I have gotten in to chapters 1-6 and I am not feeling my main MC name or SC name anymore. Can I change there names now or is it too late?
I can't imagine why that would be an issue. Go ahead and change them as long as you're comfortable with it.
NO. Don't listen to these lies. The moment you finish the first chapter those names are set in stone. Those characters are living, breathing entities who are going to be PISSED if you start changing their names now, and furthermore, their true names will haunt you in your sleep. When you've finished writing people will read it and notice how off putting and demoralised the characters names are now. And that's assuming the SC doesn't start changing the names right back when you're asleep. But at least the villain will never be able to find the heroes because s/he's looking for the wrong name. Which means the final conflict will never happen, and even after you die you will be damned to continue writing that story for all eternity and never finish it or be forgiven. DON'T DO IT! ...
Why would they be set in stone, Nameless? As long as everything feels right and is consistent when you send it off to publishers, what's the big deal with making these kinds of changes before you finish writing? You can always change them back if you decide that it was a mistake. Chandler, I find when people are asking these kinds of questions, they are worrying too much. Relax. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Have fun. Everything you write can be fixed in revisions.
I have changed character names well into the writing before. In one case, two characters who interacted throughout the story had names that were too similar in sound, so I changed one of them to reduce confusion. In another case, my main character had the same name as the title character in a Stephen King novel, an association I did not wish to make. That's the beauty of word processiors - you can quickly do global replace when you need to change something like a name. For that reason I don't tear my hair out over getting just the right name from the outset.
Thank you. I just am not feeling them anymore and I think that chaning is what is best, That you for all you help cog, Banzai, Rei and OneMoreNamless
lol I'm glad I'm not the only one that sometimes does that, Rei. he did tell it with great confiction though, I almost agreed with him a few times
Yes you can. I recycled my MC's name in the piece I am working on now as someone else's surname within the story. I am many chapters in at this point. As long as your writing software is up to the task of finding and replacing, you should be able to make this kind of change even at the end of the writing.
I remember my characters by the names I have given them. If I was to change their names after six chapters (or even before starting to write about them) I would fail the continuity test all over the shop. I would be calling Joe Tom and Tom Joe and Joe Jom and Tom Toe. But maybe that's just me. What's in a name anyway? It helps mould the character just by its existence. A name can tell you quickly many things about the character that a thousand words may not even scratch the surface of. Say a boy is named Marion; he would have problems a boy called John could not imagine. Nameless characters are enigmatic and mysterious simply because we cannot name them. Once we know the name, we feel we have been introduced and begin to feel a tenuous connection. The name is important but if it has to be changed, change it.
Quoted for truth. Seriously, change the characters name if you're no longer "feeling" it. No point in being bothered by it the whole story.
Can you incorporate the name change into the story line? Turn your change of feelings into an story twist.
There's nothing wrong with changing the names of a character or two. If the names don't feel like they fit the characters anymore, then the names don't fit and the characters need new ones.
