Is Your Character a Zombie?

With the season finale of The Walking Dead still fresh on my mind, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the zombies vs. survivors dynamic.

Here’s what I know about survivors. They’re clever, skilled and creative. (I was going to add “fit,” but if you’re clever, skilled and creative you can be a contestant on The Biggest Loser and still defeat a zombie.) Being forever pursued, they’re constantly aware of their surroundings. They are strong-willed and adaptable.

Now think. Does any of this apply to your main character? 

If bullied, does he fight back? If lost, can he find his way? If leading, does he shoulder the weight?

Now let’s consider the zombies. Here’s what we know about them. They crave human flesh. They'll amble for miles to find food. They mostly travel in groups. And there is no hierarchy.

Is this your MC? 

Craving/wanting is the catalyst, but will your character stagger aimlessly until he happens upon his goal or does he have a game plan to tackle it? Is he just one of the group or does he stand out as an individual? Does he make his own rules, buck the system, challenge authority (A-listers, teachers, overbearing parents, etc.) or does he have free reign to tackle conflicts without consequence (boring!)?

I’d like to think that all of my main characters are survivors. That when faced with their own zombie apocalypse, they’re clever, skilled and creative. Oh, I’ve had a few who started out as zombies, but hey, that’s what revisions are for.

So next time you’re struggling with characterization, just ask. Is my MC a zombie or a survivor?  

   

Name Game

After reading Paeony Lewis’s blog post last week on character names, it had me wondering...how did I come up with mine?

Naturally, I use family names.

Crosswire: Jesse Wade - Wade was my mother’s maiden name.

Hidden: Eugene - My grandfather and older brother’s name.

Fortune Tellers Club: Gena - I can’t count all the Genas in my family.

 There’s probably one family member in all of my books.

And I discovered something about myself while researching this post. I’m a J name maniac. My J characters: Juniper, Jake, Janene and Jesse.  

I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules to naming characters, but one important thing I learned from my stand up comedy days is hard consonants are funny. Buick instead of Chevy, for instance.

Think about it. What if Garfield was Gerald? Or Bart Simpson was Benny?

I also think hard consonants are playful and kid-friendly. My playful character names include Cocoa, Dandy (Daniel Dee), Buck and Buddy Bunion.

And I've noticed odd character names seem to stick. Ever wonder what those classic authors were thinking when they wrote characters named Scout, Holden, Gatsby and Rhett? There's probably a whole college course based on that.

Then there's the genre name game - naming your character to suit the genre. Which genres comes to mind with each of these?

Shane

Aurora

Pierce

Lilia

Lucien

(I'll reveal my answers in the comment section later. I want to hear yours first.)

 

So what about it, y'all? What led you to pick your characters' names?