Journal/Blog

11-26-22 What's in a name?

Where do we get the names for our characters? What is it about those names that make them fit the person we have created? Who could imagine anyone other than Harry Potter being the boy who survived? If you look into the details of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, you'll find that Tolkien did not originally intend for Frodo to be the ring bearer.

There is a favorite romantic comedy movie of mine that has a scene where this is highlighted, only it is the character that changes and not the name. In Alex and Emma, at one point Alex is describing a character in the book he is writing. Emma remarks that she 'hates it when authors do that'. He asks what and she says give a character a certain name because it puts her in mind of how he looks, and it is completely different than what Alex describes. For the sake of humor in the book, Alex ends up changing the look of the character.

But there's a good thought - beauty (or what the character looks like in this case) is in the eye of the beholder (our readers). Personally, I can ignore what a character is described as and think of them as the way I want them to look, if I am so inclined. This is why I love books over movies for the most part. But if it is the other way around, I can't just rename the character as easily.

It goes to pointing out then that perhaps the best 'check' for us then is to have multiple test readers of different types. The feedback would hopefully help point out any glaringly bad choices for certain details, including names. However, in the end, I do believe that we have to be true to ourselves and our creations. That can mean that we choose the name that may not go over as well, but we know that it was the right choice.

So, I started with the second question that I posed in the beginning of this blog. Now, on to the first.

Where do we get the names for our characters? If we are struggling, how can we figure it out?

I know that there are times when the character and the name pop into my head as clear as day without any prompting. I have that feeling and know that it is right. Other times, I struggle to put a name to a face, so to speak. So where do I go when I'm having trouble?

I have 3 good fall backs for me.
1. The alphabet game: I start with A and go from there thinking of different names that start with each letter.
2. Baby names lists: These aren't just for naming your child. I pop out and skim through for ideas.
3. Rolling movie credits: I would imagine that I might have actually read the names of more key grips, boom operators, hair/makeup professionals and costume designers, etc. than most individuals. There is a wealth of different names that can be mixed and matched.

In the end, I believe we have to go with our gut instincts (along with a healthy dose of advice from test readers), so hopefully we create characters whose names will stick in our readers memories long after they have finished our books.