: Re: How to name characters of unspecific nationality and race? I am writing a generic story. I have a setting that is not tied to a specific region on earth, though the story certainly does occur

@Dunderdale623

Vote Up Vote Down

Firstly, I think that whatever you write will have a distinct flavour of your cultural background, no matter how universal your story is or how hard you try to conceal your upbringing. However, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. Think of Shakespeare's Macbeth: The story is firmly rooted in a specific time and place. But does this affect the universality of the story? Certainly not. In fact, it enrichens the story by adding a distinct flavour and atmosphere to it. In this sense, it might not be necessary for you to employ a universal setting for a universal story. If I was in your situation, I would probably just stick to the setting that I am most familiar with, since this strategy ensures that I get the background right. (Plus, I believe that it is every storyteller's duty to document his or her culture. One reason I like Hosseini's books so much is that he allows me to glimpse at Afghan culture, although the stories he tells are not necessarily specifically Afghan.)

Another possibility is to mix up different cultures. Think of - and this is a somewhat poor example following a masterpiece like Macbeth - the late Pixar movie Big Hero 6. I enjoyed the wild mix of San Francisco and Tokyo a lot, which not only affected the setting of the movie but also the names and the behaviour of the main characters. If you are well familiar with foreign cultures - be it Japanese, Chinese, Iranian, whatever -, you might want to give your characters culture-specific names and let them act as agents of their respective culture. This is another way in which "universality" might be achieved, although it is a different kind of universality.

(0)

Login to post a comment!