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I mentioned it before, but I really like exploring the life of everyday people who may do extraordinary things. I also like to have characters that have names common to their culture—or common period.  I think it helps with relating to the character. Many authors try to come up with these unique names that are not ethnic but just exotic for the sake of being memorable.

I can’t relate to someone named Blade or Jasmine even, although many women have that name. I also like to use names that represent a facet of the character’s personality. I think that tendency is influenced from my days in college as an English major when I read the English morality play Everyman, where Everyman was the character’s name but it is also a metaphor for everyman. Common names like Tim Arel, (Think about how many people you’ve probably came across who were named Tim) can create a sense of instant normalcy and recognition.

In addition to names, I also want to select occupations that everyday people have.  In doing so, I read about people doing different but not glamorous jobs which can lead to character variety. For example, lots of authors create characters that are in real estate sales or construction. I recently read a story where the character was in property management. We don’t often think about the various positions in real estate and the people that hold these jobs like Tim Arel.

It’s easy to look up an occupation, but it is more interesting to find someone who actually holds the position.  You can create an interesting backstory if you take the time to explore the background of someone who holds the position of your character. Taking a different lesser known position like property management and delving into the career using a person in the field like Tim Arel will create additional realism for your character.

 

 

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