Tips on Naming Characters

by Jackie King

Finding that just-right name for the people in your story gives you a head-start in finding and keeping a publisher and an audience.

Names for characters come to me in two ways: instantaneous and easy, or slow and tedious. Sometimes when the idea for a book appears in my mind, the name of the main character walks in the door with it. Other times it takes me weeks or months to come up with the right moniker.

I’m currently working on a novel and the villain’s name isn’t quite right. I’ve already changed it once, and this choice is better. Still, I keep probing my brain for one that completely suits. The working name for the character is a sort of “dofer” to use while I keep writing the book.

Getting that just right name is crucial. Character names must come from the right historical period. If you name a female character Madison or Hailey, and the story is set in 1889, your lover-of-historical-fiction might throw your book across the room before they finish chapter one.

Where to start when you’re stuck?

What year was your character born? Make sure the character’s name fits the year he/she was born. If nothing strikes your fancy, you can always use a classical name in eras. Elizabeth, Victoria, Jacob, or Matthew would fit 1889 or 2016.

Biblical names also work for most any year of birth. Sarah, Mary, Luke or Mark, have been popular birth names in most periods. Currently unusual biblical names are being used, especially when you use a nickname. Zachariah is currently popular and is often shortened to Zach or Zack.

Google It

Figure out the year your character would have been born. Go to Google, my favorite search engine and key in: “Baby names popular in 1979” and up pops 100 names for babies born in that year. Both boys and girls are listed in the order of popularity.

Use this list to find the name that best suits the person you have created. Speak the names out loud. Imagine the character’s parents struggling over the choice or arguing about the name. Sometimes this can even be worked into the plot of the story.

What to avoid?

Avoid names that are too long and names that begin with the same letter, such as Jacob, John, Jackie, Jessica, Jeff, and Jennifer, all in the same tale.

Names that end with the letter “S,” will muddle the use of possessive nouns, as I learned when I named a character Mavis. This isn’t something that would cause an editor to reject the book, but it does complicate the writer’s life (and the reader’s) in an unnecessary way. Mavis’ car seems more complicated than Sandra’s car.

Don’t use cute spellings. Even if you know someone who spells her name Marylyn, it’s still better to use “Marilyn.” Oddly spelled names can detract the reader from the story. The point is to keep folks reading, not cause them to stop and ponder something that has nothing to do with the character or plot.

Final advice on naming characters.

That infamous rule of writing, “There are no rules,” always stands. If you have a good enough reason to name a character something weird—do it with my blessing.

What's In a Name?

by June Shaw


Okay, I did not originally come up with that question. Someone you know much better created it and numerous other quotes we enjoy. I believe Shakespeare's question is relevant today just like many of the situations he created.

But really, what is it about names? Shakespeare used Montague and Capulet to deepen his question and point out the fury between both families. Considering a few of the names he used throughout his plays makes me know the Bard spent quite a bit of time selecting those he selected.

Should we writers today do less?

Titles that were almost given to famous films tell us much thought was given to producing those that stuck in our thoughts. The same thing happens with well-known characters in novels. How could Rhett Butler be called anything else? Okay, without naming the famous protagonist, hasn't Tara also become a character?

Most of us who write books and stories know the names we give our main characters should not begin with the same letter or be the same length. We want to give much thought to whether we are creating a Daisy or a Scarlett. Obituaries often show us popular names of the elderly that we seldom use for young people today.

What type name do you like to read about or use for characters in stories? For those of you who are authors, how do you decide what's in the name of the people you create?

http://www.juneshaw.com

Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas?

By Jackie King

The most common question asked by readers is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

There are as many answers to this question as there are writers. One of the most honest answers was given by T.D. Hart on her blog tdhart@blogspot.com: “I don’t know,” she posted.

T.D. Hart is a soon-to-be published writer of mystery and thrillers, and her enthusiasm and honesty charms this sometimes jaded writer. I highly recommend a trip to her blogsite. Her real name is Jennifer Adolph, but she uses a pseudonym for fear readers might be turned off by the name she married into. Most people misspell the name by using an ‘f’ as the ending letter, she said.

[It’s a very good that this charming man’s last name didn’t put Jennifer off dating him, falling in love with him, or marrying him. Both veterinarians and as a married couple have produced three of the most delightful children I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.]

But back to my question “Where do you get…”

The truth, in my opinion, is that everyone has a bottomless pit of such ideas. Most people just aren’t writers and don’t recognize what to do with these passing thoughts. I came to that conclusion when I heard the famous author, Jodi Thomas, speak at a writer’s conference. When discussing this reader-question, she confided to the group, “I always want to ask these folks, ‘Where did your ideas go’?” But being very polite, she doesn’t, of course.

The truth is that only writers need such ideas.

My ideas for the mystery novellas I wrote for the “Foxy Hens” series,” came from memories of my grandparents, who as very young pioneers, homesteaded in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

The Statehood Foxy Hens and Murder Most Fowl

Grandma Hodges, whose given name was Lillie Bell, told me stories of how she and Grandpa lived in a dugout and gathered cow-chips for fuel. (Cow-chips are dried cow dung. And no, they didn’t smell bad when burned. Perhaps the reason for no bad smell is that cows eat grass. And I know the information is true because Grandma said so.

To the writers who might be reading this post, my advice is to pay attention to whatever is going on around you. Listen to what folks have to say, especially those raised in a different generation. Oh! How I wish I’d paid more attention and asked more questions when I could. I think of so many now, when it’s too late.

Everything that happens to a person becomes grist for her or his writing mill.

Today I’m delighted to present Marilyn Meredith, author of over thirty published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. She’s going to share some of her secrets about naming characters.

 

Read more about Marilyn Meredith

Marilyn Meredith

 

 NAMING YOUR CHARACTERS

By Marilyn Meredith

For me, this is one of the most important aspects of the creation of your characters. The name should in some way fit the character’s personality.

An example: If you have a strong, muscular hero you wouldn’t want to give him a weak sounding name like Lauren or Percy. You may know some body-builder types with those names, but for your book pick a name that will evoke the sense of the character for the reader.

Make sure that the characters in your book don’t all have names that begin with the same letter, rhyme, or all the same number of syllables. You never want to confuse your characters.

If you are writing a fantasy or sci-fi and your making up names, be sure they are able to be pronounced easily. If the reader can’t say the name in his/her mind, they’ll have trouble remembering who each person is. I’ve been reading books by Scandanavian authors and I’ve had a hard time keeping track of who is who because of the names that I can’t pronounce.

Having said what I did about made-up names, don’t give everyone simple names like Mary, John, Bill, Joe, Jane. If a name is a bit unusual, the reader will have an easier time remembering it. Of course there are exceptions—Jack Reacher for instance. Jack is a strong name even though it’s simple—but the character is mainly known as Reacher.

When I first started submitting my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, I had an agent tell me Tempe was too unusual of a name and to come up with something else. Obviously, I didn’t follow her advice. Tempe Crabtree was my great-grandmother’s name and I thought it worked for as a Native American. Another prominent Indian character in this series is Nick Two John.

Though some young mothers are using old-fashioned names for their children, others are making up names. One of my granddaughters used syllables from her mother’s and mother-in-law’s first names for an original name for her baby. You might even try that if you can’t come up with the exact name you want.

If you are writing an historical novel, be sure to check and see if the names you want were in use during that time period.

Where to find names? The Internet has a wealth of names. You can find names from any country and popular baby names.

What I like to do is keep graduation programs and use the names I find there—of course I mix up first and last names. Other writers I know use names they’ve found in obituaries.

Keep track of what you’ve named your minor characters so that you don’t give them a different name later on in the book. (Yes, I’ve done that.)

I hope this has will be helpful to you when you start naming the characters that you’ve created. And readers, perhaps this has given you some insight into how difficult the author’s task is when it comes to naming their creations.

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Meredith's latest mystery, Raging Water from Mundania Press:

 

Mor information about Raging Water

 

Raging Water

 Deputy Tempe Crabtree’s investigation of the murder of two close friends is complicated when relentless rain turns Bear Creek into a raging river. Homes are inundated and a mud slide blocks the only road out of Bear Creek stranding many—including the murderer.
 

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No Bells

Meredith also writes as F. M. Meredith, and her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is No Bells, the fourth from Oak Tree Press. She has taught for Writers Digest School for ten years and serves as a judge in several writing contests. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and follow her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

Marilyn borrows a lot from where she lives in the Southern Sierra for the town of Bear Creek and the surrounding area.

Thanks to Marilyn for visiting today, and thanks to all readers who have stopped by.

Cheers,
Jackie King

NAMING YOUR FICTIONAL BABIES

By Jackie King

Parents who struggle to find that just right name for their baby have something in common with writers. The difference is that writers have to choose both first and last names for their myriad of fictional children. Sometimes this naming process becomes vexing. (Forgive me if my words seem to slip into an earlier period in history. I sometimes write romantic mysteries set in the 1890’s.)

Different names are popular at different periods in time. (If anyone understands why this happens, please let me know.) For instance, when my oldest daughter was naming her baby, she and husband Rick settled on the name, Lauren. This moniker seemed to jump right out at us from the pages of the baby book, and none of us knew a Lauren at that time. But as if by magic (or universal thought or whatever), when our Lauren went to pre-school, her class was over-populated with Laurens.

Because of this phenomenon, the age of a character must be considered when choosing a name. It wouldn’t do to name a 65-year-old woman, Tiffany. If this character is a bit ditzy, or earthy, or funny, she could be named Lizzy; if she is serious minded, Elizabeth or Beth, would be better.

Character names can even influence the progress of an author’s novel. Sometimes names spring to mind easily, as if arising from ether. The name fits so well that the character seems to develop with little help from the writer. This is one of the mysteries and of the magic of writing.

At other times, even though you see the character clearly in your imagination—no name seems to suit. In desperation you pick a ‘do-for’ name, knowing that appellation will annoy both you and your character. This inappropriate name can even taint your story. It’s as if the character is pouting until you can do better.

Such a dilemma happened to me with novella, titled THE GHOST WHO WOULDN’T SKEDDADLE. (Published in the anthology THE FOXY HENS GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT.) I needed a name for a character who gambled. First I called him Gregory, which was soooo wrong. I did a search and find and changed him to, “Mr. Card Sharp.” Neither he nor I minded this change, while I looked through baby name books, the phone book, and the credit lines of movies. Finally I settled on Slick O’Reilly, which worked. It’s important to find that just right name.

I can remember wrong-sounding character names in books I have read. In The Thorn Birds by Coleen McCullough, the male character’s first name was Ralph. He was a handsome priest drawn into forbidden love. (What a wonderful premise—I love unrequited love. But Ralph?) This name never worked for me and I couldn’t understand such a name was chosen.

In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a novella by Truman Capote, whose main character was first named Lulamae Barnes. A pretty good name for this character, but yet not quite right. (Capote was a perfectionist.) Her final name was Holiday (“Holly”) Golightly. This was a perfect name for the character later played by Audrey Hepburn in the movie classic. I’m so glad it was changed.

In my mystery THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, I first named my protagonist, Gage Cassidy, and then later changed it to Grace Cassidy, which seemed to suit the character better.

http://amzn.to/gMv7CH

If you’re curious about how this story goes, here’s the first paragraph:

“Grace Cassidy stared at the stranger’s body. He was about sixty, pot-bellied, naked, and very dead. She knew he was dead because his skin was the color of concrete. Worst of all, he was lying smack dab in the middle of her bed.”

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Check me out on my website:

www.jacqking.com

I’m also on Facebook under Jacqueline King and I’d love it if you friended me.

Hugs,

Jackie King