1) Holidays

If you’re working with a short time-jump, holidays can be a great marker to show how much time has passed. Let’s say, for example, you’re working within a year of your character’s life. Let’s say your story opens with the ball dropping on New Years’ and you want to jump between this moment and the following fall the next year.

Create a birthday in September that your character is preparing for so that the reader can know where they’ve jumped to in time. Or simply have the characters discussing that Halloween is coming up and what their plans are. Having a significant event on the day that you pick the story back up will also help answer questions as to why this is where the story resumes.

2) Physical Appearance

Another way to clearly show your readers a passage of time has occurred is through changes in the various characters’ appearances. For example, perhaps your protagonist got a haircut or started dressing with a different style or got a piercing. Perhaps one of their friends has lost weight or started dressing more extravagantly. These noticeable physical changes indicate to the reader that enough time has passed for appearances to alter to a significant degree.

3) School or Work

Where a character is with their school or career is also an excellent indicator of the passage of time. We go through life entering into different modes of school and then different jobs so switching up your character’s current circumstances would make sense if years pass over the time jump you’re creating. Perhaps they’ve finally finished school and entered the workforce or maybe they left the job they worked in the beginning of your story for something new.

4) Location

As time passes we oftentimes change our locations as well by moving around. This could come in many forms though depending on your character and their circumstances. The change here could be as simple as a character moving to a new apartment or buying a home. It could be that they move to a new city than they were previously located in the story. Or it could even come in the form of your character suddenly being more worldly, having traveled a lot during the time that is being skipped over.

5) Friends and Relationships

Friendships and relationships will also change as time goes on over the years. This can mean some friendships slip away and a character that your protagonist was previously close with is no longer their friend. It could mean the nature of the relationship has changed as well. For example, a friend has a baby and now your protagonist doesn’t see them as often. It could also mean the reverse and a previously strained relationship could have been reconciled over this time. They could even have some new friends that the reader hasn’t met before, though you’ll have to provide believable circumstances as to how these friendships formed.

6) Personality, Habits, Mannerisms

People’s personalities also deeply change as time progresses. Think back on who you were ten years ago and you’re likely very different from the person you are today. This will happen to your characters as well. Consider the length of the time jump you’re attempting to write first. If it’s only a year your character likely won’t be unrecognizably different, but if it’s something drastic like five years we will see more dramatic changes. Consider the events that happen between the two moments in time and how those moments will change your protagonist. How will they shape their personality, habits, hobbies, and mannerisms for the remainder of the story?

The post Show Don’t Tell: Time appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) Check root meanings & origins

When brainstorming a character name, it may be helpful to choose a name with a root meaning that describes the character in question. It’s a clever way to give the reader a hint about your character’s nature, without being too obvious and cliché about it (ex. Giving a character the last name Goodman). One place to start may be looking up the meanings of a chosen word in different languages to see if inspiration strikes.

However, just as importantly, make sure you’re checking the root meaning and origins of names even if you chose the name first. You need to make sure that the names have the correct origins for the nationality of your character and that the name doesn’t mean something wildly different from or contradictory to your character’s personality. Otherwise, you run the risk of confusing the more perceptive readers who will do their research.

2) Keep in mind era, location, and genre

Characters from different time periods and locations will have vastly different names from one another. Names that were popular in England in the 1920’s aren’t aligned with the popular names in the present day. Your names either need to align with the time and place or you’ll need to show why they don’t. Maybe this character’s parents had a fascination with this era for some reason. You’ll just need to make sense of it; otherwise, you’ll leave your readers wondering why there is a 20-year-old girl in present-day America named Doris.

Genre is equally important when it comes to choosing character names. Fantasy names will sound mythical while Sci-Fi named will have harsher and shorter sounds while historical fiction names will be more simple and classic. Your reader will be left scratching their head if they’re reading a fantasy novel and they come across a character named Blake. If you’re struggling with this, there are a lot of name generators online for specific genres that may be a helpful jumping-off point.

3) Differentiate between characters

By the end of your book, your readers will know your characters like they are members of their own family. However, during character introductions at the beginning of your book, it can be difficult to differentiate between everyone. To make it easier, we recommend starting each name of the core group of characters with different letters. This makes it easier for your reader to tell them apart in the initial stages as they’re getting to know them. For that same reason, it’s best not to have two character’s names that rhyme or sound similar as well. However, if you ever want to call special attention to a specific character, use alliterative initials (ex. Severus Snape).

4) Speak it aloud & be consistent

You’re allowed to include names in your book that are difficult to pronounce- just make sure you know how to pronounce them. When your book gets published, your readers will inevitably ask you about the pronunciation of specific names so you want to make sure you can say it easily and clearly out loud. In addition, make sure you’re always remaining consistent on what your character is called throughout your book. It will be confusing for your readers if characters go back and forth between called John and Jonathan- unless it’s for formality purposes.

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The post What’s in a Name: Choosing Character Names appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.