March 18, 2024
NAMING NAMES IS SO ON THE NOSE?  CHARACTER DIALOGUE

NAMING NAMES IS SO ON THE NOSE?  CHARACTER DIALOGUE

What do you think about how characters introduce themselves to other characters that don’t know their name?  Is it on the nose?

So, I am working on this scene in chapter 14 where a terrified Sirena (my main character) has just seen the werewolf pack    in their nonhuman form, and she is scared shitless   by their appearance being their red eyes.   So, she doesn’t   say anything to them, but she is freaking out.  So, her   love interest Cristen, alpha of the pack, in his point of view   introduces himself and the rest of the pack excluding Adrian (he isn’t there) by name to get her to calm down.  

 So, my question is:

Is naming names within a scene like this so on the nose?

Let’s explore.  Well, if you think about it, do we use each other name in daily conversation when we are talking? No.  Because   that would lead   to boring and stilted   conversation, right?

But what about when we first meet someone? 

Someone usually says, ” What’s your name?”  or ” Who are You?”

And   we usually say, ” my name is so and so,” right?  And that’s okay because we have never met that person.

But what about when it’s in fiction?   Can we name names? 

Answer is It depends. 

 Dialogue is the trickiest component in writing a fiction novel. Things can easily get bogged down and messed up making the dialogue seem stilted and unreal.   But when writing dialogue, we want to make it as real as we can.

So naming names in fiction is only really used for emphasis or trying to get a character’s attention.  But must be careful not to overuse it.

In my case   I only use   this one   time in my novel for two reasons   really:

  • Because my main character Sirena has  never  met  the pack
  • And second because  she is freaking out and Cristen  trying to  get her  to calm down  .  

So, I’m going to see where this naming names scene takes me, and I’ll let you know how  it goes . 

If you liked this blog post and you want to  see more content involving my work in progress During the Blue Hour Follow , Like , share  . But first  LET’S START A DIALOGUE

Have you written or read a dialogue scene where the one character is naming names?

 I  want to know so let me know in the comments  below.

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