names. Now, if your character happens to be a stripper, and that's her stage name, fine. All I can say is there better be more to her, or your other female characters, than that.

Names that make sense given the story or the history of the region are a huge plus, at least to me, as they make the story seem more "real". A good example of this is the names the riders of Rohan have in the Lord of the Rings. Clearly related to each other, yet clearly foreign, these names give us both a feel for the culture we're dealing with and a clear picture of who is related to whom without having to rely on heavy exposition. Cultures that have their own conventions, names being one of them, seem so much more authentic to the reader than those without. It is certainly true that names aren't the only things that define a culture, but as it is a detail that will frequently come up, names are worth investing a little thought in.

I'd also like it if characters weren't named so similarly that it was difficult to follow who had done what in a novel. Using both the masculine and feminine forms of a name for different people (Joseph and Josephine, Michael and Michelle, etc.) can cause this kind of confusion. Alternately, using several forms of the same name might make your characters run together (Robert, Bob, Robbie). It can also be names that simply sound similar, or use a number of the same letters that lead your readers astray. It is important to remember that while the author knows these characters inside and out, the reader is meeting them for the first time. If you're wondering about your choice of names, perhaps the best course of action is to grab a willing victim, and have them read your manuscript with fresh eyes. If they have no concerns, you are probably right on track.

Cheers,

Michelle