Naming Characters

Finalised the names of my main characters and how? I lit a joss stick, placed it STRAIGHT in its holder on a tray, surrounded it with six chits with a combination of names and decided to go with the one that had the most ash on it (in the end). These were of course names that I chose, just a couple of extras floating around. The ashes, all of it, landed on one chit. I shall stick to these names through my first draft and make peace with them until then.

One thing so true about starting off is keeping away from external opinions, another trap that I have fallen into. I had one person insist that if your character is controversial, then he or she needs to have the letter 'R' in his or her name. It represents friction. Clearly.

The other problem is going with names that aren't true to the origins of these characters. In a forward world, where an English person could give their child an Indian name, or an Indian could choose a Muslim name, can you do the same with characters in your book? Not that I am changing my names now, but just curious. I would think you have to justify it at some point. Plus, preconceived notions do paint a picture in a readers mind. Wouldn't it be unusual if you were reading a book about Jane in India and on page 23 realised she is a Punjabi girl with nothing more to it. What do you think?

The next task is to finalise the final draft of my first chapter, if there is such a thing. It is still a draft. Will check-in when that is done.

Getting Started

Nobody said that getting started was easy and I wasn’t expecting it to be a cakewalk. However, it is a little harder than I expected. There are mountain peak highs and then ages of lull. In August 2011, I wrote on a piece of paper “I am going to write my novel and get it published,” as suggested by @WritersDigest. And I started writing. I came up with a rough map of the route my book would take; beginning and end were vague, but present (in my mind). I drafted a couple of chapters and fell into the ‘my-main-characters’-names-suck’ trap. I am still there. So from whizzing through about 5000 words to nothing. Zilch.

I am sure writing during the Jane Austin era was easier, perhaps getting published harder. You take a pen and you write – simple. Today, at least for me, the choices are killing. Should I type or should I write, let me get my blog and twitter in place first, I have won a booker and am autographing books in my head before I even know the names of my characters. In my defence, Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) imaged getting an Oscar when she was about 12. But you see, there are so many distractions – a manicure before typing? Perhaps a burst of colour will inspire me. I once read that ‘fame’ was taking over the idea of ‘going to heaven.’ So true, and it hampers your inner instinct and that raw energy that just wants to write.

The truth is, it is scary. While I do think I am a half-decent writer and everyone has a story to tell and it is a skill you can work on, writing allows you see yourself butt-naked. No matter how slim and hot people may think you are, or no matter how confident you are, you always find something you need to work on. Something that you would want to change. Something that tells you, you are only human.

Now that I have all the frills of twitter, blogging and the manicure out of the way, I am hoping to get back to some serious writing. This blog will keep you posted on my progress and pitfalls. In the meantime, what do you think of revealing a book title before even writing the book? Dangerous or perhaps a form of copyright and branding?