meridian_rose (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meridian_rose) wrote2012-08-30 05:07 pm
meridian_rose) wrote2012-08-30 05:07 pm
Entry tags:
Writing Discussion
There's a great entry by layla, Writing Your Best Ideas - it's short but thought provoking, go read it!
It got me thinking about how I do this, the holding back of certain character names or plot points – more and discussion topics under the cut.
In my comment to the aforementioned entry I said that
(a) have you ever done this? Held back on an idea or a name because it seemed 'too good to waste'?
If so, was it the right decision or not?
If you've never held back on using something, have you later regretted it?
(b) names. This is tough one for me, and finding the right name is a challenge. Fanfic can be easier because as I said above, even if I hate the names, they're there and have to be used (slight alterations for AU's aside).
How important is finding the right name when you create an OC for any type of fiction?
If they're a throwaway OC in a fanfic, do you spend less time choosing the name then if the character is a protagonist in an original work?
(c) names, part two. Suppose you're writing a fanfic* that's gone completely AU and you realise this would work better as an original fic since you'd have complete freedom to ignore aspects of canon and alter the characters to your liking.
How would this change the naming process? Would you try to keep the names similar in style or meaning, or try hard to make them very different?
Would the fact that in tv/movie fandoms you have a particular actor associated with the character make it easier or hard (eg I want to call him Richard but he doesn't look like a Richard to me ; I can't image her being anything but Xena).
*If you don't write fanfic/write it often, maybe you nonetheless have actors in mind when you create a character, so you probably still have insight here.
(d) themes. If we think about ideas that you hold back on, is it because you don't want to write the same thing over and over?
Is it okay for an author to revisit favourite themes? Under what circumstances? (For example most of my heroines are never going to end up in conventional marriages or have children, but given that almost Every. Single. Female Character. in mainstream media ends up Wife and Mother, I don't feel bad for repeating this characterisation.)
Is it possible to re-use ideas in new ways? (I'm leaning yes, because tropes evolve for a reason, and there's a difference between a trope and a cliché)
Discuss away, I'd love to hear any ideas, tips, or get links to other articles of interest around any of these themes!
layla, Writing Your Best Ideas - it's short but thought provoking, go read it!It got me thinking about how I do this, the holding back of certain character names or plot points – more and discussion topics under the cut.
In my comment to the aforementioned entry I said that
I strongly identify with this. Although sometimes I think it's justified - no use using a great name on a throwaway 'extra' in a scene when it might be a great primary character in a later work. Names have to be right for me which often stymies me (and makes fanfic easier to work with! I might hate the names but they're there, and that's all there is to it) so if I do love one, I might hold it 'in reserve'.
But sometimes, yes, I hoard things, worried that I'll only get to use them once
(a) have you ever done this? Held back on an idea or a name because it seemed 'too good to waste'?
If so, was it the right decision or not?
If you've never held back on using something, have you later regretted it?
(b) names. This is tough one for me, and finding the right name is a challenge. Fanfic can be easier because as I said above, even if I hate the names, they're there and have to be used (slight alterations for AU's aside).
How important is finding the right name when you create an OC for any type of fiction?
If they're a throwaway OC in a fanfic, do you spend less time choosing the name then if the character is a protagonist in an original work?
(c) names, part two. Suppose you're writing a fanfic* that's gone completely AU and you realise this would work better as an original fic since you'd have complete freedom to ignore aspects of canon and alter the characters to your liking.
How would this change the naming process? Would you try to keep the names similar in style or meaning, or try hard to make them very different?
Would the fact that in tv/movie fandoms you have a particular actor associated with the character make it easier or hard (eg I want to call him Richard but he doesn't look like a Richard to me ; I can't image her being anything but Xena).
*If you don't write fanfic/write it often, maybe you nonetheless have actors in mind when you create a character, so you probably still have insight here.
(d) themes. If we think about ideas that you hold back on, is it because you don't want to write the same thing over and over?
Is it okay for an author to revisit favourite themes? Under what circumstances? (For example most of my heroines are never going to end up in conventional marriages or have children, but given that almost Every. Single. Female Character. in mainstream media ends up Wife and Mother, I don't feel bad for repeating this characterisation.)
Is it possible to re-use ideas in new ways? (I'm leaning yes, because tropes evolve for a reason, and there's a difference between a trope and a cliché)
Discuss away, I'd love to hear any ideas, tips, or get links to other articles of interest around any of these themes!
no subject
(a) I don't think I ever held a name back... But that's mostly because I don't write all that much... I only have 4 finished fanfics, 3 unfinished ones, and 1 unfinished original story so far... So I don't get to invent names very often.
(b) Finding a right name is a Challenge. But when I finally find it I can't imagine it being anything else. When it's a random OC that we only see like five minutes of, I usually go for a common popular name that can fit many types of personalities and that feels right in a dialog.
Choosing names for protagonists takes MUCH more time because it's the name you'll have to use often and it HAS to be the right one. I spend hours and hours googling for names and meanings. But when it's a protagonist I usually have an idea how the name has to feel so it's easier to know when you've finally found it.
(c) If it's fanfic turned original (as it is in my case)... well... At first I call characters by their old names in my head (as you know Maelog was Darken. And btw Morgan was Severus Snape... but never Alan Rickman).
As I go deeper into the story I see more and more differences between my version of the characters and the characters they are based upon, and that's when I choose a different name for them. Because they are no longer who they used to be I don't try to find a similar name for them. It's like they are a completely new personality. And again I just choose what feels right.
(d) To be honest I have a feeling like I'm writing the same story over and over and over again. But each time from a different angle somehow... With more knowledge and experience... maybe. I don't think it's wrong to write about things you enjoy and/or support. It's the very reason for writing imho. To tell about things you want to tell about. And no two stories, however similar, are never 100% alike. So I don't think themes are bad. On the contrary. :D
Well... that's my fifty cents. :D
no subject
I'm relieved you think it's okay to retell stories because that is something I worry about.
Done well, I think it's okay. However I used to read Jack Higgins's books and devoured a ton of them. The style was brisk and action orientated and very easy to read, and there were some great characters. But the later ones just seemed to be the exact same plots and overall characters, just with different names, in the exact same style, so I stopped reading them. Maybe that's what is behind my fear of 'overdoing' a particular them!
Definitely once the names feel right I can't imagine them being anything else. Other times I can maybe change them completely or slightly. And sometimes the character develops and I may or may not change the name too. I don't envision Honor's appearance the same way and he's not as harsh as the very first fic he appeared in, but the name and several aspects of his personality stuck fast.
So glad you stopped by - I have a lot more writers on my flist at both journals and hoped for a better response - and thanks for sharing your thoughts. I will probably have more to discuss later :D