2209192
Thursday March 08th 2012, 9:27 pmTitles, names, addressing a thing or a person or an idea. Names mean a lot. Whats in a name? Sometimes everything. Names can be symbolic. They inform us in subliminal ways on the possibilities of who or what we’re interacting with, what they’re about, even in the most subtle of instances. But other times a name can affect judgement of something as well. Especially in titles of stories, or concepts, or devices, or the name someone picks for themselves instead of their birth name. It can change our view, in ways we probably don’t even realize or fully comprehend. Some are easily forgettable, or profoundly full of meaning, some can be enigmatic, or goofy. Names can have subtext, about personality or history. There is something imbued in them that speaks through vibrations that tingle our subconscious. Especially names in stories, determining the right choice can be exasperating, because names have power and help create identity.
Monikers Of Character
March 8th 2012
4 Comments so far
Leave a comment
I just discovered this problem for myself. I’ve been trying to write a short comic book story (just for fun). Due to the nature of the story the lead character name should ideally have some sort of resonance and it’s really hard to find a name that works. I was never one who thought the creative process was in any way easy but this has brought it home for me. Even the names are hard, never mind the rest!.
Comment by Karl 03.24.12 @ 5:43 amTotally get your frustration on this. Names are so nuanced when thinking of story.
Comment by jhw3 03.25.12 @ 1:44 amLeave a Comment
** Required but not displayed
Next time I have full internet access, I’ll look this up for you. There was a study conducted in which a control group was given a list of names (from several cultural roots) and tasked with guessing what each of the listed people were like. Personality, job, relationship status… and some of the guesses were really stereotypical. Jose was pegged as a penniless illegal immigrant, Clyde was a billionaires son somewhere in Texas, etc. At the end of the control test, everyone on the list was walked into the test room to meet the group–they were all children under 6 years old.
A lot is in a name, apparently.
Comment by Ash 03.08.12 @ 9:58 pm