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I searched, I didn't find an answer, so I'll ask here
How do you determine which characters get names and which ones are just generic 'Man' or '[City] Boy' or whatever? I thought I had it worked out, but my WIP has a lot of random characters that may or may not need a name - I just don't know.
There's a lot of gray area with these characters and I could see the arguments either way (especially when the characters' names aren't actually spoken). Still, it is really frustrating having things like 'Woman', 'Woman 2' etc. (And probably very, very lazy on my part...)
If they are important enough to speak then give them meaningful names. You can still do that and give them generic names - instead of WOMAN use HOUSEWIFE or something like that. You can even qualify WOMAN by using something like BLONDE WOMAN.
The trick is to differentiate your characters so the reader can keep track. In the case of nominal characters it is sometimes better to not give them actual names.
What about for, say, a street thug who's got plenty of dialogue in the script for a couple of scenes and that's it, or a little old lady who helps my MC out for a sequence and then dies?
I'm trying to combine characters wherever possible, but in some situations, it's just...not.
Ah, okay. That might actually help with the dialogue trouble I'm having atm with one of them, I suppose.
But do you think it could get frustrating or confusing for a reader to have all these names hanging out there? As it is, all the names are middle-Eastern, so not the easiest to remember.
What about for, say, a street thug who's got plenty of dialogue in the script for a couple of scenes and that's it, or a little old lady who helps my MC out for a sequence and then dies?
That’s not like a doorman holding open a car door. The thug who has plenty of dialogs deserves a name.
The old woman dying most serve some role in the script otherwise she is there for no real reason. If that’s the case, then why is she there?
The way I see it, if we are talking about a one bit line then no, why invest in a character building-
BUT if there is any significance to the player in your tale, then why wouldn’t you flesh them out?
I ask how important are they to the story? Are you going to see them alot? If they are, give them a name. If not, don't.
Hope this helps Gabe
Just Murdered by Sean Elwood (Zombie Sean) and Gabriel Moronta (Mr. Ripley) - (Dark Comedy, Horror) All is fair in love and war. A hopeless romantic gay man resorts to bloodshed to win the coveted position of Bridesmaid. 99 pages. https://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-comedy/m-1624410571/
Treat characters in your script like you would people in your day to day life.
If you go to a bar and have a drink you're probably not gonna pick up too many names. Lots of faces, but no names.
If you go back to that bar on a weekly basis you might start to notice more and more regulars. The fixtures of the place. You might even introduce yourself.
What this means is this - You only note the memorable ones.
Thanks guys, those are some good way of looking at it. With the two examples I've given, I think I'll give the woman a name and the thug a name just for the writing, then just something generic but doable