WHAT’S IN A NAME? by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

Ever wonder where writers find the names for their characters? With billions of names floating around, how does one go about choosing the right one for each person in a book?

For me, most of my characters’ names just appear out of nowhere. The tall, elderly man is most certainly Ellery. The slightly dotty collectibles dealer is Dovey, as in lovey-dovey. The dead man is Jonathan Chambers, I don’t know why. He’s dead. I don’t even know what he looks like. But I know his name.

Then there are some characters that defy this sort of cosmic inspiration. The hero of my new mystery series eluded me for quite some time. A septuagenarian who solves crimes with the aid of a ghost cat seemed like a perfect Agatha, but there are far too many of those sleuthing around cozy mysteries as it is. Same with Amelia. Clarissa wasn’t quite right, and neither was Camella. I finally lit upon Camelia, like the flower, and this one stuck. Stay tuned for Camelia Collins and her ghost cat Soji, coming next year.

Back when I was a reader, before I was a writer, I wondered what would make one author choose odd or unusual names and another pick the most common. Now that I find myself in their place, I realize every writer has their own system. I personally try to choose unique names for the sake of creating a memorable character.

As I said, most names come to me, but what if they don’t? There is always the internet, but I find those long, alphabetical name lists to be two-dimensional; it’s hard to connect first name with surname and be sure they fit. When I worked in filing, I’d write down names that caught my eye on a Post-it. (One name only so as not to break any HIPPA rules.) I’ve checked my FB friends and the phone book. Sometimes I pick something in the room. My character Guinness MacAngus from Cosmic Cat began in the kitchen of a house where I was live-in cat-sitting. The owners had a wooden Guinness Stout crate on top their fridge.

Covid-19 had changed how we do things in ways we could never have imagined. My sisters-in-laws get together with my husband and me to take walks in a cemetery. I know that may sound strange, but many of our loved ones reside on that peaceful hilltop. We can stroll around, a safe six feet apart, and enjoy the fresh air in relative isolation. As you can imagine, we look at the beautiful old gravestones, many dating back to the 1800s. On our last trek, I realized that here was a wealth of names, just waiting to become a character in a book!

So look ahead for first names Thana, Owen, Angeline, Ward, and Gabriel. Last names Christner, Service, Brichard, Noble, and Flutz. These, and more, are all ready to come to life in my stories. And next time you take a walk, see what character names might be right before your eyes.

How do you find your character names?

 You can read more from Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite, www.lecatts.wordpress.com.

What's in a Name?

Finding inspiration and developing a plot is just part of what is involved in writing a story. Once we have all of these characters running around, they need names. So, where do the character names come from? For me, everywhere.

I’m lucky. My day job is IT customer support so, I am exposed to a lot of different names on a daily basis. I keep a notebook in my purse so I can make a list of the names that appeal to me. So far, my list of male names is longer than my list of female names. But, that’s okay. I’ve got female names covered because I really love the old-fashioned girl’s names like Emma, Sophia, Phoebe, etc.

Family names also come into play. The heroine in Dial V for Vampire is named Maggie, which was my paternal grandmother’s name. A secondary character is named Ida, which was my maternal grandmother’s first name. (She went by her middle name, Ruth).

Early in my writing career I learned the importance of creating a master list of names that I have used. How did I learn this? I realized that I had given a secondary character in two different stories the same name. Oops. (Apparently, I really like the name Liv.) 

Image courtesy of www.123rf.com

 

Another thing that I have to be careful about is using names that start with the same letter. We’ve all read those books that have characters with such similar names that it hurts the story because we spend so much time trying to remember which character is which. The editor for Dial V pointed out that I was in danger of doing this – I had three characters named Maggie, Mae, and Mac. Maggie and Mae were non-negotiable so Mac became Lou. It wasn’t until I was going through my father’s things after his death that I discovered that his mother’s middle name was Lou. (Yes, you read that right. His mother’s middle name was Lou.)  I thought that was a pretty cool coincidence. (And, had I known this when I was a child, I might have disliked my own middle name less, LOL.)

Of course, even knowing my tendency for using names beginning with the same letter, I did it again! I’m now working on revisions to the next Kudzu Korners novel, Dances with Werewolves. Maggie and Mae both make appearances but, I needed a name for the villain. So, what name did I choose? Mitch. *facepalm* I reached out to my Facebook friends and followers for suggestions and did they ever come through! I wound up getting the perfect name for my villain (Vince) and two more names that will be used in future stories.

So, do you have any favorite names? Let me know in the comments. I’m always looking for more inspiration!

Sign up for my newsletter here:  http://madmimi.com/signups/112968/join

Website:  http://www.isabellanorse.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaNorseAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorIzzy

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/isabellanorse/