• Home
  • Writing
  • Book Reviews
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Writing
  • Book Reviews
  • Contact

Nonsense, She Wrote

dissecting stories - badly

Writing

By any other name…

written by M. J. Magee 16th April 2014

I often struggle with names.

Putting together an odd-sounding, Harry Potter-esque name for a comedic piece is simple enough (I’m still trying to write a story worthy enough to house ‘Hester Cuppleditch’), but whenever I write a more serious story, I want the names to: a) be more realistic than ‘Hester Cuppleditch’, and b) have some deeper meaning.

I think a subtle allusion, a brief nod in a name can transform a piece, adding complexity and hints to some darker story. (And also handily lead the readers to believe the writer is smarter and more talented than she actually is.)

I had an idea for a short story last year, about a woman whose husband had died; the more she thought back on her marriage, the more abusive a relationship you realised it had been, and I wanted the reader to subtly realise – without the character turning to face the camera and go, ‘I cheated on him. I had a whole bunch of sex with someone else, I did. And I got well and truly knocked up proper to boot’ – that they had spent their marriage hurting each other in different ways.

So I decided to make their names a reference to the most famous literary betrayal I could think of – Delilah betraying Samson. This is because: a) I’m a right navel-gazing twerp at times, who thinks biblical allusions ‘really add something’ to an idea that popped into my head while reading Doctor Who fan fiction, and b) I really didn’t think things through.

Calling the characters Samson and Delilah outright would have gone from the story having a subtle nod to its more analytical readers to me flashing honking great marquee lights on and off and screaming, ‘I’m clever! Look! I’m clever! I know the Bible!’

So, nicknames it was.

Samson shortens to Sam easily enough, but Delilah was a bit of a nightmare. It seemed too archaic and clunky on its own, but the nicknames that come out of it aren’t exactly subtle:

  • ‘Li’ – not my finest hour. ‘This character cheats and lies, so I’m going to call her- wait, no, I see the problem there.’
  • ‘Lah’ – a sound which follows ‘sew’, and not a convincing name for a modern woman in her thirties.
  • ‘Del’ – I think Del, to most Brits, brings to mind David Jason’s Del Boy, a slimy cockney chancer, always looking for the next get-rich-quick scheme. Not really the subtly cruel and confused character I was going for – but unfortunately the only option left.

Even more unfortunately, it’s rather close to my own name, Mell.

Even more even more unfortunately, my partner’s name is Sam…

I think my friends saw a somewhat elaborate plea for help between the flashing marquee lights when I asked them to proof-read the story. It took a lot of assurances that, No, really, everything’s fine, and, It’s a biblical reference – remember how I’m a right navel-gazing twerp? for them to rest easy they weren’t witness to the most insecure solicitation ever made, and me to realise just how much I struggle with names.

Perhaps I could just shorten Hester to Hessie…

By any other name… was last modified: February 11th, 2017 by M. J. Magee
Naming charactersThat awkward moment when your friends think you're begging for an end to a tormentous relationship when you just want your spelling checkedWriting
327
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
blank
M. J. Magee

Don’t call me Ishmael. It would be wildy inaccurate.
I'm a web developer by day, an aspiring-writer-who-would-be-writing-more-if-she'd-stop-criticising-other-people's-stuff-and-concentrate-on-her-own-instead-thank-you-very-much by… well, by always.

previous post
Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
next post
Attack of the killer plot bunnies

You might just fancy reading

Attack of the killer plot bunnies

Sickle and Reeves, Funeral Directors

Who writes this nonsense?

Who writes this nonsense?

It's me. Mell. I do. Hello.

I love stories. Books, films, comics, particularly indepth board games, inappropriate anecdotes overheard at the chemist - I love them all.
And I love writing stories.
Which isn't the same as being good at it.
But analysing what makes a story seems as good a way to learn as any.
Join me as I inexpertly insult famed and published authors, and work out how to write something that's not just nonsense.

Recent Posts

  • No-spoiler review: Moana
  • Review: Arkham Horror the card game
  • Review: Rattle
  • Review: Jolly Rover
  • Sickle and Reeves, Funeral Directors

Categories

  • Board Games
  • Book Reviews
  • Family
  • Fantasy
  • Film & TV Reviews
  • Game Reviews
  • Thriller
  • Video Games
  • Writing
  • Young Adult

Tags

100-word story 1940s X-Men in Wales Absurdist funeral directors Animation Are readers actually going to care about this subplot with the main character's girlfriend's brother's best friend? Better than Agatha Christie Collectable card game Damn you plot bunnies damn you straight to hell Disney Disturbing unnecessary and vaguely incestuous romance Dogs who are also pirates Family game night should always feature existential horror Fantasy Flight Games Fiona Cummins Genre identity crisis Helen Callaghan Is Ransom an actual name? Jolly Rover Middle-age writers shouldn't try to guess what 'bae' means Murder-mystery Naming characters Not being good at similies is like... something else that's rubbish at things Pirates who are also dogs Pusillanimous mumbling Quickie Ransom Riggs Reader's Digest Recommended read Review Robbed! Ruth Ware See me after class Spoiler-free review Storylines gone wild That awkward moment when your friends think you're begging for an end to a tormentous relationship when you just want your spelling checked The Evil Voice Unreliable - except maybe not so unreliable - narrators Unreliable narrators Was-there-a-murder-is-the-mystery Writing You can play as characters other than Roland Banks but why would you? Young Adult

Tweets

  • Without downloading any new pics, what’s it like dating you? https://t.co/tIEzwN83Ed https://t.co/iYVrfi2pIz
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Aah! Look at this INCREDIBLE cover for @Cari_Threads's Threadneedle! 2021 can't come soon enough! 🥳 https://t.co/C4FZG86j0F
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Rating my names: Melissa: A little flowery. I've spent too many years jumping at the word 'listen' to care for it.… https://t.co/jmNHAf48cR
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • This just made my whole day! The (absolutely lovely) producer of my short audio script just sent over the (absolut… https://t.co/8rLJKJiRzn
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy

© 2017 M. J. Magee, writing nonsense since 1985.


Back To Top