Credit to whoever owns this image.
I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Why does she have a picture of Fabio on this post?" Well, there is a very good reason. No, I swear! There is! And it all has to do with names and why they are important.
While looking at the Weather Channel, I saw a post about the latest tropical storm and its name. They mentioned jokes and I could see why. The storm's name is Fabio. Now, that picture makes sense doesn't it? Fabio is a perfect name for something smooth like a hot guy, (Not him. At least for me. But the Fabio from Top Chef totally has my vote!) Or maybe even a dirty old man who's chasing after a pretty young girl. Nothing about the name makes me think dangerous tropical storm that could cause damage and possible hurt or kill someone. And that's what this post is about.
Naming a character is like naming a tropical storm. It should convey what and who that character is. Picture the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. Her name was dark and evil. Heck, it was derived from malevolent. Her name told exactly what her part in the story was and who she was a person. Now imagine if her name had been Glitter. You wouldn't have taken her so seriously would you? That is why names are so important.
Now, there are times using Glitter for example would be perfectly fine. Like if you wanted to mislead your reader into thinking the character wasn't the bad guy, that name would be perfect. In the end it all comes down to your character. You should choose a name that fits who they are and not who you wish they could be. If they're menacing and dangerous, I'd dodge Fabio at all cost. But then again, maybe Fabio can be dangerous. It all depends on how you write him after all.
What names would you not take seriously?
Until next time, happy reading/writing everybody!
