Welcome back, Susan. What are we talking about today?
Names!
What’s in a name? Evidently, to many, a lot. I have listened to other authors lament over selecting a name for the heroine in their story – or the hero – although the male seems easier to choose. Hunter, Wyatt, Cole…seems easy enough. But there are certain names we all have come to dislike in our lives. Not the same name, but there is the bully you hated in elementary school or that jerk who dumped you (or a close friend) in high-school. The girl who stole your boyfriend or started those nasty rumors about you. I often give the sinister, evil manipulative character the same name in all my books. Not because the name is all that bad, but because a guy with that name once got on my bad side. I’m a seventy-three-year old Scorpio so this isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Some authors actually research what a named means to get it ‘right’ although one needs to remember what the parents of an individual were thinking when they placed that name in the front of the Bible or birth certificate. Family history, ethnicity, age of parents, region of birth – so many things go into actually naming a child and as authors we go through it dozens of times.
There are certain names an author may use due to the time period. Names we no longer use especially for a particular sex. My great-aunt, born in 1870s, was named Laura and I thought it an old-fashioned name. But when she was born, it wasn’t a female’s name for the most part. (Think Little Woman) Like Marion, Ashley, Kimberly, Shannon, and Sandra, (and many others) were male names. I’m sure we all have examples in our own families of names that are now gender neutral such as Brook, Dalton, Dallas, there are hundreds of them.
The other problem is certain names now mean other things. Fanny is one of those although I would use the name since I write historical. When in doubt, I fall back on the Bible. The name can usually be shortened i.e. Zachariah, Ebenezer, and Josiah. Biblical female names seem to always be popular as in Hannah, Rebecca, and Mary.
To some readers, the character’s names are clearly important. I once had a critiquer say my character’s names sounded too much alike. I think I had a Michael and a Miranda and a Marian. She kept becoming confused. Easy enough, I found my home button and replaced a couple of them out for others. Problem solved. Some people don’t appreciate alliteration, I guess.
My character’s make it easy for me since they come to me with a name usually as well as a history of who they are and where they came from. They are individuals to me even if they share a name with another character in another book. The characters remain their own ‘person’. Many authors never re-use a name. Once a character/name has been used it is relegated to the ‘never again’ pile. I can see that, but I have re-used names without a problem. Especially if they are common ones such as Ann, also, Anne, Michael, (generations the most popular male name) James…you get the drift.
As a historical writer, I can fall back on things like John Coachman for any carriage driver in UK and George for any porter on a railroad in the US. (yes, they did do that). It has brought about a little thought on my end whether to use the terms or not. It depends on my character’s character.
So, what’s in a name? Sometimes a lot. Like naming our own children, authors take time and consideration in selecting the right name for each character. After all, we need to impress not only or readers, but our characters.
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And now for Susan’s latest book: In From the Cold
In From the Cold, a historical Alaskan Adventure by Susan Payne