Which opening are you more apt to pick up? - Page 2

IceCreamEmpress · 01-01-2008, 09:51 PM

A) Anne Frank was Dutch, not German.

B) If I'm writing a story set in a particular country, and I want to use very authentic-to-that-country names, I usually go to that country's Parliamentary website and pick ten or twelve last names, and ten or twelve first names, and mix them up. I recommend this as a technique (although in countries where religious and cultural groups have very specific naming conventions, one might want to be careful--"Michel Saint-Denis al-Hadjj" is a character name that's bringing a lot of baggage and backstory along with it!)

On the thread's main topic, I like the "beginning in the midst of a press conference" as an opening much more than a chunk of exposition.

View Poll Results: Which option is better?
A woman and her husband, with their niece, pleading to int'l media that they just want to go home.	18	90.00%
An older woman who is pitching the main setting of the novel...A government operation.	0	0%
Neither! And why are your poll options so freakin' long?	2	10.00%
Voters: 20. You may not vote on this poll

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01-01-2008, 09:51 PM	#26
IceCreamEmpress Hapless Virago Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 6,451	A) Anne Frank was Dutch, not German. B) If I'm writing a story set in a particular country, and I want to use very authentic-to-that-country names, I usually go to that country's Parliamentary website and pick ten or twelve last names, and ten or twelve first names, and mix them up. I recommend this as a technique (although in countries where religious and cultural groups have very specific naming conventions, one might want to be careful--"Michel Saint-Denis al-Hadjj" is a character name that's bringing a lot of baggage and backstory along with it!) On the thread's main topic, I like the "beginning in the midst of a press conference" as an opening much more than a chunk of exposition.