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.

Photo courtesy of VisualHunt

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 About, Cathrina Constantine, and Natalie Aguirre! 

Take care everyone, and stay safe! 

ChemistKen

Character Name Woes

I’ve probably written about this topic before, but I’m too lazy to search through my previous posts. Doesn’t matter, though. I’ve suffered from this problem for years, and as far as I can tell, will continue to suffer from it for many more.

I’m terrible at choosing character names.

I mean really, really bad.

I know other writers suffer from this malady too, but I take it to another level. Consider the fanfic story I’ve worked on for the past six years (Okay, so I’m a slow writer.). Almost half the characters still have placeholder names. Names I’ve ripped from other stories with vaguely similar characters. Names of personal friends. Names from RPGs.  Silly names suggested by my kids. Sometimes I just call them XXX and YYY, which drives my crit partner nuts.

I’m four chapters into my paranormal YA and I haven’t even decided upon a name for my protagonist yet. I toyed with the idea of using “Karen” for a while, but most of my crit partners hated the name, including a CP whose name is Karen. Said it sounded too old for an 18 year old. They suggested I look up common baby names for 1997, which is a good idea, but after perusing the lists, I still haven’t found a name I’m comfortable with.

Strangely enough, I did come up with a name I loved for the protagonist of the MG fantasy I wrote during Nano a few years ago. Unfortunately that manuscript has since been moved to the back burner to let the plot simmer, so it will be a while before I get back to enjoying the benefits of having a permanent name for my MC.

Such is the life of a newbie writer.

So how do you guys pick your character names?