Chances are good all of us heard that at some point. And of all the pieces of writing advice I've talked about on this blog over the years, this is one that I think is just all-around good. If you want to really excel as a writer then it helps to see examples of the craft, both good and bad. There's no better tool for understanding story structure, tension building, and even atmosphere and style than just looking at the finished product and examining it for yourself.
Following this advice is what clued me in to this particular writing tip... which is that a truly evocative name can do a lot of work for you.
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| They call him the Ghost... and all the rumors you've heard are true. |
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A Professional Trick From Across The Pond
Names do a lot of work in our stories. Character names, country names, names of weapons, and the names of magic, all of these things are necessary for labeling our worlds and the stories that happen within them. Most of us try to find names that are fitting, or which roll off the tongue, or which are easy to remember... however, none of that is the same as a name that is evocative.
An evocative name creates a strong impression, usually through specific language that immediately calls to mind an image. It's something I grew up seeing in comic books and pulp fiction, but for true masters of the trade I recommend glancing at authors from the U.K., as it seems to be particularly common over there.
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| Take a walk down these dark streets? |
Simon R. Green's Nightside series, which starts with Something From The Nightside, is a study in this kind of storytelling. Often times there are places he'll name, like the Bizarre Bazaar, or characters like King Video or Deadboy, who get little to no extra description because they just don't need any. Once you have their names, and the reaction of those around them, your mind is able to conjure up a fitting image without any additional word count. Even better, it allows sidelong mention of people and places that hint at a larger, deeper world without any additional worldbuilding done until later... smoke and mirrors with a single word or two.
Green isn't the only British author who seems to have mastered this, however. Anyone familiar with the works of Neil Gaiman can tell you he's quite skilled in using a thing's name to immediately bring across who and what they are. From the Endless of Sandman fame, to characters like Hunter in Neverwhere, it's sometimes hard to tell exactly how quickly these images are built in your mind because they're done with a single stroke of the brush. You see shades of this in Clive Barker's writing, as well, and I hear echoes of it in Alan Moore's work.
And while this is by no means a skill solely practiced by authors from this corner of the world, it's where I first really noticed it, so they're the examples I can most easily point folks toward.
Giving Readers The Right Impression
There's a whole psychology behind naming characters, and the secrets behind certain choices. From how characters with the name "Hammer" tend to be dangerous, and are typically villains or anti-heroes, to how characters with the initials J.C. may martyr themselves by the end of the story in a manner similar to Christ, there are all kinds of things we absorb from fiction without even thinking about them.
The idea is that evocative names immediately grab the reader's interest, create something memorable, and set them up for further explanation as needed. Sort of like how an elevator pitch is meant to get someone interested in your book, but it by no means covers every aspect of the narrative that you've told. And in some cases the name has to be powerful enough to stand all on its own, even when we know nothing else about the character who holds it. Like Dr. Claw, for those who remember the old Inspector Gadget cartoons.
And for those who are looking for examples from out of my own catalog, consider the mysterious figure known as the Ghost who seems to appear and disappear throughout the current installments of the Silver Raven Chronicles series (it's all about punching fantasy fascists in the face, so give it a look!).
This isn't a trick you should use for every character and location in your story, obviously. Some aspects are meant to be more normal, average, or forgettable, after all. But it's worth keeping in mind if you want to immediately cement important nouns into your readers' minds as soon as they show up on the page!
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