Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Andy’s Green Underpants

Yet another of the shattering factoids I've run into was that Andy Warhol always wore green underpants.
Who knew?
Who cares?

Obviously Andy did, or he wouldn't have done  it.
This made me think. What undisclosed facts do I store when I create fictional characters?

Some who write have extensive notes on every character, most of which do not make it explicitly to the page. I have never done this.

But there is one bit I do, most of the time. My characters have middle names. These middle names are not usually for the reader. They’re for me. They serve as a sort of secret layer. They tell of the family, or a quirky parent. Except for characters from Israel, where middle names are still uncommon, all my characters have middle names as well as last names.

I started with a factoid, and will leave you with another. Richard Gere’s middle name is Tiffany. See what I mean by evocative? 

11 comments:

Anna Staniszewski said...

I love those little tidbits that make the characters feel more real. Off to give my characters odd middle names... :-)

Vijaya said...

A name evokes so much, not just of the character, but of what her parents dreamed of when he or she was born, or well before ... there's a whole backstory in a name.

Anonymous said...

I love this! It's true...there is a lot more to our characters than what makes it to the page... boy, the one I wrote about this morning... I hope when it ever publishes the illustrator is as imaginative as what's in my brain! LOL

Anonymous said...

Character trivia is so much fun! Green shorts? I never really thought about Mr. Warhol's underwear. His hair always was so...wild.

Johnell said...

What a cool idea. I like the little author's secrets. :).

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Nice idea, Mirka! I wonder what Richard Gere's parents were thinking when they gave him that middle name. I bet he never told a soul growing up.

Kelly Hashway said...

I love that you give your characters middle names! I've given at least one a middle name, but it was mentioned in the story. Now I want to give them all middle names, but keep them as my little secret. ;)

Marcia said...

I give most of mine middle names, too. I mean, one needs a complete name. :) Once I gave a character the middle name Sunflower. Her parents were hippies. :)

Christina Farley said...

I love the idea of middle names. I have never thought of that.

Yanting Gueh said...

I didn't know that (both about Andy's green underpants and Richard's middle name)!

Marcia Strykowski said...

What an interesting idea. I've never thought to give middle names to my characters. Hmm, Tiffany...