I have been using computers since somewhere around 1980 when my Dad brought home a Franklin Ace 1000. Since then, I have switched from Apple to typewriter to ATT back to Apple and finally to PC where I have been for the last 10 years or so.

The problem is, with all that switching, I have, literally, piles of hardcopy in boxes and files and envelopes and binders and anything else I could stuff full of old poems, screenplays, and shorts. Usually, I have about 3 or 4 WIP’s (Works in Progress) at any one time, most at different states of completion, and in between drafts I switch from one to another. One of the things I started doing this summer was limiting myself to 3 original pieces and entering 1 old piece into the computer so I can get it properly archived.

Currently, I am inputting an old screenplay I wrote while I was living out in LA doing the starving actor/writer thing. Beyond the quality of the writing or the story, I am slowly becoming fascinated with how I structured the screenplay, and some of the technique (or lack thereof!) I used… gads… 10 or 11 years ago. One thing in particular I have noted is character names. Just reading the names could tell you who I thought of.

There was Debbie, with whom I was secretly in love, and our friends Kelly and Paul. And Lydia, a friend from college who I missed terribly, along with Chris, Kim and Tom, also friends from college. Reading their names brings back a lot of really good memories of people I thought I would never, ever lose touch with. Of the entire group, only Tom and I remain in contact. Kim, Kelly and Paul have gone on to successful acting careers. Chris moved to Europe and the last I heard he was in Prague. Lydia is probably in New York City. Debbie may have ended up there as well, but last I heard she was heading to Massachusetts.

Why bring this up here? It’s an interesting analysis of more than just fading friendships, I think, and I don’t recall making conscious, specific choices to model their characters after them. Actually, in most cases, the only resemblance is the name itself. But these people were, are, important to me, and their inclusion in the screenplay made it, at the time, a much more personal endeavor for me, just like reading it has become much more personal that it would have otherwise been.

There is more than technique, and form, and grammar to writing. An author needs a personal investment in the story being told. Back then, I personalized the screenplay by using the names of my friends. Were I to re-write it today, many names would change as my vision of them just doesn’t fit the character they represent. That said, the personal relationship with that character is already forged, initially helped along by linking it directly to someone I knew. If I don’t feel that investment, that link with and between the characters, then it is difficult to motivate myself to finish a story. Conversely, a story that has begun to stagnate (or that is being resurrected after a long hiatus) can often be changed quite drastically just by changing a character name.

So if your find yourself stuck, change a name, even if only temporarily. That serial killer got you down with his brooding psychosis? What’s he like as a Billy Joe? Or a Herman? Or even a Dirk? Play with it a little. Perhaps you’ll discover an interesting new personality quirk that really fits him, especially if you keep the quirk and revert to the old name.

Names are your friend.

Oh, speaking of friends… If you happen to think you may be the Lydia, Debbie, Paul, Kim, Kelly or Chris that I mentioned (last names omitted on purpose so the chances are admittedly slim), feel free to drop me line via email or in the comments. It’s been fun thinking about you guys the last couple days and it makes me sad that we all lost touch.