BALANCING NARRATIVE, DIALOGUE, AND ACTION
This question has come up in various forms on the Facebook forums, but I’ve never specifically addressed it as a whole.
I was inspired by a book I just read and one I’m now struggling to get through. Perfect fodder.
To keep a reader from struggling through your tome, something needs to happen.
ACTION
I’m not necessarily doling this out based on the order in the title. I’ll start with action.
Something needs to happen to keep the reader engaged.
Let me repeat: Something needs to happen to keep the reader engaged.
A book with nothing but narrative description or dialogue can be a long and insufferable bore if nothing actually happens. All description does nothing but draw the background for the action. Dialogue must accomplish something and not just be a conversation.
Things need to happen to progress the story.
NARRATIVE
Okay, the narrative includes the description and action. While describing things is a key to give the reader a picture of the environment, characters, place, the action part keeps the story moving.
To me, description needs to be simple and effective. You don’t need to draw out the character’s life story in page after page where nothing actually happens. You need to describe things efficiently and effectively, not in excruciating detail.
The action needs to be blended in with all this so the story moves but doesn’t leave a blank. Too much action is just as bad as not enough.
DIALOGUE
Dialogue should not just be heads talking. The dialogue must accomplish something to move the story along. A little aside once in a while doesn’t hurt, as in giving the characters personality or banter, but it also has to progress the plot or it’s superfluous.
I recently read a first page that was all dialogue. Though the talking was okay, there was no sense of place, what the story was about, or who these characters were. It was a perfect example of what not to do.
I personally like to use dialogue, but have to keep in mind to balance it with the action and description.
While dialogue and action can be a bit more than description, you shouldn’t neglect describing things. However, do it with a sentence or paragraph, not with a page.
SUMMARY
Writing and showing/telling a story requires a balance to keep the reader engaged. It should not be what I’m suffering through in the book I’m currently reading. In fact, I got sixty pages and put it down. I’d had enough.
Think about that when you think of the books you couldn’t put down, or the ones you finished without even realizing time had passed. Those are the killer books out there!
Happy writing!
AS AN AUTHOR, DO YOU NEED A WEB SITE? REDUX
A question that comes up a lot on the forums is that as an author, do you need a web site? Since I originally posted this version in 2021, I’ve seen multiple questions on the Facebook forums about web sites. So, here it is again.
If you’re going to publish, it behooves you to establish a web site.
I’ve discussed this several times here at Fred Central, the latest as of 2021.
Web sites are relatively cheap, considering how much you’ll have to fork out for marketing.
What takes the time is having something to write about.
EVERY AUTHOR NEEDS A PLATFORM
The number one question every newbie asks is that if they have a web site, what do they put on it?
Good question!
If you bother to put up a web site, it should be more than just a place holder for your books.
Why?
Well…it’s going to get boring fast, especially before and in-between books.
There’s not going to be much to look at except maybe an occasional blurb about the book, the cover, or the “same ole same ole” thing Amazon or Barnes & Noble already posts for you. So, why should you go through the hassle to regurgitate that?
You need a platform (or agenda), something to attract readers and fans.
WHAT’S A PLATFORM?
While I’m repeating myself from earlier articles, I don’t mind going over it again.
A platform (sometimes called an agenda) is a subject that’s near and dear to your heart to attract readers between books.
It’s a way to keep them from forgetting you’re out there.
It’s also a way to engage and keep them interested.
A platform is usually, but not always, writing oriented, or of some subject somehow related to your book or books.
Say you write romances. Your platform could be something to do with romance.
Your book series could be fantasy. Your platform could be about medieval armor or fighting.
Your book or series could be westerns. Your platform could be about old-time western recipes.
My platform, as you can see, is about writing.
I’ve been doing it now since 2012 and post an article every Tuesday. I now have 671 articles out there. Admittedly my following is modest, but I don’t care. I’ll take what I can get. I love writing and will continue to do so. Some of you may have greater or lesser success. It’s up to you.
SUMMARY
As I like to say, creating a web site isn’t all that hard and there are numerous hosts you can choose. It’s not rocket science.
Use it wisely, Grasshopper.
Happy writing!
WHAT’S ANOTHER WORD FOR…
I’ve addressed this multiple times but figured a fresh approach, or as fresh as I can make it is warranted. I see this question asked all the time on the Facebook forums.
My usual answer is to figure it out for yourself so you own it. Neutral sources like a thesaurus, any book, or a list of some kind is to me a lot better than a suggestion from someone who may or may not expect anything in return.
I’m not a fan of asking the community, though it’s a legitimate course of action which may or may not be with baggage.
NAMES
In my many discussions on names, I’ve had a few solid sources. For real-world names, the phone book (if you can find one) is a good place to start. A baby names book is another. Then there’s just looking a bylines on some on-line articles for plenty of names. You can mix the names up to get something catchy or unusual. I have it easier since I’ve been around forever and have been exposed to hundreds of thousands of names. It doesn’t take me much to come up with something.
Now, for fantasy and some science fiction, it can get a bit trickier. You don’t want to have a fantasy series with Jeffs and Marys and Bobs and Dorothys. To come up with unique names it may be as simple as bastardizing a real name versus just throwing some letters together to see what comes out. There is always the old fantasy book standby and altering names from your favorite books as long as they’re different enough not to be a copy. Examples of mine are Queelan, Baldar, Niin, Meleena. I just made them up on the fly or derived them from my old D&D characters which I also named on the fly.
THINGS
In the real world, coming up with technical terms or any other is as simple as looking on Wikipedia or Google. You want a name for a religious ceremony. Look up religious ceremonies or such and comb for technical terms. In the real world, you have to stick with conventions so as not to get called out for technical errors.
I’ve seen a lot of questions about such and such ceremony (or whatever) in a cultural setting like Samurai, Native American, or some other culture that the book is based on. In that case, if you can get a clue from someone online, that’s great. However, there’s nothing wrong with researching the culture on your own, especially if you intend to base the book after it. Getting something incorrect might offend someone.
For fantasy and science fiction, as long as you’re not blatantly basing it on some real-world culture (where it’s obvious), the world is your oyster. A mishmash of things you’ve been exposed to works fine since you’re building this unique world. However, the key, especially with science fiction, is it still has to be technically correct (as in the science part). In fantasy, you can pretty much make up whatever you want as long as it makes sense, and you follow your own rules.
SUMMARY
You ever heard the term “there are a million ways to skin a cat”? When it comes to names of people and things, the same applies. The key is to apply your head.
Happy writing!
BREAK
After doing this since 2012, I decided it was okay to take a break for a few weeks. It’s not like I had a lot going on during the holidays, but not having to think of any new articles for a few weeks was a nice rest. Here in 2024 it’s time to get going again.
I LOVE TO WRITE
There’s no doubt I love to write but since I’ve had no particular ideas or feelings to get out, all I did during this time was do the final tweaks to an old/new short story I wrote called The UFO. It’s fiction but 75% true.
The UFO started as a short story a few years ago and I submitted it to our annual Henderson Writer’s Group anthology but it never made the cut. It was far enough back I lost the original critique e-mail results due to a new computer, so I had to rely on memory and a real fresh outlook. This time I also read (or maybe re-read) it to the writer’s group and got some great feedback. This I (mostly) incorporated into the story.
Outside of that, my prime writing came as Facebook posts.
Not a whole lot, but something.
IT DOESN’T HURT TO TAKE A BREAK
Taking a break doesn’t mean you’ve lost interest in writing. There’s no reason to create artificial deadlines to keep motivated, especially if you’re not on a publication schedule (which I’m not right now). A breather gives you a chance to ponder other ideas, new ideas, nothing at all.
A fresh take doesn’t hurt.
SUMMARY
DO NOT feel guilty about taking a break.
See you many times in the future.
Happy writing!
STARTING OVER
Sometimes you just have to admit whatever you’re doing isn’t working. You can toss it all and start over. Or, you can set it aside and start over. In either case, there may come a point when you’re not making progress, or what you’ve written isn’t what you expected.
IS STARTING OVER THE BEST IDEA?
First off, you shouldn’t be competing with yourself. If you’re in such a way that you feel compelled to finish whatever you started because you don’t want to waste the time, think of this. The longer you feed that bad idea, or bad start, the more likely your frustration is going to be magnified.
Maybe your idea just wasn’t meant to be. That’s no reflection on you. Anyone can have a false start or two. It doesn’t waste time, it’s a lesson on what not to do.
It’s far more productive to quit while you’re ahead.
Then again, making it a habit is not the best idea.
STARTING OVER AND OVER AGAIN
This should not be happening. If you start something, stop and start over again every time you sit down to work a project, you’re never going to get anywhere. Ever.
SOLUTION
The reason starting over usually occurs is back up at the top where I say an idea just isn’t working. The best way to avoid that is to plan.
Yes, planning sounds like plotting and it can be if you’re a plotter. If you’re a pantser, planning can also work.
MY STORY
It’s always best to lead by example and I have a few doozies for you. While I hadn’t thought about it in a long time (actually forgot until now), I also had a few false starts.
Why?
I never fully figured A, B and the title before I started writing. That’s why I advise to never start writing without a set plan. I’ve also seen it in plenty of other writers with as many of them as I’ve met over the years.
I started one idea for a chase story. The only thing I can recall was the hero’s ring tone was Smoke On The Water. Somewhere, I still have the start of that story archived. However, it wasn’t fully formed so I just dropped it and started over. In another case, I never started writing. I got the title right off and pondered multiple ideas, but never figured A and B so I also have an empty folder with the title and nothing to show for it.
False starts aren’t the end of the world. Never forming a complete idea before you start and not learning from that could be.
PRECIOUS TIME IS ONLY PRECIOUS WHEN YOU DON’T LEARN FROM IT
The whole idea of false starts and starting over is that you learn from it and learn not to waste your precious time. The better you get at planning, the more likely you’re going to finish. Does that mean that every idea is going to gel?
Once in a while, what sounded like a great idea doesn’t pan out in the writing process. In that case, save what you got and start over. You can always come back to it with a fresh outlook. Maybe you just didn’t see the light at the time.
SUMMARY
There’s no such thing as wasting time when you’re formulating ideas. Not every plot is going to be a winner. As long as every idea isn’t that way where it becomes a habit, you’re eventually going to strike gold.
Confidence comes with time and effort. You can always have self-doubt, but if you don’t let it get to you, eventually you’re going to succeed. If self-doubt is your focus, quit for a while and do something else. If writing is truly a passion, you won’t care whether other people will like it. You write for yourself. Eventually, through a false start or two, you’ll come up with a great idea that makes the whole process a pleasure instead of a frustrating mess.
Happy writing!
GOALS
I’ve written about this subject twice, in 2012 and 2019. The other day, I was reminded of it again for the same reasons and figured it’s time to do a redux.
While participating in multiple Facebook discussions, I came across the subject of goals in a writing group.
“What are your writing goals?”
That was the question of the day. I actually see it all the time, but I finally responded.
My original answer?
“My main goal is for the reader to know that my writing didn’t get in the way of the story and most of all, I want them to be able to close the book (the last page) with a big smile on their face. Can’t ask for more than that.”
In my original post, I forgot “the last page” but I think everyone will figure it out.
Since then, I’ve rethought things. Now I say “I don’t set goals, that’s not the way I work.”
GOALS
I immediately thought of the usual goals of making a living, going for max sales, or any of the mercenary business things one might think about in this quite often frustrating undertaking. I also thought of word count.
Why?
Well, for one, I’m a frustrated and failed musician who never really got much out of three decades of loving to play, but not being loved in return. While some people liked our stuff, the whole hassle and everything that went with it wasn’t all that artistically satisfying, especially when to even get heard, we were forced to play cover songs. That brings up another point that if we didn’t play them exactly like the record, we sucked. Given the thousands of dollars in gear and hours of practice, you can see the payoff for doing something we loved wasn’t all that inspiring, especially when we tried to sneak in an occasional song we wrote, or played a cover song the way we really wanted to.
Writing gave me a better outlet, one where at first, the idea of getting published and maybe striking lightning had a bit of appeal. After twenty years and 689 rejections, I was just too old to give a crap when I finally earned my first publishing contract. I do it for the love and passion of writing, which I already had from day one. Getting published always took a second seat to the love of creating stories.
In a nutshell, getting published and selling books was always a distant second or third to the pleasure of writing, editing and honing my craft. I figured if lightning ever struck one day, so be it. If not, I could live with that.
I got published, but it wasn’t exactly lightning striking. It was hard earned. As of right now, I’m not exactly setting the world on fire.
On the other hand, I’ve made a small group of fans.
In that way, I’ve already reached both of my goals, and continue to do so every time someone new reads one of my books. I have the potential to make a lot of new fans. There are some that will never like my stuff, of course. So what? Apples, oranges. For the ones that do, they’re my legacy.
Folks, I’ve reached my goals. Of course, I’d like to reach a wider audience, but will it ever happen? Maybe one day.
MOTIVATION
My change of answer was because of the context of the question. It was presented like goals were there for motivation, to keep one writing.
In that case my answer is different in that I don’t really set goals anymore. I don’t have to. I don’t need some artificial word count number, or other motivational goalpost to keep me writing. I write because I have to, I love it, and don’t need any of that to keep me motivated. It’s self-propagating.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
What are your goals?
Are you out to create art, get paid, gain popularity, or a bit of all three? Or, like me, do you just love it and do it when you feel like it, but still get things done?
We’ve once had a speaker at our writers group, and his main goal was to make money. Of course, he could do it in a thousand other ways, but he chose writing because he loves to write. He just had a different approach to the medium. There’s art, of course, but the main goal for him was to make a living.
I understand and wish him the best. Funny, I don’t hear much about him anymore.
I, on the other hand, have a real job and have no plans to quit anytime soon.
If my books finally take off by some quirk of fate, or maybe because people just wake up to my writing, so be it. I still probably won’t quit my job. We’ll see.
What are you after?
Many I’ve talked to just write as a hobby. They get frustrated with all that’s involved. A good many of these people got into this to do a memoir. A one-and-done. After that? A lot of them lose interest and move on to some other less complicated hobby.
Then there are those where writing is a passion. They write all the time, so doing novels or short stories is part of their DNA. If you’re one of them, are you young enough to consider this a career? Are you mercenary enough to have both? Can you have both art AND business acumen to be a success? Are you willing to make artistic sacrifices to make a living rather than write from the heart?
Goals are great motivators. If you don’t have any, you may wallow in indecision and never complete anything. Even if you have your plot mapped out, or are a pantser, and have A and B already set, if you don’t have a particular goal in mind, separate from whatever plot the book might have, guess what?
Procrastination sets in.
You’ll be spending more time on Facebook or being distracted by roadblocks than doing any actual writing every time you sit down at the computer.
You’ll talk a lot about your story and what you’re going to do, but without an actual solid goal, you may never actually get there. That great story with the great plot will never get finished.
SUMMARY
Either you need goals, or you don’t, depending on your relationship with writing. If you use them, your goals should be well-defined. I don’t use goals anymore – don’t need to. Yet, underneath it all, they’ve been the same from ever since I wrote The End on that original draft of The Cave, my first-ever novel. Once I figured out I could do it, I never looked back. Getting published has always been in the background, but never front and center compared to just writing the best I can, when I want to, and creating stories that’ll put a big smile on the reader’s face. Can’t ask for more than that.
Happy writing!
PLOTTING
While I’ve alluded to plotting many times, I’ve never specifically addressed it as the prime subject. I want to remedy that.
WHAT IS THE PLOT?
The plot is the entire reason for the book. It’s the problem and the solution to whatever predicament the main character is in.
SEVEN TYPES OF PLOTS
Here are the basic seven (some say nine, but I don’t have them all) plots:
- Rags to Riches: The MC loses a fortune (or never has one in the first place) and earns it by the end of the book.
- The Quest: The MC must travel to a location, look for some object, obtain it, and prevail in the end.
- Rebirth: Usually involving religion but can be otherwise. Character goes through trials and tribulations. In the end, realizes “whatever” and is reborn.
- Overcoming the Monster: Pretty much self-explanatory.
- Comedy: Another pretty self-explanatory.
- Tragedy: Mirror image of comedy. Character undone by a character flaw or by cruelty of fate.
- Voyage and Return: Similar to The Quest except there is no particular McGuffin in the mix.
WHICH PLOT DO YOU LIKE?
Most authors favor one particular plot or a variation (a mix). It especially works well with a series. Pretty much all the books in the series will have the same plot with variations.
Some of you may want to mix plots and come up with a new one. However, boiling it down, it’ll still end up one of those seven in one form or another.
GETTING THERE
Nobody should ever start writing a novel with no plot in sight. Hoping to hit a revelation midway through the book is going to result in chaos and something that doesn’t make sense.
Plotter: In this case, you map everything out ahead of time. Outline enough specific details so that when you actually start writing, you have a pattern to follow. Your plot should already be there, and an outline may help determine if there are flaws.
Pantser: The pantser knows where to start and where to end. Everything in the middle is a surprise and should all be focused toward the end goal.
ME
I’m a pantser and my methodology is simple. I figure the title (some subject), the beginning (A) and the ending (B). That’s it. The plot is right there, waiting for the twists and turns and maybe some misdirection to make it unique.
SUMMARY
Whatever method, whatever plot, it’s essential you figure that out before you put any effort into the actual writing.
You’ll be better off.
Happy writing!
A SUCCESSFUL BOOK SIGNING
To many, like me, marketing is the worst part of publishing a book. I love every aspect of the process except the marketing. Then again, there are times when the marketing part has its benefits, such as with a successful book signing event.
This just happened to me so while I don’t always sell, I always have fun.
THE EVENT
We set up at the Enterprise library (or as I call it, wyberry) at about 9:45, and got ready for the crowd to swoop in. Ha ha.
For these library events, the setup circumstances differ from one to the next. We were allowed banners. Since I have two, and given the space available, I only opted to set up one, Meleena Treasure of The Umbrunna. My table mate, a very nice Korean lady, offered to let me use some of her space for the second banner, I just didn’t want to do that.
I was greased and ready to kick ass once the time arrived.
SITTING THERE…
The majority of the event was networking with other authors, especially my table mate. I watched her sell a few books which was nice but as for myself, I only had a few inquiries while one young girl was interested in Treasure but picked it up and thought it was free! I told her the price and she disappeared back into the library to ask her mom for some money, but I guess that didn’t work out because she never returned. Oh well…
After a while, given how slow it was, we started watching the clock. While I don’t mind sitting around and networking, when it’s three hours, it can get a bit much!
ALMOST TIME TO PACK UP
Much to my surprise, two ladies, schoolteachers, showed up and came right to me. They said they did their research beforehand and almost didn’t make it in time. I was kind of floored that they looked me up. The first one wanted Treasure but when I told her the price for the pair (including Gods), she said why not? The second lady was interested in the Gold series and bought both books at once.
I could almost say I got writer’s cramp signing four books at once!
YOU NEVER KNOW
This proves that you never know what’ll happen at a book signing. I’ve sold, given away, and traded books at various events. Now that I’m selling each series as a discounted set, I seem to be doing better selling multiple books. In this case, with barely fifteen minutes to go, I scored big. I’ll take it as a huge win!
SUMMARY
While these events can be excruciating, especially for first-timers, the key is patience. Take any of it as a win, whether you sell or not. Networking with other authors is a win too.
Happy writing!
WHAT’S IN A NAME REDUX
INTRO
I’ve talked about this in 2013 and as recently as 2018 and again in 2020. I thought it worth revisiting again since it’s come up multiple times not only on the Facebook forums but in a book I’m currently reading.
While I am going to repeat info I’ve conveyed before, I’ve been inspired to add to that. There’s stuff I failed to mention before when it comes to naming your characters. Without further adieu, let’s get going.
WHERE TO START?
It may seem like an easy task to come up with character names, whether they’re fictional or real (and you generally have to use fictional names to protect the innocent or avoid lawsuits) (more on this later). You can pull the names out of a hat, out of the air, or mix and match them from a baby name book if you want. Maybe you can pull them randomly out of the phone book. Some well-known authors even run contests to publish fan names in their novels. As new writers, you probably don’t have a fan base for that purpose, so you’ll have to rely on other means.
Most of us, I imagine, pull them out of the air, probably inspired, like me, from random people and events around us at the time. Maybe they’re from something that happened in our past.
The inspiration for the name (not the actual character) Joseph “Detach” Datchuk, the main character in my Gold series, came from a guy I knew in elementary school.
On the other hand, in that same series, I pulled Mildred Pierce out of the air. It wasn’t until almost nine years later that I learned she was the name of a very famous character in a novel from the 40’s that I’d never heard of. That was purely coincidental.
Meleena, from my fantasy series is completely made up. I’d never heard of anyone with that name when I discovered a disc jockey on Sirius XM radio with a similar, but different spelled version of that name.
NO BEARING ON REALITY
I must make one thing very clear. These character names, even if inspired by real people, have no bearing on the real people! One has nothing to do with the other. The kid I got the name Detach from in no way resembles the character in my novel in either appearance or personality. The same for Mildred Pierce, or any other character I’ve named, so far at least. Maybe someday, when a fan that wants to be in one of my books, they’ll get a little piece of their appearance or personality added to a character. Not much, but maybe a tiny bit, as a tribute.
I could go on and on. For you, sometimes you just hit it right and sometimes without realizing it, you nail some famous or infamous name and don’t know until someone tells you about it. As for Mildred Pierce, she’s a sidekick in the Gold series and I’m very fond of her. I have no intention of changing her name. I may throw in a comment about the famous novel but maybe not. There are probably hundreds of women named Mildred Pierce, so I don’t see changing it. It’s not like her character is named Angelina Jolie. That would be too unique to get away with.
FANTASY NAMES – PITFALLS
An issue with making up names, especially in fantasy (but not exclusively) and science fiction worlds (world building) are similar sounding names. During a recent Facebook forum, this exact subject came up. My response was part of the following, but a shortened version. Below is the original long version.
The subject of similar sounding names came up in Meleena’s Adventures – Gods Of The Blue Mountains. The main character is, of course, Meleena. That name is totally unique. In this first sequel, she’s hanging with a female Elf I’ve been calling Alinda. One of my critiquing friends pointed out that Meleena and Alinda sounded too much alike. I referred to my handy-dandy Meleena’s Adventures encyclopedia. I hadn’t alphabetized it yet, which prompted some much needed housekeeping. I have sections for names, places, creatures and things. It was enough of a sidetrack just to get through reordering the names. With that done, I went through every character name, one-by-one, from both books. Since then, I’ve added more from the third book as well. Since Alinda and Meleena did sound a lot alike, I had to find something unique, something that didn’t sound like any of the other common character names. It wasn’t long before I settled on Niin. There’s no other name like it. Where did I come up with it? I pulled it out of the air. I could’ve spent all day doing the same with random names, but that was honestly the first one that popped into my head. No indecision, no agony or worrying. Guess I just got lucky.
When you’re creating names for your story, similarity must be a consideration. Sound-alike names tend to confuse the reader. After a while, readers may not be able to distinguish between characters and that’ll weaken the impact of your prose. Each name should be different and distinctive. Alphabetizing my encyclopedia, which I should’ve done long before this point, helped me see the big picture. It’s especially important in fantasy world building, where I have to make up names. I can’t be using Karl and Joe and Fred.
In a conventional novel, you don’t want your common characters to all be named Ted and Fred and Jed. Or Jan and Fran and Nan. That would drive a reader nuts, and it wouldn’t be long before they’d lose track of who’s who.
There should be a distinct difference between names.
COMING UP WITH THESE NAMES
Where do I come up with these quirky fantasy names in the first place?
Maybe that goes with my fascination with foreign languages. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been keen on foreign tongues. Then, as an adult, I lived overseas and was exposed to multiple foreign languages. I got used to alternative tongues, accents, spelling and such. Making up my own words and names is no big deal. In fact, I’ve seen that in plenty of other fantasy authors. I can’t vouch for how easy they came up with the names, but they do.
Over the years, on multiple threads on the Facebook fantasy site, many people have polled the forum for ideas for names. While that’s one way, to me, these names should come from you, the writer, not from others. If someone else gives you the name, then it’s their idea, not yours. You don’t completely own it. Of course, if you take their name, modify it to make it your own, you could say you came up with it, but I, personally, wouldn’t want that. That’s just me.
However, you have to do whatever works for you, and if polling others is the method that gets you there, go for it.
EASY TO PRONOUNCE
The final thought on made-up names is to make them easy to pronounce. Don’t create tongue twisters that need pronunciation guides. Words with lots of punctuation, or with “French” or Gaelic spellings that don’t correspond to how they’re pronounced in English isn’t a good idea either. Okay, maybe a little, but only one or two…maybe. Give the name, how it’s pronounced, and leave it at that. Don’t have a whole bunch of names like that, or the reader is going to skip over them and blank out your “finely crafted artistic expressions.” I know I would. In fact, I often just make up my own pronunciation, regardless of what the author says.
Sometimes getting hung up on a pronunciation can be a distraction. It’s a great way to jerk a person out of the story.
WHAT ABOUT REAL-WORLD PEOPLE IN AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR NON-FICTION STORY?
When you’re writing an autobiography or real-world historical story, things can get tricky. If your story requires you to use real people, you must be aware of possible lawsuits and slander and the whole gamut of real issues. Even using someone’s name supposedly in an innocent fashion can lead to major heartache if the person doesn’t want their name in print. It’s a lot more difficult to vet something like that. In some cases, it might be better to substitute fictitious names rather than deal with all the legal implications.
SUMMARY
Whatever the case, naming characters can be fun or a real headache, depending on how you want to approach the issue.
Happy writing!
The Worlds Of Fred Rayworth 