So already I have a problem which many of you will have probably already identified, 'he' doesn't have a name. Anyone got any thoughts?
Oh and as much of this story will be based on what is now very dated personal knowledge - write about what you know they say - the lead character has a reasonable chance of becoming a Mary Sue version of me (thanks David for unwittingly keying me in on that one). Which is worrying as this guys is already starting to sound annoying and whiny; oh sure, you don't see it, but you don't have him living in your head.
Oh and I know the chapters are short but consider them placeholders designed to help shape the story, at a later date I'll come back and write in a whole load of additional scenes.
G
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Name? No idea - but he should have the initials G.H. :)
Perhaps Selig Llih in the old Count Alucard tradition :)
The problem is every name I come up with seems to scream "hero", whereas I really want it to mutter is "common man"
Just keep writing, establish the voice, a name will come along by itself.
And it's only a Mary Sue if you're uncritically self-idealizing. Or if you have sex with Mr Spock.
That said... you basically want a really common English first name. Not John or Jack as they're overused. I would go with something that can be shortened as well, so other characters can be "matey" with him. David/Dave, Andrew/Andy, Simon/Si, or even Nicholas/Nick.
For a surname... place names can be quite good, suggesting a certain sort of groundedness and sense of history. I name quite few characters after small towns in the north of England. Scottish clan names are quite good - they've been around forever, give that sense of groundedness which I think you're looking for. They're also really common, despite sounding a lot more interesting than Smith or Jones. You definitely don't want to pick a surname which sounds in any way unusual. And of course, it's got to sound good when combined with whatever first name you pick.
Note to self: Group sex scene with Spock and 7 of 9 out.
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