Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The Insecure Writer and Obsessing Over Character Names

 


Today is December's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an insecure writer this month?

My inability to settle on my main character's name.

Seriously, after working on my (debut) manuscript for the last five years, I still haven’t decided on a name for my protagonist. Or her love interest. Sigh.

The shame is too much to bear.

Yes, yes, I know. Many, if not all of you, probably wouldn’t even be able to begin writing a story without knowing the name of your MC. Yet, here I am, working hard on final edits, and I’m still using placeholder names. 

At the moment, those placeholder names are Karen and Henry. (Karen was this girl I knew back in grade school and Henry was my father’s middle name.)  I considered staying with Karen, but my critique group thought the name sounded too old—even the person whose name IS Karen agreed. And I already knew Henry sounded too stodgy. (Sorry, Dad.)

I don’t think I’m being super picky, but I just haven’t found the right name yet. It was easier when I wrote my Hogwarts fan fiction, because I followed Rowling’s tendency of giving characters names with hidden alchemical meanings or based their physical characteristics or occupations.

I’ve recently thought up a name for my character which seems to have potential, but we’ll see. It won't be the first time, I've changed my mind. If any of you have any spare names to toss around, let me know.

December 2 question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why?

My best time of the year for writing would, without a doubt, be autumn and early winter, October to December. The early nights. The moist autumn smells. The feeling that nature is closing down all around you.  Halloween. Nothing gets my writing juices moving faster.  I can lock myself in my office with burning candles and the ambient sounds of a howling wind and I’m good to go. 

Be sure to visit this month's so-hosts: Pat Garcia, Sylvia Ney, Liesbet @ Roaming AboutCathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre! 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

21 comments:

  1. I've used placeholder names a lot, too. Lately, I've been heavily relying on this tool: https://www.name-generator.org.uk/character/ . It's helpful because the names aren't as random as a regular name generator. Good luck!

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  2. Hi,
    What about asking your characters what names they would like to have? Who knows, you might get an answer.

    Have a Merry Christmas and a safe passage into 2021.

    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

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  3. I end up with placeholder names. I'd give you some suggestions but they might sound a bit alien. Elizabeth's suggestion is good.

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  4. Names are hard!! I sometimes use baby name sites - and they give you popular names from various birth years too. Doesn't always work but it springboards ideas for me. Good luck!!

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  5. I think using placeholder names and "X" for things we're stuck on is okay. I didn't figure out my magic system for my fantasy until I was over 100 pages into it. Those things happen. I like the idea of using a name generator for a more current name since you're not looking for one with a special meaning.

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  6. Placeholder names are great. That's all you really need to begin a story. I've finished stories where the bad guys are ________. Literally blink lines. lol

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    1. *blank lines. Whoops. I'm making a lot of typos today.

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  7. Baby name sites are a good place to find names. Often they list the meanings, too.

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  8. I agree with Diane - baby name sites are good places. If you know the age of your characters, you can look up popular names by the decade (80s, 90s, etc). I've done that. I've also looked into names from other linguistic backgrounds to try to create fantasy names - a name that's half Gaelic and half Arabic can be pretty unique.
    I wrote an entire novel and was in the fifth draft before I had my villain's name. I had a poll on Facebook before I decided. Now, I try to check out name sites and I create lists of names I think are interesting - I even read the end credits of movies to search for names.
    Just some ideas. Do what works for you as a writer.
    Merry Writing Days and Merry Christmas/Holidays this year!

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  9. My advice about the name: Just pick one. Let your character grow into it as kids do theirs.

    Having said that, good luck!

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  10. You had me laughing, Ken. That naming thing can be challenging, but your characters will eventually choose what's best for them.

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  11. Hehe, I tend to pick a name and change it later. Most of my characters have undergone name changes, one exception being Cera. She's always been named Cera, and I stole that name from the triceratops on Land Before Time!

    A lot of my method involves "which letter of the alphabet haven't I used yet?" Right now, that's O and V. I did have a character named Ofelia, who used to be named Melina, but then got named to Theodora because I wanted it something related to "gift from the gods". Behind the Name is a really good site for that kind of stuff.

    I do agree that Karen is probably not the best name to pick, especially when it's developed a negative connotation on social media.

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    1. Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. My daughter's been reminding me of that for the last six months. :)

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  12. Shast, Andy (Cassandra), Tiph (Tiphany), Nan, Lucy, and Lill are some ideas and I'd change Henry to Hank if it was me. It's a good solid name. I love the idea of listening to wolves howling. Sets an ominous tone.

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  13. My main characters tend to name themselves right away, but I've definitely had placeholders or changed names for minor characters many times. There's on character in particular, who I thought I'd finally settled on a name for, that I want to change again, for probably the fifth time. You just have to go with what feels right.

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  14. I really, really, really want to name a character Tarrah. The name means "star," but at the same time it kind of sounds like the Greek word for Earth. Unfortunately, I already have a character named Talie, and beta readers keep telling me Tarrah is too similar. So there you go: you can have Tarrah, if you want. It's a lovely name, and I'm never, ever going to get to use it.

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  15. Thank goodness for Word's 'replace all' feature, that's all I can say. LOL Good luck setting on names, and thanks for visiting my blog.

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  16. Some characters don't feel right until they are named. Good luck finding the right ones for your characters. Enjoy your writing time.

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  17. I have mostly written non-fiction so names are not a problem (except when changed to protect the guilty)! And I agree with you about writing int he fall and winter.

    https://fromarockyhillside.com

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  18. I sent you an email last week about critiquing - thanks for the offer.

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  19. I often have placeholder names for very long periods, or worse, no name at all - just a question mark in brackets (or more than one depending on which character it is). So that can be very confusing! The right names tend to hit when I'm not thinking about it, or maybe you could do that thing of interviewing your character to find out more about them - the right name might fall out then.

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