Challenge 417 Response

“Left Behind”; Naming Characters

with Donna Hole

Chris Castle, “Left Behind”: The use of the she/he pronouns did slow up the read a little. With an emotional piece such as this, the use of names would have made it more personal, as if I knew the person experiencing the tragic loss, especially knowing the name of the boy who died.

I liked the 3rd-person POV and would have liked it to go deeper, be more intimate. But the attachment of the mom to the child’s possession — the box that was losing the smell of him — and the revisiting the site of his death drew me to complete the story; the sentimental imagery tore at my heart. Every mother’s nightmare. And the addition of the young man who lost his father also was moving.

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Don, I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion on Naming and cultural difference. I do tend to skip over complicated names; except in a fantasy or sci-fi. Unlike most readers, however, I read every word of a story and will work at a name for a long time before giving it up. I can usually find a happy medium in my mind — just don’t ask me to read it out loud. Names are powerful things.

Thank you for the feedback, Donna. Authors are always delighted to hear that a real person — presumably someone other than an editor (grin) — has actually read their work. And if the reader understands and appreciates it as well as you, that has to be very gratifying.

We”re looking forward to your story “Two Minutes Into Tomorrow,” which is scheduled to open the second quarter of the year in issue 424. And readers will also enjoy hearing from you further in the Challenge Responses. As we always say, everything in Bewildering Stories is open to discussion, and you’ve sent a very rewarding series of insights. I like to keep previous issues and works alive in the Departments, and you’ll be appearing in them frequently in the next several issues.

Don