Quote:
Originally Posted by DixieGal
If you want your character to be called Triathelete, then call him Triathelete. Don't spell it Tr'th'leit and expect me to care. Nothing turns me off faster than trying to sound out something with too few vowels and too many apostrophes. It is very intrusive and I can never lose myself in the story.
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I have some characters like that with apostrophes in the name. But they're put there for a purpose to divide the name into two distinct elements. It kinda works the same as adding a dash, but it looks cooler.
Example Gayik'Von vs Gayik-Von. The first looks cooler and gets the same job done. And I certainly don't use it to hide vowels. For me it's a unique way to cut names in two. And there's actually only two book series I use it in, and for two races only. The Gayik'Von in my Earthfleet saga, and the Sattazins in the Land of the Lions series. And even in those two instances, the uses are limited to a couple of names.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
"Chevron Drive"
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Fill her up, Scotty! And make sure you use premium!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
Rule: Don't feel obligated to explain a character or alien's entire life history and racial background when you first meet them. Your character's having a pet Targ at age nine probably has nothing to do with the story, and is just extraneous filler. Save it for when NBC knocks on your door and wants to turn your book into a TV series.
Work on character-establishing scenes: Scenes where some word or act, early on, does a good job of defining your basic character. Think of Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park movie: We learned in two minor scenes that he thinks he's a tech jinx, and he improvises quickly on his feet.
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Fully agreed! I see too many authors that do that, and I was even guilty of it at one time, until a mentor raked me over the coals about it and explained the right way to do it, which is along the lines of what you mentioned.