Auntie's Anti-fiction

How do you choose the specific names for your characters?

In the case of the ones dredged up by yours fooly, sometimes it's a conscious decision to make the names allegorical or symbolic, other times (most of the time) it's "catch as catch can." (That last phrase is a fugitive from "Everything Must Go!")

In the "Bums in Love," (#110) the first names for the rich husband and wife were more or less intentional -- I wanted to choose two of those old names that originated from the person's specific occupation, like "Miller," "Baker, "Cook," etc. "Cooper" originally meant "barrel-maker" and we all know what a tailor does. Spelled with a "y", the androgynous name has been popular in recent years-- perhaps because it looks and sounds "classy," or maybe when Mrs. Van Shaick was a newborn, her mother liked the '80s diva Taylor Dayne. But my couple had the monikers "Cooper" and "Taylor" because those once were names for working people, which these two snobs definitely are not!

Another heavy-handed decision: In "Bums in Love" the Van Shaicks actually envy the other couple who got a windfall from selling a tech company. That's something rich people seem to do: deny the fact that they really are wealthy, or--they never seem to be quite rich enough. The opposite is going on with Sheilia in
"Do Not Go Genteel into that Good Night" (#118). She doesn't want to admit that she's poor.

Originally, the couple in "Do Not Go Genteel into That Good Night" (#118)were going to be named Ralph and Alice after the characters in The Honeymooners. But that reference would have been too obvious; "Jackie" and "Audrey" after the great comic actors in that classic sitcom wouldn't have added more subtlety. So for the wife in the "genteel" was given the first name of the actress who played Alice Kramden in a later version of The Honeymooners: Sheila MacRae. I named her husband after her one-time real-life husband, Gordon,the star of the several movie versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals. Those movies weren't made for the upper-class, more for "mid-cult" audiences, as Dwight MacDonald characterized them. But that's not the sole reason I didn't put Gordon in a sleeveless undershirt --one of those "wife-beater shirts." I purposely didn't want him to appear completely wretched and uncouth, but having enough sensitivity to be hurt by the hedge-word "genteel."

The reason I'm disclosing all this is that within just a day or so that I posted this, I read that Sheila MacRae had died at the age of 92. God, what a weird coincidence! Imagine how I feel, having made an oblique reference that turned out to have a sad ending!

Writers are supposed to be prophetic, but we can't foresee everything. I certainly don't want my writing to be an inadvertent curse.

(You can curse at it, though!)

I really have to stop talking about my "stuff"*, and just let it stand on its own.

*Euphemism.

Oh me oh my! This is incredible. It has been a while since I read something that drew me in so deeply, so quickly. Thanks. The way you weave words is nothing short of inspiring.

This response is a reply on your first short in this thread, titled,

"A Savage Beast maybe With Golden Hair".

I was sort of confused with your narrative when the lower case lettering came up. Without an explanation I was simply left to consider if you were writing on a random tangent or perhaps the story was going to make sense further on. With a deeper narrative this would be an easier read for your readers so that they needn't pause and think about what is going on. I always say that the story should guide the reader, not challenge them.

My favorite part was the lower case lettering part as it presented an oddball character with a peculiar mental handicap. Is it that this character isn't primarily an English speaker or is it that they are missing a screw up in the head? This was entertaining to read because it was so similar in tone to some far flung cavemen mythos with it's vague logicless depictions. If this character's written descriptions are reading like they can't fully grip the names of things such as what a road is called or what is the word for moon then how are they able to write legibly at all?

This story centers around the crime scene cleaners who are quickly disposing of evidence and that makes them crooked. Intriguing, but you don't elaborate much on their disservice. They bring up a law word document on the computer where this wandering mess of lower case lettering is written over the law explanations as though it were an account of importance of things that actually happened hidden away. But these crime scene cleaners knew about it. Once again, no explanation on their motives or what was going on.

So, I was left to give my best guess on those things like a puzzle of sorts. These crooked cleaners decided that they needed to delete this overwritten document to protect someone. It must've been pertinent evidence of some sort, but how? The overwritten document doesn't contain any useful information, in fact, it reads like a random mess of gibberish for much of it. The writer couldn't be considered credible under anyone's standards. So, they must be deleting this document for that very reason... to protect their client because their client is being accused of insanity and this accusation, if proven, could lead to a great loss of some sort. That is what I get out of this. Maybe I am wrong. They are trying to cover up evidence of their client's mental handicaps and this overwritten document is condemning evidence for them.

Then there is the reason that the overwritten document is written in lower case lettering. The writer states within this document that their method of writing it is holding a writing utensil in their mouth. So, obviously, in addition to having a mental handicap, they are also under a physical handicap. Once again, not much mention of the hows or whys on this character's physical situation. It would've been nice to get some insight on those facts.

Perhaps the story title is a hint but I don't really see what the title refers to as I don't see a mention within the story of any sort of thing that ties up on the title.

In recap, I think you are a very creative writer and this story is probably not your best story. I don't see any clichés or copy-catting with your writing and you are obviously into entertaining your readers. I think that if you double the length of this story and give us more to sink our teeth into we would probably be more satisfied with reading it. There really isn't enough narrative and explanation to guide the reader and you must look deep and do a lot of guesswork to make sense of what is really going on within this story.

I score this 65 points for creativity and originality.

This response is a reply to your second short in this thread, titled,

"Jackpot Of Jeopardy"

This short was a nice smooth read and seemed like it wasn't amiss of something vitally important. Happy ending, who doesn't like happy endings?

I score this story 68 points.

This response is a reply on your third short story on this
thread, titled, "Little Shop of Quarters".

My favorite of your stories so far, my only complaints
are a few spelling errors and that you went a little too
far with listing anecdotes a couple times. I like this
one and I think you could make it a full length. Thanks.

I score this one 81 points.

This response is about your fourth
short on this thread, titled,
"Teach Your Parrot to Talk"

Excellent! You are obviously a well
seasoned writer and I would presume
that you are a professional novelist.
I don't see anything wrong with your
parrot story and so far it is my favorite
of yours. Thanks.

I score you another 90 points.

This response is about your fifth story
in this thread, titled,
"The Myth of Generations"

I agree with one of your other
readers that it was surprising when
this tale turned out to be a
reminiscence. I wasn't expecting
such a left turn because the story
was starting to get good. An
appalling central gimmick, with a
baby in a box, I was disappointed
that you quit right there. I wanted
to see how they resolved this
tragedy.

Other than that, the writing was
superb. Drew me in.

I score this one 80 points.

This response is about your sixth short
story on this thread, titled,
"I Don't Care If I Never Get Back".

First off, I didn't even want to read
this one because I thought it was
going to be some sappy pity party.
But, it wasn't.

I guess the "lesson" of this story is
that some fans think that it's alright
to block doorways and demand fans
watch the game? That's sad.

Really, there wasn't anything all that
wrong with your prose, no matter what
pteradactyl man says. Not one of my
favorites though.

I score this one 67 points.

This response is about your
seventh story in this thread,
titled, "3 Septembers"

I read all of this story and
although a steep exercise in
long description and word
marathons, I was somewhat
disappointed.

There are great parts such as the
class in philosophy where some
personality in your characters
shined through, but overall
the piece meanders through
recollections too much for my
personal tastes.

The tone is very introverted and
reflective and I am left wondering
when I would reach the end.
You tie it all together but the
profundity isn't there to match
reading through all of the thing.

Cutting some of the sprawl and
filling in the missing words would
definitely reduce the mind numbing
monotony. But you know, I'm not
a girl, so I guess it would be unfair
to ask for some gun fights and
car chases.

Anyways, I score this story 59 points
for professionality and writing ability.

This response is about your eighth
short story in this thread, titled,
"Chopped Liver".

This narrative really seemed well
constructed. The whole thing
flowed smoothly without any
surprising or jarring turns.
Although the story read like a
memoir made for Hallmark
without really a plot, for the
sake of reading and being a
reader I enjoyed this. Your
vocabulary and finesse with
sentence structure is top notch.
Thanks.

I score this short 83 points.

This response is about your ninth short story
in this thread, titled,
"A Change Would Do You Good".

The tone and quality in this story is much like
the one you posted on this thread before it.
I like this one to a further degree and aside
from the usual errors like mis-spellings and
mis-placed words, I don't got criticism to add
to what has already been noted with your
previous readers.

I score this short 87 points.

like the style. Difficult to know what was going on sometimes.

This response is about your tenth
shared story on this thread, titled,
"Ultraman and the Pagan Babies".

Although this story easily makes
"the literary grade" I am disappointed
in a missing plot device. I was half
waiting for Ultraman to leap out of
a comic book and suprise everyone but
this short seems to trade in excitment
for word count. This story fizzes out
with a boring classroom scene that I notice
is a recurring setting for your creations.
I think you are holding back intentionally.
I know that developing a story within
such a brief format is a difficult task
but I also know that you can do much
greater than this.

I score this 71 points.

This response is about, "The Worm",
your eleventh short story in this thread.

I am appreciating your writing sensibilities.
This piece has a charm and attitude that
is candid and uplifting without trying too
hard. The idea of the man who wants to
see his wife squirm at a surprise furry
rodent makes me laugh, I don't know why.

I score this story 84 points because there's
nothing wrong with the narrative and I
don't even think about being a critic while
reading it. Thanks.

This response is about "All to Myself, Alone",
short story twelve on this thread of yours.

You seem very knowledgeable of
Catholicism and the mental state
of such permeating religious tone
as your characters seemed
authentic and the story could be
true.

I score this story 72 points.