Inneresting 19
issue 19
August 20, 2020
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene 2
Playing the Name Game
Choosing character names can lead to a lot of indecision and staring off into space. Let’s explore some ways to rethink the work of picking character names and relieve some of the pressure of trying to find the perfect ones.
Names are all around
When building the world of your story, there are plenty of other things that need naming. Luckily, you can draw inspiration from the real world.
Learn why some cars have alphanumeric designations, and some get titles like Continental and Fiesta.
Why does putting O at the end of a brand name make you think of cereal?
Of course there’s an official process used to name planets, stars, and asteroids.
“Lego” sounds like Latin, but it’s actually a Danish contraction.
Dr Pepper used to be called “Waco,” and the origins of its name are in dispute.
Rewind: How Arlo Finch got his name
Back in 2017, John took readers down the rabbit hole that lead to naming the protagonist of his book series. Take a look to see how the rhythm and phonetics of the name played a large part in the final choice, along with the realization that readers would see this name a lot throughout the series.
Highland How-To: What to do When Highland Doesn't Recognize a Name
Normally when writing dialogue in Highland 2, all you need to do is write the character’s name in UPPERCASE, press return, and write their dialogue directly beneath it.
CAPTAIN EXPOSITION
Just like this?
Exactly! But what happens if you use a name that’s too short, (e.g. B
) or the character’s name has a lowercase letter in it (e.g. McClane
)?
That’s where Force Character comes in: Just put the @
symbol in front of the character’s name, and Highland will recognize it as a character’s name.
@McClane
Yippee-Kiy-Yay --
For more tips on Fountain Syntax and how to tweak the way Highland 2 displays your writing, check out our knowledge base for additional tips.
Film and TV Title Swaps
They may seem iconic now, but there are plenty of examples of iconic film title revisions and stories of how tv shows went through multiple names while in
development.
Also, Every Star Wars Movie Has The Wrong Title.
Other Cool Things
ScreenplaySubs is a browser plug-in for Netflix that lets you watch select movies side-by-side with their screenplay. A great idea for a tool to look at how a story makes the jump from page to screen!
Netflix recently put together a Twitter thread looking at The Matrix as a trans allegory, including a discussion of how characters adopting chosen names shines a light on the authorial intent behind this reading.
If you’re just in the mood to take in some good writing, try this poetic NYT article on the common swift, a bird that rarely lands.
And that’s what’s inneresting this week!
If you know someone else who might want to read this, please forward it to them. Thanks!
Come across something you think other readers will find inneresting? Reach out to Chris on Twitter @ccsont or email us at ask@johnaugust.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 3rd, 2020
Election Day
ABOUT THIS EMAIL
Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from the entire Quote-Unquote team. Subscribe here.
Links to Amazon may have referral codes from which we might generate tens of dollars.