Hardest Part of your stories.

[Ldy_Sea]

For me it's the names, I always want the perfect nae that either emphasizes a character trait or something Ironic like chastitty for a hooker. I have spent days looking for the perfecct name for 1 character and even when the story is done I am still not happy with the name I used.

How do you pick names and what difficulties do you face in your writing?

 

[TE999]

For me it's the names, I always want the perfect nae that either emphasizes a character trait or something Ironic like chastitty for a hooker. I have spent days looking for the perfecct name for 1 character and even when the story is done I am still not happy with the name I used.

How do you pick names and what difficulties do you face in your writing?

I use the phone book or 'Name The Baby' websites, also websites with baby names by country.

My difficulty in writing is that I have a beginning and an end in mind...it's all that stuff in the middle that gives me problems.

Welcome to the AH.

 

[sr71plt]

Often they pop into my head. I do want them to reflect my view of the personality of the character--so many of them come out of personal context, I'm sure. (Although I think we all could get the character of Billy Bob Scaggs or Bubbles LaTour out of the name.)

Names are often what I gather up before writing because my stories happen all over the world and in all sorts of cultures and time periods. I rely a lot on Google searches of popular given names in various countries and times (and I take into account the name's meaning). And I make a separate search for appropriate surnames. I try not to use an actual notable name (unless that's part of the story plot).

I go to phone directories (again, collected from various countries I've lived in) and do a search separately for first and last names that pop out to me as good ones for specific characters. Or, knowing I have seven minor characters from a country or past time, I put together a list of nine or ten names that have no connection to specific characters until I start writing those characters in.

I'm working on an e-book set in China now, so for a collection of names, I've gone to a book on my shelf from my previous professional life (Hierarches of the People's Repubic of China) that gives an extensive namelist of PRC officials in the time frame I'm working with and, again, I mix and match surnames and given names. And for the major characters, I've gone to translations of the names I've picked so that the name fits the character in my mind. Thus, for a central-plot Chinese spy, I have picked the name Ping Xuanyu, which translates to the male Chinese name "Mysterious Black Jade," Black Jade being a name typically given to a son the parents want to grow up clever and able to control other people easily.

I avoid having names that will confuse the reader by their similarities. And if I don't want to have any question on gender from the start, I pick gender-specific names. If I want to hide this a while, I do the opposite. I don't pick a lot of names with the same first letter as other characters in the book (again, unless I have a contextual reason to do so).

And, in contrast the advice frequently given by a few on the Story Feedback forum, if I want a character to be mysterious or remote--or irrelevant to the context--I may not give that character a name at all. A monster scuttling around in the alley and pursuing a protagonist isn't enhanced by giving it a name. Neither is the incidental waiter at the table where a significant conversation is going on.

 

[Darkniciad]

I use the phone book or 'Name The Baby' websites, also websites with baby names by country.

My difficulty in writing is that I have a beginning and an end in mind...it's all that stuff in the middle that gives me problems.

Welcome to the AH.

Ditto on all counts *laugh* Sometimes it's getting the middle to emerge, but most often, it's making the characters get on with it. Once I turn them loose, they want to live out their whole life -- most of which readers wouldn't give a damn about

The exception for me is with fantasy names. I typically make those up from normal names or words mish-mashed together, or just looking at the keyboard and trying to think of something that starts with each successive letter until something strikes me.

I actually start a lot of my stories with names. I have tons of files on the computer that are just names or titles waiting for stories to go with them.

 

[Dual_Triode]

So far, I've used average names because my characters are average people. Like SR, I hunt around a bit to find an appropriate name based on the character's ethnicity or place of birth. I don't spend a lot of time fretting over names. My favorite character name so far is Leslie, a bi-curious character. Her nickname is, of course, Lez.

I struggle much more with developing an emotional crux, or pivot, in the plot where the protagonist is forced to make that irreversible choice; the life changing decision. That, and weaving enough back story into the forward driving dialog and narration to create a believable tale.

Oh, and sex scenes are hard to write.

Dual

 

[Bebeslut]

For me it's the names, I always want the perfect nae that either emphasizes a character trait or something Ironic like chastitty for a hooker. I have spent days looking for the perfecct name for 1 character and even when the story is done I am still not happy with the name I used.

How do you pick names and what difficulties do you face in your writing?

Try "Tess Trueheart." Or "Wormface."

 

[Stella_Omega]

I have two philosophies of names; one is that allegorical names charm me every time, and the other is that no mommy considers her child will become a superhero when it grows up.

So, my warrior woman's name is Gloria. Her mom loved her baby daughter very much-- who would have foreseen that she would become a Harley-riding greasemonkey bulldagger?

Her lover calls her "Daddy G." She's from a slightly older generation, that doesn't really think about renaming themselves.

Griffin Mendez, on the other hand, is probably "Maria" on her birth certificate. She renamed herself. Renames can be allegorical. people are innately egotistical that way.

Two of the hottest gay lovers I consider I've ever written are named Jack and Billy.

 

[sr71plt]

ITwo of the hottest gay lovers I consider I've ever written are named Jack and Billy.

What? Not Blade or Spike?

I actually use "Spike" sometimes for a badass, self-important dominant who gives himself that nickname.

I've never been able to use "Blade" any more than "Bruce," because I then can't take the character all all seriously.

 

[Stella_Omega]

What? Not Blade or Spike?

Dammit I should have, they would have been even hotter!

 

[sillypanda]

For names, you can try associations with people you know.

It can be something very small and minute (your character shares the same mischievous look as a childhood friend) or something more broad (you name a character's ex after your real-life ex).

If you prefer the names be freestanding, outline the character's attributes, personality, maybe even actions. Walk away from it for a while (at least a few hours), then go back to it and read it and write down the first name that pops into mind. Don't like what you came up with? Try again a bit later.

As others said, quite often character names come into my head as I'm forming the character him/herself, and sometimes when I try to fight that first instinct I still accidentally refer to him/her by that initial name in my writing.

Hardest part for me? The first sentence. UGH how I hate it. I can write fairly quickly/steadily, but I'll go back and tweak that first sentence a dozen times. I think maybe ONCE, since I started writing at the age of five, have I been satisfied with my opening sentence.

Best of luck!

 

[1sickbastard]

writing them

 

[avidreader_01]

writing the hardest part

For me the hardest part of writing is the sex scenes, keeping them true to the characters involved without becoming stale or boring. I see it in my mind as its taking place, but the hardest part is capturing it all on paper-- the sighs, groans, smells, feelings. I want to engage and submerge all five of the reader's senses b/c that's one of the best things I love about sex.

 

[sr71plt]

For names, you can try associations with people you know.

That only works well if you aren't writing under true name. For whatever you write and publish under you true name, your friends, relatives, and acquaintences are going to be scrutinizing your characters for evidence of themselves and others mutually known. If you give them clues like this, and the connection isn't complimentary, your life is going to get pretty complicated and rocky. It will be bad enough that they make connections you never intended.

 

[vrosej10]

I try to listen to the sounds of the name. A hard sounding name for a hard person etc. I wrote a play recently where I named the mistress character Lolly because she would be sweet and tempting.

 

[ClassyGirl]

For me the hardest part of writing erotica is writing the actual sex scenes. Everything else just sort of flows until I get to those... then I actually have to think. Hahah. With names, my favorite ones to use are ones that will make the astute readers go "huh, I got that reference!" Such as, right now i'm writing a story with two religious characters, whose names are Delilah and Sam. It's fun to pick names that have a deeper meaning to your particular story.

 

[Weird Harold]

How do you pick names and what difficulties do you face in your writing?

I tend to pick full names for characters that would shape thei characters -- the "boy named Sue" theory of character development. Then I figure out what their nickname would be and how they came by it and/or how they prefer to be known.

Sometimes I start with a character and choose a name that would result in that set of characteristics, others, I pick a name at random -- phone book, baby book, etc -- and write a character who grew up with that name.

The name is also a function of the importance of the character to the story -- bit players get stereotype nicknames that help me remember their function in the stories -- I have a lot of minor villains named Guido for example, often accompanied by 'muscle' known as Lurch, Frankie, Butch, or Bubba.

The hardest part of writing for me is finding matchng beginning, middle and/or end. Whichever bit I come up with as inspiration -- opening line, punchline, or general plot, I never seem to be able to come up with the other two pieces to make a complete story.

 

[Bebeslut]

For me it's writing the sex -- hard to keep it fresh.

 

[jomar]

lately...finishing them.

names - read a couple of novels recently where the characters names are very similar...annoying because it's kind of hard to keep track. Wonder why authors do that.

 

[_Lynn_]

lately...finishing them.

names - read a couple of novels recently where the characters names are very similar...annoying because it's kind of hard to keep track. Wonder why authors do that.

Ditto on the finishing.

I have several generators I browse if I cannot come up with a name on my own.

 

[Bebeslut]

Ditto on the finishing.

I have several generators I browse if I cannot come up with a name on my own.

The names I use just seem to flash into my head.
The one I'm proudest of is "Poison," a promiscuous punk chick, with tattoos all over her body with a poison theme -- black widows, bottles marked with an "X" and so on.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

The names I use just seem to flash into my head.
The one I'm proudest of is "Poison," a promiscuous punk chick, with tattoos all over her body with a poison theme -- black widows, bottles marked with an "X" and so on.

Hmmm, is she, by any chance, looking for a mellow fellow like DeVoe?

I just can't resist those early 90s references....

 

[oggbashan]

Names? and Hardest Part.

I have a collection of Baby Names books from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Even so, I tend to use bland names that have no particular associations because I hope the reader brings no preconceptions to the character. Unfortunately that is impossible. If I name a character 'Alan' and the reader hates/loves/detests a particular Alan, then those emotions are likely to affect their idea of the character.

The hardest part of writing a story for me is getting the development between the beginning and the end to match. I tend to start a new story knowing EXACTLY how it will end. I then write the beginning. Getting from the start to the end in a way that is interesting, logical and believable? That is hard.

Og

 

[bronzeage]

For me it's the names, I always want the perfect nae that either emphasizes a character trait or something Ironic like chastitty for a hooker. I have spent days looking for the perfecct name for 1 character and even when the story is done I am still not happy with the name I used.

How do you pick names and what difficulties do you face in your writing?

I use the names of friends when possible. In my fetish story, "Lesbian School Girl Enema Bondage", the main characters are Professor Catheter Hoseman and Doctor Wilma Buttkiss.

When I need a full name, I google several variations to make certain I am not using the name of a celebrity.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

I agree I just worte Ch 1 of a story for a user on her Katt2007. So as a tongue in cheek I made the main charater Cattherine Gato and then use dnames of characters from "Cats" for her husband and kids even though this is not an incest story.

 

[_Lynn_]

I use the names of friends when possible. In my fetish story, "Lesbian School Girl Enema Bondage", the main characters are Professor Catheter Hoseman and Doctor Wilma Buttkiss.

When I need a full name, I google several variations to make certain I am not using the name of a celebrity.

. . . or of a person on the top-ten wanted list . . . or someone ranting on their blog about their bank, the government, the wrong color cardboard in the package of pantyhose they bought . . .