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Just added some background information about the book that I’m writing. The convenience store in my story remains nameless. I often struggle with names and sometimes even dread having to name a character. Like many writers, I often look up names to see if their meanings match the characters I’m creating. The other challenge is knowing people with the names I want to use in a story. I still need to overcome my fear of offending readers – although I’ve come a long way since I first started writing. Writing, even fiction, requires courage sometimes.
I’m wondering if the store in my book needs a name or if it should remain nameless, a generic random store in the heart of Toronto to represent the hundreds of other convenience stores all over the city. Thoughts?
Category: My Writing, Novel Tagged: ann y.k. choi, convenience store, cultural stories, korean, korean-canadian, literature, names, toronto
ann y.k. choi
If the store remains nameless, it suggests that it can be anywhere or no where. There’s something mysterious about not having a name which may distance the reader.
Maybe the name’s not that important because I don’t think many people are aware of the names of the variety stores they go into anyway. They usually have pretty simple names, often after the owner. Nothing memorable.
Yes, it should have a name to make the story more realistic.
I like the store being generic. It emphasises that the novel is not only the story of one family; it is about growing up Korean-Canadian in Toronto. However, if the store is never named then the protagonist always has to refer to it as “our store”. This suggests that she doesn’t want to name it, that she wants to keep her distance, which in turn suggests a detachment from a big part of her own life. I think I’d like it to have a name, but a simple sort of name, as Amanda commented.
What about Kay’s Variety? Or Kay’s Convenience?