How I Write - Titles, Character Names, Traits, & Background

Hello all!

So, today I'm going to start finishing up some of the more detail oriented parts that I go through before actually writing.

Alright...Character Names...As you can tell from the outlines I've already posted on Facebook, character names are something I decide ahead of time, while the story is still in my head. It may not be the same for other people, so if you are ever stuck and you don't know what to name your character I would recommend looking up popular names over the years. Sometimes, you'll find one or two that really stand out. I've actually done it, but I usually stick to different or at times uncommon names. Another thing about names is that, if you don't like the name...you can always go change it. An example of this can be seen in my outline for Something Worth Fighting For. Natalia was actually called Clare/Clara, but after writing a few chapters...I hated that name, and dropped it to be used for one of her friends, and re-named the character as Natalia...which was my take on Natalie. With Mia, I really liked Mellenium and Melania...so I merged the two for Mellenia. I also wanted it to match with her twin brother's name Maximillion. Fallon was just a name that I loved.

Names for me, are easy...at times I have all the characters named, but not an actual title for my story. Which can be...entertaining...If you look through all three of my stories, you will find that certain names do cross over. For example, in All That We Could Be...Dallas was Christopher's older brother...later I used that name as the main character's name for SWFF. Another example...Matthew was Natalia's cousin...the name was used for the lead character in If Only Tonight. (There are a couple more...I like to do little things like that...lol!)

Next comes the Character Traits/Background, this also doesn't take me long. I like to have everything decided before I write, so even if at times I might change one or two things...its usually nothing major. I think character traits can be simple, you can write them as a list for each character, if you want. My high school training was more towards Film/Script-writing/Graphic Design (Not just chemistry...surprising, huh?), so for me...I generally have the visual of my character in my head. (seriously...the story...is usually in movie form...) Traits such as eye colour and hair colour, should always be decided at the beginning  it can look poorly if you mess that up while writing. (I have read a few stories where things keep switching about...) Your character's manner and personality should be sorted out before hand, and it should also be consistent. If he/she is a jerk (ahem...Matthew...lol!)...then don't make them all nice and cute moments after they've behaved badly. If you want them to be nice at some point, allow them the time to grow into it. I think it's always good to decide what your character is like, before you start. Are they easy to manipulate, mean, far too kind, sly, annoying, conniving, smart, or funny? Main point...BE CONSISTENT! Don't give readers a whiplash of emotions...it can be...quite irritating...in my opinion.

Make sure you know where your character is from, and what kind of back story they have. Early on, Mia's back story could have gone two ways, and I did at one point think I should merge the two. In the end, the back story that won out was the one you all read. Also, I like to make my main characters Canadian. You can make them from where ever you want, but I find that having them from my own country allows me to realistically present tradition, mannerisms, and culture.  If they are from another country, try watching or reading something which will help you understand the culture in that country. I love England after Canada. I've always been fascinated with the culture over there. Before going to England, I had written about 30 chapters of IOT which I thought represented the country in a decent manner. Coming home after two months, I felt that I had better insight into that world, so writing the chapter where Mia goes to see sights with the guys and Jeremy was quite a bit easier...and not like my SWFF Spain fiasco. 

I also feel that it's crucial to know the details of your character's history. How many siblings do they have? Do they come from a happy family or a conflicted one? Since it will help develop the emotions as you start writing. It also makes for interesting material to lead to your main events. An example would be Matthew sitting on the soccer ball and Leon asking about the locket. The scene pointed out the significance of the locket, while not revealing the entire secret. 

Get into the character's frame of mind before you start writing the actual story. How? Well, using the character traits, you should have a basic idea of how they are. A lot of the time, when you've decided to write, you do have an idea of what your characters are like and how they act. It's also quite common to base characters off of people you've seen, or those whom you know, and even off yourself. For example, Mia hating thunderstorms...is me in real life. Fallon and her love of cars and racing...me again. Mia's strict no drinking/drugs, etc rule...yea...you guessed it...me. It's important to have an idea of what your character likes and dislikes, in order to make the story flow smoothly. Getting in to your character's frame of mind will also help you when you work on dialogue. (Which I will come to soon...I promise!)

Having a visual of your character also helps. At the beginning of IOT, I knew Cheryl Cole was physically most similar to how I thought Mia would look, and Cristiano Ronaldo was very much similar to Matthew, at that point I was not watching TVD...I started watching it halfway through the second season and that's when it hit me, that Ian Somerhalder was probably a better visual for Matthew. (Hence the change in covers...)

So lastly - for now - giving your story a Title. In some cases, I've had a title before a story (ATWCB)...in others I've had a title after I've written for a bit and decided to change it (SWFF). For me, songs are the inspiration. At times, a certain track will be underlining an important scene in my story, and I'll just go with that. All three of my stories use songs as titles. I think the key thing about a title is that it should instantly grab your attention, make you want to read the book, and it should also be unforgettable. For IOT there were a number of songs I thought would go, but Only Tonight by JLS was the only one that really grabbed my attention, and it underlined the way I thought Matthew felt about Mia. Even if it hadn't won in the FP poll...I probably would have still used it. lol!

I know it feels like I'm jumping between things, so I apologize. I'm better at organizing my thoughts for a book, than writing my perspective on how I actually write the book. Weird, eh? Sorry about the length. I just keep finding more things to add here...anyway, tomorrow will be about POV and a few other things before I do before actually starting to write.

Hope this helps!
Much Love,

Andene xx