Dale Hurst – Author - Novelist news and other titbits
  • Home
  • About Dale Hurst
  • Buy My Books
  • Blog
  • Podcast – The Dale Hurst Writing Show
Home
About Dale Hurst
Buy My Books
Blog
Podcast – The Dale Hurst Writing Show
Dale Hurst – Author - Novelist news and other titbits
  • Home
  • About Dale Hurst
  • Buy My Books
  • Blog
    • Lust & Liberty
    • Sin & Secrecy
    • You Can Hear Chopin
    • Short Fiction
    • Poetry
  • Podcast
    • Season 3
    • Season 2
    • Season 1
  • Get in touch
Browsing Category
Archive
Blog

What’s in a Name? — Comments on Complicated Character Names

September 14, 2018 No Comments

I have now sold at least 65 copies of my debut novel in the 15 weeks that it has been available. Quite an achievement in itself, when you consider that most self-published authors don’t sell 50 copies of their first book at all. For the most part, the response has been very positive, though many readers have come up to me and remarked on how their vocabulary has expanded since reading.

The recurring point of “criticism” (for want of a better word) has been the characters’ names, which some have viewed as complicated. So I am dedicating this next post to discussing how complicated character names are rife within literature and that mine are on par with, if not easier to read than some authors.

Charles Dickens At His DeskAs has been discussed before, several great 18th, 19th and 20th century authors influenced my literary style when it came to writing The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty and the related works that came before and after it. Of all of them, two stick out in my mind in having unorthodox, whimsical and downright weird character names. They are Charles Dickens and Mervyn Peake.

When it came to writing the first full Berylford novel, starting back in 2008, I began with a list of 40 characters, many of whom I renamed as time went on, particularly as their surnames were swapped with those of my extended family. To give a few examples, Whitlock, Osborne, Gwynne and Warwick. Others, such as Gussage, are named after areas in Dorset, just as J.K. Rowling named some of her better-known characters after places in England (think Dursley in Gloucestershire, Snape in Suffolk and Flitwick in Bedfordshire).

And then there are those that are just downright odd and came from my imagination, and were partly influenced by those two aforementioned novelists: Dickens and Peake. Any fan of literature will know that Dickens’ characters all had quite characteristic and complex names, some of the more complicated to read on a page that strike me include Tulkinghorn and Jarndyce from Bleak House, Flintwinch and Tattycoram from Little Dorrit, Grewgious from The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Pecksniff and Chuzzlewit from Martin Chuzzlewit. The same goes for surnames like Barquentine and Prunesqualor from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast books.

Upon reading those, would it be fair to say that surnames such as Vyrrington, Haffisidge and Rudgerleigh are less-complicated to read? I would say so. Having said that, those three surnames underwent numerous changes across the eight-year writing process for Lust & Liberty. Only one major family retained their surname from start to finish, and is definitively very Dickensian or Peakesque. Stirkwhistle. I don’t remember how that name came into my head when it did nearly ten years ago, but naming one of my favourite characters to write — Abel Stirkwhistle — I could not imagine him being called anything else.

If all characters in all novels set in a real-life place were given mundane names, how would they be memorable or unique, not to mention representative of the author’s style?


By popular demand, I am going to dedicate some future posts to telling the story behind creating some of my more favourite characters in my Berylford universe; how they first came to be in the stories and what or who influenced them.

 

Continue reading
Reading time: 2 min
Written by: Dale Hurst

Newsletter

About me

This is Dale Hurst here. Novelist and journalist. Subscribe above to receive all updates.

Popular Posts

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Book in Progress

November 15, 2018

No Time Like the Present…

July 1, 2018

“To Err is Human…”

August 4, 2018

You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic: A Brief Overview

January 24, 2019

Categories

  • Ballad of a Godless Man
  • Blog
  • Characters
  • Food Writing
  • Journalism
  • Lifestyle
  • Lust & Liberty
  • Podcast
  • Poetry
  • Short Fiction
  • Sin & Secrecy
  • Travels
  • Writing
  • You Can Hear Chopin

dalehurst_author

The Berylford Scandals (1. Lust & Liberty, 2. Sin & Secrecy) 📚
Podcaster | The Dale Hurst Writing Show🎙️

Dale Hurst | Author
The Season 3 finale will follow suit from last yea The Season 3 finale will follow suit from last year, inviting some talented previous guests to chat about their latest projects and their favourite Christmas films, stories, etc.
🎄Author @alex_colvin_ discusses his current WIP, plus we have a chat about cryptocurrency and AI
🎄Screenwriter @riccio_daniels dishes on his busy summer making films with @culver_motionpictures and we debate what defines a Christmas film
🎄 Videographer @jamie.150 of @jkw.media tells me about his professional journey floor managing at various TV broadcasters
🎄 Actor-playwright @conor_ocuinn and director @tazy_hm talk about the development of @lookingforfunplay and subsequent projects
.
Our Christmas Special arrives Thursday 14th December. CATCH UP and SUBSCRIBE on Spotify (#linkinbio)
.
#thedalehurstwritingshow #writingpodcast #writingprocess #writingprogress #authorsofig #screenwritersofig #filmmakersofig #playwrightsofig #writersofig #creativecommunity
You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic (first draft) i You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic (first draft) is DONE! 🤩🎉📚📖🖋️ 
.
#youcanhearchopinfromtheattic #amwritingthrillers #amwritinghistoricalfiction #worldwar2 #writerreels #authorreels #writingprocess #writingprogress #firstdraftclub #firstdraftcomplete #writersofig #authorsofig
The last of our discussion episodes for the season The last of our discussion episodes for the season featured composer and producer @pacings – here he is, going into one of the many components of his soundtracks 🎬🎥🎶
.
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE to The Dale Hurst Writing Show on Spotify 🎧🎙️
.
#thedalehurstwritingshow #podcastsofig #writingwisdom #writingpodcast #podcastaddict #filmcomposer #musicianlife #producer #creativewritingcommunity #creativesofinsta
It was very difficult to pick out one snippet of w It was very difficult to pick out one snippet of wisdom from @pacings episode of The Dale Hurst Writing Show last week. 
.
Best thing to do, listen to it all on Spotify (#linkinbio) 🎶🎥🎬🎧🎙️
.
#thedalehurstwritingshow #writingpodcast #podcastsofig #podcastsofinstagram #filmcomposer #musicianlife #documentary #authorscommunity #writingwisdom #igwriters
Another eventful month... Some little exclusives i Another eventful month... Some little exclusives in the latest post on my website (#linkinbio) 📖📚🖋️
.
#writersofig #writerslife #writingprocess #writingprogress #youcanhearchopinfromtheattic #thedalehurstwritingshow #authorscommunity #authornetwork #authorsofig #creativewriting #creativewritingcommunity
What goes on in a composer's head when they're try What goes on in a composer's head when they're trying to score a film or documentary? Well, @pacings can tell us more as a composer and producer. Latest episode of The Dale Hurst Writing Show now available 🎶🎵🎥🎬📖📚🖋️
.
LISTEN NOW on Spotify 🎧🎙️ (#linkincomments)
.
#thedalehurstwritingshow #writingpodcast #podcastsofig #podcastsofinstagram #filmcomposer #musicianlife #documentary #authorscommunity #writingwisdom #igwriters
This Thursday, the podcast takes a different direc This Thursday, the podcast takes a different direction as I speak to composer and producer @pacings about how scores and soundtracks can assist the storytelling process in films and documentaries 🖋️📚📖🎬🎥🎵🎶
.
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE to The Dale Hurst Writing Show on Spotify now 🎧🎙️(#linkinbio)
.
#thedalehurstwritingshow #writingpodcast #podcastsofig #podcastsofinstagram #filmcomposer #musicianlife #documentary #authorscommunity #writingwisdom #igwriters
I was always a bit morbid 💀👻 . Nothing like I was always a bit morbid 💀👻
.
Nothing like a good death scene 😆
.
#writerthreads #writingprocess #writingprogress #amwritingthrillers #amwritinghistoricalfiction #writersofig #authorthreads #authorscommunity #authorlife
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Dale Hurst

  • About Dale Hurst
  • Get in touch

Recent Posts

  • Progress Report — November 2023
  • Progress Report — October 2023
  • Progress Report — September 2023
  • Progress Report — August 2023
  • The Dale Hurst Writing Show Season 3 arriving soon

Dale Hurst

  • Email
    dale.hurst93@gmail.com
  • Address
    Poole, Dorset
© 2020 Copyright Dale Hurst // All rights reserved