Sometimes it's interesting

First posted 8-3-07

"Sometimes it's interesting to see just how bad bad writing can be. This promised to go the limit."

- Sunset Boulevard

During the off moments and empty moments of my work day (i.e. the magical time we call The Procrastination Hour) I've been going to back to the google document of what is laughably known as The Novel. I have been writing in it. What is there is not good, but is The Start.

For a long time I've had trouble coming up with a name for The Protagonist. I wanted a name that's as common as dirt. Every protagonist is named something strong, virile. Something of three syllables or less and would sound good said by a deep voice with lots of reverb. Like Max Strong. Tom Crash. Alex Smart. Names where you could call them easily by their last name throughout the book.

But no one I know ever has a name like that. A solid fiction name. So I wanted my hero to have a name that your neighbor might have. Not Bill King, but Jason Bloomfeld or something like that. Cause part of the story is that the protagonist is just an average guy who gets into what we call The Fuckup.

I also had trouble coming up with a name because I've lived too long. By living too long I mean that I've known too many people. I thought of naming the character David cause that's a good common boring name, but it's also my fathers name and I'll be damned if I write something that associates with what I refer to as The Asshole. At the moment I have the character named Joe, another good common name, but it's also the name of my bipolar ex-brother-in-law. Every name I think of I think of something that has that name and I ask myself "does that person fit with the character I'm writing".

Which is STUPID.

Cause no one else that would ever read the story would think of that person. If they think of anyone it'd be their own David's and Joe's they've met. It's stupid to take that into consideration. I mean, one short story I wrote I used the name Lisa. Lisa is also my girlfriends name. Are they connected? Not in the slightest, I wrote the story before I met her.

But I'll be damned if I use David.

Also, now I really want to write a Christmas story with someone named Jim Crow, just to screw with peoples minds as they try to interpret it.

Also, Crow Jane by The Derekk Trucks Band is awesome. Rest of the album, not so much. Though Blind, Crippled and Crazy is pretty good.

On girlfriend news, things are going better. She's been more...I don't want to say communicative but at least responsive. After a couple extended conversations with her (yay!) I think I have a decent idea of what is going on. And it actually has nothing to do with me. Which, while it royally sucks that things are not going well for her and I'm being as supportive as I can, at least assuages what I call The Paranoia. Take what you can get, yah?

	Posted by Coyote @ 08/03/2007 07:15 PM PDT
	Ugh. The Naming. I dread it and always have. I get vaporlock trying to think up names for characters in RPGs. Maddening. Mostly the overly cool protagonist (or antagonist) name is lame but once in a while you get a winner. Titus Groan or John Silence reek of awesome. Anyhoo, you know that several of us want a look at The Novel and we know that you tease us on purpose because you're mean. Mean!