A reader of Writing Magic, who is also an English teacher and clearly a fellow writer, has sent me a letter in which she puzzles over two topics, the first about names. At the end of her questions she wonders if she should just “get over” herself and recognize that names don\u2019t matter much.<\/p>\n
Without revealing your name, Thanks! I\u2019ll respond to your second question next week. To everyone else, I\u2019m always looking for blog topics, so I\u2019ll be grateful if you put them in your comments.<\/p>\n
To my letter-writer, please don\u2019t get over yourself! Names do matter. Picking them shouldn\u2019t be a random act. Naturally, tastes vary. I don\u2019t like names that are obvious, the way they are in Pilgrim\u2019s Progress, for example, with characters named Obstinate, Pliable, Goodwill, and so on. I even dislike semi-obvious names. I named a selfish fairy Vidia, rather than Invidia, as had been suggested to me. To my ear, Vidia sounds exactly right, a mean name, but Invidia lacks subtlety, and it’s too long (see below).<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll never name a character Stormy because she\u2019s moody. But I may name her Stormy if her sisters are Rain, and Skye. Then, if I\u2019m going in a certain direction, I\u2019ll name their parents Bob and Jane; in a different direction, Yearning and Insight. (Is Yearning the father and Insight the mother? Or vice versa?) Names are fun!<\/p>\n
One way to get a name that has meaning without being obvious is to think what the character you\u2019re naming is like. Suppose your character happens actually to be moody. Look up moody in the thesaurus and stare intently at the synonyms. Do you see anything that calls a name to mind? Melancholy – Melanie for a girl, Mel for a boy. Petulant – Petula. Also, I have no problem with neologistic names. (Kids, maybe you\u2019d like to look neologistic up or see if your parents know it.) The synonym irascible (irritable) can become Rassie for a girl, Rass for a boy. It doesn\u2019t trouble me if I\u2019m the only one who gets it.<\/p>\n
Nicknames can also take you where you want to go. That moody personality again – his name may be Michael, but his friends call him Mope, which may make him mopier.<\/p>\n
I prefer names of one or two syllables, three the limit, unless I\u2019m being funny, and then the more the funnier. Or unless there\u2019s some other purpose for the long name. Even when I\u2019m not going for humor, a character can have eight middle names, but the name for everyday use will be relatively short, and that goes for fantasy and science fiction. I hate names that I can recognize on the page, like Xlmaeiothipnm, but not pronounce.<\/p>\n
Sometimes readers, even adults, get confused when two names are very similar. If the main character\u2019s boyfriend is Brad and her brother is Bart, the reader may have to work unnecessarily hard to remember who is which. If you\u2019re writing for children who’ve just learned to read, the experts suggest that all the character names start with a different letter.<\/p>\n
Names should work for your story or book\u2019s genre. If you\u2019re writing historical fiction, you probably don\u2019t want to name a girl Brianne or Aspen or a boy Denver or Brooklyn (all popular 2009 names, according to an online source). If you\u2019re writing fantasy, the names Phil and Susan may seem out of place, unless they\u2019re visiting from our world.<\/p>\n
I have nothing against using the names of people I know. By chance, I happen to know three Mollys, but I won\u2019t hesitate before naming a character Molly. However, if my friend has an unusual name, I may hesitate, and I may ask the person\u2019s permission, especially if the character is going to torture squirrels. I did name a character after a relative who has an usual name. This relative gave me permission, and the character is not only good, but also my favorite in several books, and yet my relative has not been entirely pleased. So you never know.<\/p>\n
Also, pay attention to the names of the people you meet. Write down the good ones (probably not right at that moment!), so you won\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n
Sometimes having a naming theme helps narrow down your choices. The book I\u2019m working on now began by being based on Perrault\u2019s version of “Puss \u2018N Boots,” although it\u2019s moved away from that. Perrault was French, so I decided that all my names should be pronounceable in French. I know un peu French, so some of the names are Anglicized versions of actual French words. A few readers will catch on, but most won\u2019t, and I don\u2019t care. I get a chuckle out of it.<\/p>\n
Which is the point. You get to pick. You are the final authority. Make yourself happy. Even if you don\u2019t use a name you like, save it. It may come in handy in another story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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