Write Good or Die

reality.
    Female names offer their own opportunities for striking gold or striking out. “Thelma and Louise” are two names that, to me, conjure up images of rough, trailer-trash women (I have an aunt named Louise, so that obviously colors my association). In the movie, they become self-reliant while simultaneously depending on each other. Though they are doomed, they are also strong survivors. I don’t think it would have worked if the characters were “Cissie and Amber.” Save that for the Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon road movie.
    In the 1950’s James Bond world, you could get away with naming a character “Pussy Galore,” a lesbian who can be “cured” into heterosexuality by the right hired gun. That won’t work today, not even in genre fiction. Aside from the fact that the great majority of book purchasers are female, you don’t want to look stupid. Janet Evanovich’s cute, perky, yet often hapless bounty hunter is named Stephanie Plum, while Kathy Reich’s tougher and darker-edged forensic anthropologist is called Temperance (Tempe) Brennan. You can tell just by the protagonists’ names that the two series will have different tones.
    A recent trend in genre novels is the name-dropping of other writers. This immediately pulls me out of the story, reminds me I am staring at the fabricated sentences of an actual human being, and I have to fight past the “Nudge, nudge, wink, wink” if I bother continuing at all. A manuscript I recently read had a pair of juvenile delinquents named “Anthony Bates” and “Norman Perkins.” As if this wasn’t painfully obvious enough, after the introduction the characters repeatedly refer to one another as Norm and Tony. I don’t think the association is worth the cost. If it’s plainly an homage or tribute, then it’s fine, but it’s already hard enough to keep the reader in a state of suspended disbelief. Save that kind of thing for the acknowledgements.
    So where do you get names? You can turn to the phone book, but you’ll want to mix and match first and last names so you don’t inadvertently create a character that’s too close to home for some real person you’ve never met and who might be litigious. I once encountered a real person who had the same two names as one of my fictional characters, and it gave me pause. Using local surnames can add authenticity if your fiction is set in the area where you live. I often scour the obituaries because I use a lot of rural characters with long local lineages. “Baby name” books are great resources, especially if you have multicultural characters, though you won’t always find help with surnames. The Internet is an obvious and easy tool, and don’t forget your own imagination.
    Once you decide on a name, you can always change it later, though having the name will help you start building the character in your mind. Whichever name you choose, sound it out, and make sure you want it in your story. See if it matches the character and his or her personality and, more importantly, actions. Especially if it’s the protagonist, choose a name that can hold up for an entire story, book, or even a series.
    While the name you bestow on your character may not be as important as the name you give your child, in some ways your fiction is just as much an offspring of your life as is your genetic contribution. Take it seriously, and make it matter.

    Scott Nicholson— http://www.hauntedcomputer.com
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19. The Three-Act Structure in Storytelling
    By Jonathan Maberry
    http://www.jonathanmaberry.com

    All stories are told in three acts, whether it’s a joke, a campfire tale, a novel, or Shakespeare. The ancient Greeks figured that out while they were laying the foundations of all storytelling, on or off the stage.
    Sure, there may be many act breaks written into a script, or none at all mentioned in a novel, but the three acts are there. They have to be. It’s fundamental to storytelling.
    Here is the “just the facts” version of this.
    The first act introduces the protagonist, some of the major themes of the story, some of the principle characters, possibly the antagonist, and some idea of the crisis around which the story pivots. The first act ends at a turning point moment where the protagonist has to face the decision to go deeper into the story or turn around and return to zero. Often this choice is beyond the protagonist’s control.
    In the second act the main plot is developed through action, and