Titles and Character Names Redux
...or more accurately, "to be Reduxed" (and yes, I know that's not a word).
I'll be getting back to posting in earnest over the next few days, but in the interim, I figured I'd ask your opinions/thoughts/etc. As I mentioned last week, I have an article due for scr(i)pt magazine in which I will be expanding on some of the thoughts I posted about here and here on character names and film titles. So if y'all have any thoughts about these topics, or examples both good and bad, I'd love to hear them in the comments! If you've already commented in previous posts, no need to repeat.
Thanks! And I look forward to hearing your insights, and getting more posts out to you this coming week.
Tags: screenwriting, character+names, titles
I'll be getting back to posting in earnest over the next few days, but in the interim, I figured I'd ask your opinions/thoughts/etc. As I mentioned last week, I have an article due for scr(i)pt magazine in which I will be expanding on some of the thoughts I posted about here and here on character names and film titles. So if y'all have any thoughts about these topics, or examples both good and bad, I'd love to hear them in the comments! If you've already commented in previous posts, no need to repeat.
Thanks! And I look forward to hearing your insights, and getting more posts out to you this coming week.
Tags: screenwriting, character+names, titles
posted by Fun Joel | 6:37 PM
5 Comments:
Great posts on both character names and title. But, what IF you WANT your characters to BE ordinary people who wind up doing extraordinary things? Is it then Ok, to give them common names? I'm not talking Bambi, Candi with an I type names. Just regular names like Lisa, Diane, Cathy... those types... what about them?
Of course you can! And should! I'd just give two words of advice on that:
1. Make sure they are not ALL common names. While one character might have a common name, give some of the others more interesting or unique ones so that they don't all blend together. I'm not saying you should be naming your characters Acacia and Xander all the time. But you know what I mean.
2. Be aware that even "normal" names have certain resonances to people. Particularly those names that have grounding in some significant history. For example, I'd say of the names you listed, Diane definitely holds a lot of resonance as connected to Diana, the Goddess/huntress. Whether people pick up on this consciously or subconciously, the resonances remain, at least somewhat.
In my spec THE KNIGHTMARE I used character names to indicate several things:
1) serial or pop culture references
2) their integrity
3) references to old girlfriends, friends and dickheads I know.
Thus I got Alicia WITNEY (indicates she's smart and it's the name of a famous serial director), WILL ARCHER (a straight arrow who must have the will to overcome his own fears in order to become The Knightmare and save the day)and ROGER LYMAN (to indicate a lying "suit" who will screw you over).
"Clues" like these help - if at least to get you the writer thinking about the character's POV when writing the dialogue.
Good stuff Bill. I particularly liked Witney, as I wouldn't necessarily have thought of it myself. Lyman, however, I probably wouldn't have chosen, but only for my own personal reasons -- I knew Lymans growing up and they were good people. Never would have even made the Lie-Man association otherwise! ;-)
Great food for thought guys, Thanks!
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