Forming a Character Cast

It goes without saying that a good novel, whatever the genre, needs a rich set of character cast to make it enjoyable and worth reading. Of necessity, several main characters should have detailed development in the story, though in different degree and to a certain extent, their levels of involvement within the narratives. Peripheral characters, on the other hand, can lend interesting twists and humors that will spice up the novel.

But I have to admit that as I start out to write, apart from the notion of a general impression in mind, I really have no specific idea how these characters will develop along the way. It can be liberating since it allows room for play and expansion; on the flip side, however, it can be terrifying as if sailing in a vast ocean through a thick fog. I think you know what I mean.

Anyway, as I mentioned in one of my earlier post, a major challenges I'm going to face when writing a novel of this nature is giving names to the characters. After all, as an Asian Chinese, coming up with fictitious non-Chinese names is definitely not my forte. As it is, my story needs a team of members to form a secret task force to deal with domestic and foreign threats on American soil.

So again, ChatGPT comes to my rescue:

Me: Can you suggest a name, an acronym for a special task force in the story that is created to neutralize terrorists and national security threat?

ChatGPT:

How about "STRATOS" which stands for "Special Task Force for Rapid Action and Threat Observation and Suppression"?

Wow, I like that!

Next, I thought about the members that would form the team——their names, roles, and expertise.

Me: 

I am thinking of a seven-member team with a leader (male) and a deputy (female), the other five comprising three men and two woman, all highly trained and experts in their own fields (weapons, flight navigation, terrain surveillance, system hacker, close body combat, etc.). Can you provide names for them and give them a tactical title each?

ChatGPT:

Sure! Here are some suggestions:

1. Team Leader: Captain Daniel "Wolf" Wolfson, Tactical Operations Expert
2. Deputy Leader: Lieutenant Olivia "Raven" Rivers, Intelligence Analyst
3. Specialist 1: Sergeant Jake "Stalker" Martin, Weapons and Explosives Expert
4. Specialist 2: Corporal Sophia "Hawk" Ramirez, Flight Navigation and Control Expert
5. Specialist 3: Lance Corporal Caleb "Shadow" Lee, Terrain Surveillance and Reconnaissance Expert
6. Specialist 4: Private First Class Amanda "Viper" Nguyen, System Hacker and Cybersecurity Expert
7. Specialist 5: Private First Class Michael "Panther" Patel, Close Combat and Martial Arts Expert

Of course, you can adjust the titles and expertise of each team member as you see fit for your story.

Beautiful! Short of my favorite forest cake and a cuppa, I am beginning to enjoy this novel writing process. I'll definitely need more characters to fill in as the story unfolds, but it's still a bit too early to cast them all at one go.

Time for a coffee break.