Choosing character names

Posted on By csoundar

I mostly can’t start a story if I can’t get the name right. Even if I am going to change it later. The voice of the story for me is too dependent on the name. I listened to a very successful author who said, if my flow is good, I will give the character a name like ABC and continue writing.

But I can’t do that. I have to find the first name at least – especially if it is picture books. If I am writing a longer piece – then I need the last name too. Because I didn’t grow up in England, I have to research English names a lot. I can’t assume a name would be used in a specific part of the world.

However when choosing a name, these are my considerations:

a)    The name should be memorable, but should not sound artificial.

b)   The name should provide the opportunity for nicknames, shortening and even taunts. If I want to put the character through misery, the name should lend itself to it.

c)    The name should sound like the person. This is the hardest to find. I like to match thin characters with last names like Beany and bullies with names that can be made fun of like Bottomley.

d)   The name should not be too much of a caricature. I want the writing to show humour and the name to add to it. For example, if I think a character is too smooth, I wouldn’t call him Roger Smoothie, but Cal Butter or something.

e)    Unless there is a purpose, I prefer character names to be of maximum two to three syllables.

f)     If there are other ways to link the names to the story and plot, I’d pick those names. For example, historic precedence, a name in the buried treasure etc. Then names that are too modern like Madison won’t work if I want the name to be linked to something that happened 100s of years ago.

g)    I try and pick characters with different starting alphabets – especially for the main protagonist and his friend or the antagonist. I don’t want to keep reading Ben and Bob all the way through the book. It does get confusing especially for younger kids to separate them out.

h)   I borrow variations of names from people I know. I do that to birthdays and other quirks too.

i)     I also worry about pronunciation, not just for my readers. I have to be able to read the book aloud and if I can pronounce it, then I would not be able to talk about these characters.

Sometimes I do make the mistake of choosing or making up a name that is hard to say aloud, because I am just writing the first draft. Then when I start revising and start reading it in my head and aloud, I realize the mistake and go back and change the names.

Although I spend a lot of time looking at names, I don’t spend enough time writing their character study. Somehow I want the story to evolve and fill in those gaps. I know that will involve a lot of editing, but that’s an area I struggle. I can describe characters and use motifs to showcase their characteristics. But I cannot do a character chart that many novelists do. That part of my brain is squashed under a big blob of reluctance.

Here are some wonderful links I found when you are researching names.

Name Finder

http://www.surnamedb.com/

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1920s.html

http://nameberry.com/blog/category/name-advice/choosing-the-right-names

Names with history

http://www.houseofnames.com/

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/

http://www.surnamedb.com/

Some of the name choices for my books:

gola_web

In “Where is Gola’s Home?”, I had to choose an Indian name that might suit the lead character, a yak. In the same story, I have a vulture which is called Muri.

adollopofgheeIn “A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom”, I chose Veera – meaning Brave for the prince and Suku for the prince’s friend, which is a short form of Sukumar – translating to a nice person or boy.

How do you choose character names? Do you have other links to share? Leave a note in the comments box.

Do you go to other writers’ events?

Posted on By csoundar

Award ceremonies, book festivals, book fairs – do you go to these? As a writer who is not on the circuit, these events could  be considered gawking, fantasizing, maybe checking out the competition. Not sure what to think.

I have been to a couple of book festivals. More as a book lover than as a writer I should say. When I attend events in the festivals that are meant for children’s books – the audience is filled with kids and their parents and the events are targeted at the audience. Why do I go? Because I want to hear the successful authors talk? Do I want to know what works? What type of questions are they asked?

I am not sure why I went. I did do some non-fiction and current affair book events. And I looked around the bookshops, collected some free pens, bags and moped around hoping one day my book will be out here.

Award festivals – that’s another thing. I have not been to any except the booker talk, the day before the awards were announced. I have now booked tickets to the Red House Children’s awards. I remember last year thinking that I live so close Southbank and still  missed the event. So this time I have tickets and I have some good friends to come with me.

But how will I feel when I get there? Will I use it to network? Lots of bloggers and writers and maybe publishers might be around. But will I fret over whether if my book will ever be published or if I will get an agent or will I be good enough to be nominated?

Sometimes I do wonder if successful writers did ever attend these things? Did they know the industry at all? Were they so good at their craft that their agent did all their networking for them? Is it really important to network? Can I not use that time just to write more or better?

Other times I think I want to be part of this culture of books. I want to read good books and talk about them. I want to spot famous authors in the crowd and be proud to have been there in the same room.

After a long think I think I know why I go. Because I want to be part of the book industry. I want to know what’s going on. For me at least, it is not enough just to write. I love the craft as much as the industry. I love reading the research about digital vs print. I want to know about mergers and acquisitions. I want to know about companies that are expanding, growing, changing gears.

Writing might be a lonely thing to do. But the purpose of writing is to make something that belongs to you, belong to the rest of the world. To let the world embrace what once belonged to you.

And I want to see the world that can take magical things such as books and float them into the skies. I want to be part of the industry, the people, the passionate crew of editors, publishers, rights managers, agents who make the stuff made out of dream dust.

Do you go to events? Why? What do you feel when you watch someone perform? Listen to someone talk to their audience?

A Random List – Writing Picture Books

Posted on By csoundar

When writing picture books or any fiction for that matter, many of us learn from doing. We go to courses, read books, listen to editors and accomplished writers. There is always something new to learn, whatever level you are at.

In that spirit, here is a collection of articles from the Internet where different authors have commented on writing picture books. Their advice / suggestions are typically based on what works for them. So as a reader you have to think about how it applies to you. While some basic wisdom applies to all, the power of creativity is to know when to break the rules. That’s when it moves from being a science into an art-form.

So here are some interesting and informative articles I put together. If you have your own secret links, do share on this blog post with the rest of the world. The links below are in no particular order.

Also remember there are some market differences. While British editors prefer to see manuscripts that span 12 spreads, Americans editors look for 13.5. As these articles from the US, UK and Australia, do make sure you still follow the guidelines of the publisher you are interested in. At the end of the day, there is no alternative to good research and good writing.

http://www.ianbone.com.au/pdfs/PictureBook_IanBone.pdf

http://www.marisamontes.com/writing_picture_books.htm

http://www.memfox.com/so-you-want-to-write-a-picture-book.html

http://www.wordpool.co.uk/wfc/art/wfcpicturebooks.htm

http://www.robynopie.com/articles/writingforchildren_howtowritepicturebooks.htm

30 Days to a Stronger Picture Book

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/writing/writing-tips/36

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/27-FE2-HowToWritePictureBook.html

http://www.leeandlow.com/p/20tips.mhtml

http://marilynsinger.net/onwriting/what-makes-a-good-young-picture-book/

http://www.denisevega.com/2012/12/19/writing-picture-books-short-sweet/

 

 

My version of Little Donkey

Posted on By csoundar

Have you heard of the carol “Little Donkey“? It was written by Eric Boswell.

I thought the donkey’s journey with Mary on its back, safely to Bethlehem had parallels to our writing lives. So here is a writer version of “Little Donkey.” Don’t attempt to sing it as I cannot guarantee my rhymes or my beats work.

So on this Christmas day, let’s celebrate the stories we carry around, the road we travel on  as a writer and a storyteller.

christmas2

Little writer

Little writer

On the doubtful road

Got to keep on plodding onwards with your story hoard.

Been a long time,

Little writer,

Through the rejection night

Don’t give up now,

Little writer

Acceptance in sight.

Ring out those bells tonight,

As you work overnight,

Might seem out of sight,

Selling those movie rights.

Little writer

Little writer

Had a writing day

Little writer

Bring the story safely on its way.

 

Acceptances Galore!

Posted on By csoundar

When I got the email today from my editor at Karadi Tales with the contract – I felt elated, accomplished. It felt good. But I also wondered about why this year? None of the books I placed this year were written earlier. None were revised year after year like the story of spider I’m trying to place for years.

So what was the magic all about?

Firstly, I think I studied each of these publishers closely. I didn’t have access to their books in the UK as two are Indian publishers and the other is from US. But I read their guidelines, went through their catalogue, asked them questions about what they are expecting to see.

Then the second most important thing I did was pick the story that fits the audience – I knew the target audience of the publisher. I knew what stories I wanted to write. I religiously incorporated features the editors would like.

For example, all the 4 topics I wrote about – a clever camel, a flying umbrella, a cumulative trip, a market trip – were topics close to my heart. I like journey stories, I like stories where the protagonist meets lots of interesting characters on the way. I like clever tales, with a funny ending.

Once I wrote and revised many times, I incorporated some of the things the editor might like. For example, Pratham Books were going to translate the book into many languages. So I chose the language carefully. Nothing complex. I also knew they wanted a cheerful character. They absolutely loved it and sent an acceptance ahead of their review calendar.

For Farmer Falgu’s first book with Karadi Tales, I wanted to bring out the music elements. Not in the first few drafts – but I got an opportunity to edit. The editor wanted changes and gave me some overall feedback. But when I rewrote it, I also incorporated the music elements. I did some overt rhymes and rhythms. Because the publisher is primarily an audio producer, I knew the book stood a chance with those elements.

I loved the character I wrote for Karadi Tales. Farmer Falgu stuck in my head and wanted to go on a trip again. This time instead of sending  him on a mission, I sent him to the market. But it turned out to be an eventful trip and Farmer Falgu conquers his problems at the end and comes out succesful.

Again I got great feedback, but some edits as well. And I loved the edits the editor had made. I understood more of what they want and how they liked some of the words, structures etc.

So, after I sold my first picture book in 2006, I’ve had 1 with GAP (As I Watch) since then and then a few e-books. But this year has been a bumper crop. Acceptance parade! And I think that’s because I’ve matured as a writer. I am able to acknowledge my strengths and weakness and play on the strengths more.

This is nowhere the end of the story. It has just begun. I want to place some picture books in the UK and some chapter books too. Have you read “A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom?” I want the next book now! This came out in 2009 and I want a few more to be published here.

If I wish for it loud enough, work for it hard enough, I’m sure that too will come!