I've posted before about the importance of first lines. How all the writing and craft of the written word tomes are filled with telling the readers of its import. So, now I always make a post of first lines (here) and last (here). At the moment I'm reading a book my brother gifted to me through Kindle (a process I found a tad maddening, but as it is not the subject of this post I shall press on). This novel, although lacking a great first line has names in it that are almost as good as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Pepe Silvia.
"Chinese Gordon was fully awake."
Thomas Perry and Carl Hiaasen - Metzger's Dog: A Novel
The name by itself made me give it a second look. The intrigue factor however is quite low. Given just a few more sentences the intrigue ramps up.
"Chinese Gordon was fully awake. He’d heard the clinking noise again, and now there was no question the cat was listening too. The cat, Doctor Henry Metzger, had assumed the loaf-of-bread position on Gordon’s blanket, his ears straight up like a pair of spoons to catch the sound and lock onto it."
You know that if it's a novel by Hiaasen with names like Chinese Gordon and Doctor Henry Metzger (the cat) you are in for a pretty fun ride.
2 comments:
I made this observation when reading Steig Larsson's posthumous firsts: The opening line at each change in POV began with that character's name. I thought it was very effective for a third person roaming pov. I get stuck in finding the "perfect" name that has some sort of underlying meaning. Any advice for a newbie novelist?
What a fabulous question and one I've asked many times as well. I always find a working name and press on writing as if names aren't important (eventhough in the back of my mind I know they are). BUT, that's where I let it stay, in the back of my mind. Usually, nay, invariably, my mind back keeps chewing on those names throughout the editing and rewriting process till something gets spit out. Basically, I understand its import but don't let it drag me down. I also make full use of baby name generators (I like this one the most http://babynamewizard.com/voyager) and foreign language dictionaries to help find meaningful names. What a great idea for my next post! Thanks! Keep reading.
Post a Comment