Morning all. Today begins one of the hard parts. We have to let our outline sit for a bit. To leave it alone and not look at it as we get a few other tasks done. It needs time out of sight, and we are completing tasks that are going to help us out.
One of the things that can easily trip you up is character names. No doubt by now after working through your outline you have thought about your character a lot. You know their name very well. If you have a villain or a nemesis then you probably know a lot about them as well. Those I bet you are rock solid on. It is the secondary characters and background ones that can sometimes trip you up.
Take our example of Bob. I know that his wife is Sarah and that his Father in Law, and the person he will be fighting with the most is Henry. I have also named her brother Chuck. I have mentioned other relative in general however. Some of them may need names, others maybe not. When I get writing I may create a scene where Bob and his wife are having dinner at the in-laws. At that point I may realize I didn’t name Bob’s Mother in law. If she is important to the story, I may need to take a few minutes to figure out her name and a little bit about her even if I didn’t before. Hich will throw off my writing, stopping me until I can figure it out.
If her name isn’t that big a deal (mostly because Bob is fighting with Henry and she is just staying out of it) I may slap down a name and keep going just so I don’t loose my flow. If I do then I know that it is going to come up at some point later and while I mentioned her name when my word count was in the 3k range she is popping up when I am rounding the 30k mark and can’t quite remember if I named her or just referred to her as Bob’s mother in law and will have to go back through the document to find her.
While this is just an example it is very easy to lose track of mailmen, baristas, taxi drivers and all sorts of people as you write. I find having a dedicated page for character names helps. And yes, I also put un named characters on the list. I will also add in a few details.
And that is our task today. We are making a list of all the characters large and small that you think will come up in your writing. Add a couple of identifying traits or attributes if you know them and add a tag as to why they are in the story if you know. You may have new characters pop up in the background as you work so leave space to add more if you are using a note book. Also details about the characters may pop up as you write so this is more of a working list, not a set in stone. I find if I already have the list then when someone new appears in my writing, it is easier to just add them to the preexisting list. It really helps when you are trying to figure out if you named the postman or not.
For example, in Bob’s story we have…
Bob
- late thirties, average height weight and general appearance
- Wears glasses
- Has degree in Marine Biology.
Mary
- Bob’s Mother in law, married to Henry
- Quiet around Bob because she knows Henry doesn’t like him
- Tends to leave the room once the arguments start
Barista
- Bob sees him every morning when he stops for coffee
- No name tag
- Nods to cashier when the order comes in, fixes the required beverage and yells out the name when it is ready.
This is just a list to keep you on track so add what it is you think you need to know. In the above list, the barista had no name. Later he could have one added. I could also add in the name of the coffee shop. Right now, I know he has no name and I haven’t named the coffee shop. And that is the point of the list and today’s task.
Mine will be up shortly and weather and internet connections working, I will see you on Monday for our next task.
Ten til Midnight 