tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post9201198953864099930..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Character DumpDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-41963933933363565952009-03-30T08:50:00.000-06:002009-03-30T08:50:00.000-06:00Anonymous, I've never heard of Literary Machine. T...Anonymous, I've never heard of Literary Machine. Thanks for the tip.<BR/><BR/>Lauri, you bring up a good point. Sometimes you have to consider how the names will "read" to others not familiar with the culture.<BR/><BR/>Writtenwyrdd, I like the big sagas, too. But I'm with you... only if I have to keep up with a manageable number of names.<BR/><BR/>This is true, Dani. With too many names or names that sound too much alike, it's possible even for the author to mix them up. So what chance does a reader have of keeping them straight?Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-30282462102067356592009-03-29T07:13:00.000-06:002009-03-29T07:13:00.000-06:00For the epic series I've been plotting out, I use ...For the epic series I've been plotting out, I use a free relational database called Literary Machine. Makes it really easy to keep track of characters and plot information.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-45742765959568142932009-03-29T07:12:00.000-06:002009-03-29T07:12:00.000-06:00I love huge novels with a cast of thousands, but I...I love huge novels with a cast of thousands, but I do sometimes really dislike the character dump feeling where I cannot recall who, exactly, a character is. if it is only the bit players who don't support a major plot development, fine. But if it's one of the more important people and I can't keep them straight in my head--that's irritating.writtenwyrddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02280711822302493122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-4030578069426004622009-03-29T02:22:00.000-06:002009-03-29T02:22:00.000-06:00Helen you are so right about keeping names distinc...Helen you are so right about keeping names distinctive. In my second book in my detective series I have two characters with similar names. I wish so much I would have changed those names as I get them confused all of the time. For my readers who speak Setswana it would be difficult to confuse the names but anyone else will have a problem. Luckily the characters don't continue to other books.Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-89797775746958544132009-03-28T23:32:00.000-06:002009-03-28T23:32:00.000-06:00To illustrate what can happen with too many names ...To illustrate what can happen with too many names early on: I just read a manuscript with mother and daughter characters (not to mention half a dozen other names) on the first few pages. On page 1, the author accidently switched names between mother and daughter. This, of course, is a great way to confuse your reader. Also a great way to get rejected by an acquisitions editor. It pays to be very meticulous about names.<BR/><BR/>Good post, Helen.<BR/><BR/>Dani<BR/>http://twitter.com/blogbooktoursDanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-56974045861186811342009-03-28T21:27:00.000-06:002009-03-28T21:27:00.000-06:00It's okay for the writer to keep a list of charact...It's okay for the writer to keep a list of characters and details about them. It' not okay if the reader has to do that!Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-27327671638539650372009-03-28T17:52:00.000-06:002009-03-28T17:52:00.000-06:00What is that old saying, "too many cooks spoil the...What is that old saying, "too many cooks spoil the soup?" Definitely true for characters and stories. If you have to write down a bible to keep track of them all, you could have serious problems. Great post, Helen! <BR/><BR/>Jenny <BR/>http://theinnerbean.blogspot.com/Jenny Melzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11235663870008150355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-60638783984620756642009-03-28T17:46:00.000-06:002009-03-28T17:46:00.000-06:00It's very easy for me to get confused about charac...It's very easy for me to get confused about characters, especially if their first letter is the same. Too many do get me confused. <BR/><BR/>In one of my books I'm working on, I've got different characters living in different states. I made a cheat sheet so I could keep track of them, including physical descriptions, family members, where they lived and other pertinent facts I needed to remember.<BR/><BR/>Morgan Mandel<BR/>http://morganmandel.blogspot.comMorgan Mandelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10118929301591850918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-57995844880107859302009-03-28T12:50:00.000-06:002009-03-28T12:50:00.000-06:00Sia, that is so true. We spend so much time writin...Sia, that is so true. We spend so much time writing the book, living with those characters on the page and in our heads, we think we know them inside out and we'll never forget a thing about them. Ha!Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-80784072842791659252009-03-28T09:56:00.000-06:002009-03-28T09:56:00.000-06:00Words of wisdom, Helen. As an author, I thought I ...Words of wisdom, Helen. As an author, I thought I would never forget my characters, HA! Self preservation had me using my Dump file and adding files within that, with caharacters and relationships within my book. When it became the first in a trilogy, having those characters listed helped--a lot. <BR/><BR/>I would be interested in seeing what idea of a book bible is.~Sia McKye~https://www.blogger.com/profile/08470562659597351033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-84060982125986124962009-03-28T08:41:00.000-06:002009-03-28T08:41:00.000-06:00Amy Sue, sounds like a tricky situation there. Let...Amy Sue, sounds like a tricky situation there. Let us know how you resolve it!<BR/><BR/>Brooke, I know of an author friend who was lucky enough to have an agent who had what I call a Book Bible created for her about the time she published her third in the series.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-75219248017534975852009-03-28T08:27:00.000-06:002009-03-28T08:27:00.000-06:00I believe in character reveals on a need-to-know b...I believe in character reveals on a need-to-know basis. But, I'm struggling with a crowd scene of sorts, because the individuals have identities, but are only relevant to the story in a scene or two. <BR/><BR/>Great reminders!!Amy Sue Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13854920309673361956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-32871421616132722772009-03-28T07:09:00.000-06:002009-03-28T07:09:00.000-06:00Wholeheartedly agree!And since I wrote a series of...Wholeheartedly agree!<BR/><BR/>And since I wrote a series of five books with overlapping characters (and scenes) I created a very detailed & complex legend for consistency. <BR/><BR/>L. Diane Wolfe<BR/>www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com<BR/>www.spunkonastick.net <BR/>www.thecircleoffriends.netL. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-89987917354087745302009-03-28T06:32:00.000-06:002009-03-28T06:32:00.000-06:00True, Marvin. And having the author or the charact...True, Marvin. And having the author or the character himself tell us these details doesn't mean much, anyway. We as people and as readers make our own decisions. Just as in real life, we judge people by their actions and by how others act toward them, not by what they say about themselves.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-12448483434801742832009-03-28T05:55:00.000-06:002009-03-28T05:55:00.000-06:00Excellent post and I agree. I'm also a reader who ...Excellent post and I agree. I'm also a reader who does not want to be "dumped on" with everything there is to know about a character all at once. It stops the story dead when the author takes a whole paragraph or more to inform you of everything from hair and eye color to religious persuasion to how much money in the bank and how many bad relationships he or she has had in the past. I plan on doing a post on that soonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com