My characters

When I started writing I had some characters in mind, I stuck with them and was very happy with their growth. The thing that surprises me even today is the characters that pop in and are totally unplanned. When I start writing as I've said before I have a general outline but no rigid plan I have to follow. So what that means is that as my story meanders and wanders through the pages I sometimes come across characters that were unplanned, most of the time I can think on my feet as to their names and their lives. Twice now I have come across characters that have stumped me. Not so much where they belong in the story but more to do with their names you just can't rush into it and call them Bruce, George, or even Bill. Now there is nothing wrong with these names in real life, but for most stories you need stand out names for your characters you need punch, not just with your story but also with your characters.

You want them to be memorable, don't be hasty when you name them, take your time. I know it can be hard because you just want to get on with the story. Just recently I was stumped with a witch I needed to name. It held up the writing for about four months I found that I couldn’t carry on with that particular story until I named her. I was lucky that I had another novel on the go so I could write that one for a while and try to research a name for my witch. It took four months but it was worth it, the name I decided on really suited her. (I'm keeping her name to myself at the moment.) One I can share with you is Manjucus what a character he is, and he like my witch was a tough nut to crack with regards to his name. He is a good example, I knew that I had to give him a special name, you can't call a four and a half thousand year old soul stealer Pete. So to research his name I looked at what he was and how he dressed, so I went to the Queensland State Library and researched clowns. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed myself, when you research you find out obscure facts that can really enhance your stories. What I did find was a sixteenth century clown called Mandacus he would frighten the crowds by snarling and gnashing his teeth. I loved this idea and embraced it, changing the name slightly to suite my character. Hence Manjucus was born, I still get asked "how did you get his name?" and that's how, it's just research and a bit of imagination.