WIP Challenge Check-in -- Day 30 (Tuesday)

[linaewen]

Yikes, I lost a day somewhere -- and I didn't realize it until it was too late to post yesterday.  I apologize!  I'm glad folks went ahead and commented in Sunday's thread, it was good to know how you all are doing with your writing.  Seems like it's been a pretty encouraging August for most people!

Today is Tuesday -- what kind of writing day is it for you?  What kind of writerly pursuits have you taken part in so far today?

• writing (want to share a word count?)
• planning (brainstorming, researching, outlining)
• editing
• posting
• taking a break
• reading someone else's writing
• dealing with non-writing things on your To Do List

Discussion for the day:  When writing original fic or creating original characters for canon-based fic, how do you go about choosing names for your characters?  Is it a big deal for you to have just the right name or does it not matter all that much?

Comments

[linaewen]

You'd think that actually being engaged in something "writerly" yesterday would have reminded me that I needed to do a check in post, but no. ;-) In any case, yesterday I did some brainstorming for challenge due next month, and once I had a fairly concrete idea of what I wanted to do with the prompt, I did some appropriate research. It should be an interesting thing to write, as I'm going to try to do a character other than the one I usually write!

As for today, I am still involved in the non-writing aspects of my To Do list, but I am hoping to get some time free to tackle some real writing for a change.

Names are a big deal for me, so I spend a lot of time working with name lists and what names mean until I come up with something that seems to "fit" my character. I also try to choose (or create) names that fit the particular culture my characters come from. Awhile back I spent a lot of time doing name research, and compiled a list of names I wanted to use at some point -- now my job is a lot easier, since I just have to choose a name from my list when it's time to create a new character!

[lexicalcrow]

Just managed another ... 1100-ish words on my kinked big bang fic. At around 8.3k, I can't say exactly how far in I am. But I have a possibly evil disembodied voice so that's something. :D?

I actually haven't been writing a lot this month. I hope to change that come September, considering I really do have to get this draft finished by then, so I can't just keep putting it off any more. D: I'm trying to take a 'just keep writing' attitude to it, otherwise I'll end up with three days to go and another 10k to write. XD

It's also a non-teaching week and I spend the day working on assignments too. At least that's something productive, as opposed to just randomly surfing the net at one thirty in the morning. >_> Not that I'd know anything about that.

As for original characters, eh, it depends on how important they are in the grand scheme of things. If they're more important, I'll spend a bit more time on naming them so they get fleshed out a bit more. Otherwise, I'll thumb through my name books until I find something I like. :D /lazy. Alternatively, I follow my instincts, and if someone wants a certain name, they've got it. That makes my life a bit easier.

[ficwriter1966]

No writing so far today, but I'm hoping to get a little bit done before the day's over! Every little bit counts, right?

With OCs - they usually tell me their names, if that makes any sense.

[jagnikjen]

I did a read through all of my fic just to refresh my memory and hoping to spur some ideas on where to go next.

Also been doing a lot of reading.

Discussion...names are important, I think. I don't usually have too much trouble coming up with a name I like. Sometimes characters already come named. When choosing male names I usually choose ones that lend themselves well to the heroine saying them during intimate moments. ;)

[elistaire]

I have two new wips in progress, and one is getting more attention than the other. Have written 700 words today. the rest of the week will have very little time to write, so I'm glad to have gotten something started off! Do other people have general senses about how long their stories will be when they start them? Do they end up being accurate?

As for names--very important to me. It doesn't have to be the right, perfect name, but it needs to be in the general range of correctness for the character to work for me.

[devilc]

I'm about to write in one of my WIPs. I can't give a word count since I'm longhanding it, but I will make myself write for 15 minutes.

Many times a right or right enough name will occur to me when I need it, but if not, I'll just put something down just so's I can keep writing.

Yes, I have used Mary Sue as a placeholder.

[katzenjamming]

I spent most of the day taking a break, but still managed to add a few hundred words' worth of editing to two different fics right before midnight.

Most of what I write takes place in a mundane setting (or something like it), so I do my best to come up with believable, average names, then maybe trying to slip some hidden meaning in there. Sometimes this takes a little research, particularly when the character comes from a background I'm not familiar with. To be honest, while I think names are important, I never find myself fretting over coming up with "just the right one" too much. There are just so many other aspects to characters I find more important and interesting to spend time working on.