WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Didn’t some sage
in the 16th Century say, “A rose by any other name
would smell as sweet”… perhaps, but would it be as enticing, as interesting?
How would we view
romantic fiction’s most popular and notorious heroine were her name Maude instead
of Scarlett O’Hara. And what if her long-suffering suitor was named Joe instead
of Rhett Butler would he have garnered the same swashbuckling bravado in our
imaginations. And this works not only for the bold, the driven, and the
beautiful. Let’s try and imagine a dark-hearted, morose old man named Fred
instead of Ebenezer Scrooge… not quite the same. And what about Alexandria
No, without a
doubt, character names have a vital place in both historical and contemporary
literature. How often do I here the ladies swoon when the name “Ranger” is
mentioned in association with heroine Stephanie Plum. Somehow if Ms. Ivanovich
had named him Bob the macho element would definitely be lacking.
Convinced yet.
Great!
We authors resort
to a wide variety of devices, formulas, and even tricks to try to give their
characters names their reading audience will remember. I’ve never subscribed to
one of the many services that offer names for sale. I have friends who do.
Others search the news media. Some resort to the obituaries searching for
names. My best writing friend seeks names that are not only distinctive but
give an exotic flavor to her characters. I admit I’m more a grass roots type. I
give my characters names that I (and my beta readers) find appropriate not
through formula or science but by the touch and feel method.
My debut novel
featured a heroine named Courtney (Definition: of the court) who was the
embodiment of a one-thousand year old Wiccan Goddess. Her heroine was named
Robert… a strong masculine name. I intentionally abbreviated his proper name by
having his intimates call him Robbie, an indication of his naïveté and relative
immaturity, at least when compared with his beautiful but ancient heroine. The
other strongest character was Simon, an all powerful male witch who embodied
both the mystery and strength contained in his name.
My latest novel
features Eric, a strong monosyllabic name (definition: one strong who rules)
suited for my strong, Special Forces veteran hero and Ashley-Jean (definition:
one who sees, which we discover she is), a brilliant, technology savant; a
frightened young woman seeking refuge from the evil that pursues her. As a
young, southern woman the name seemed to fit perfectly and my test readers
agreed.
Which brings up
another point: the name must not only lend a visual to the character’s image in
the readers mind but must symbolize their place in the story.
In a few hundred
words it’s difficult to give a thorough explanation of how and why we authors
chose certain methods and different strategies to breathe life into our
characters not only with their thoughts and deeds but by what we call them.
I welcome input
from readers and fellow authors alike why and how you choose to name your
characters. Until next time…
Kevin Symmons
Follow me at www.ksymmons.com. Kevin Symmons—Author on
FB, @kevinsymmons on Twitter and at my Amazon and goodreads author pages.
I don't really know how I name the people in my stories--they seem to do it for themselves. However, I must admit that when it comes to reading, names aren't that important to me and sometimes characterization doesn't have much to do with names. Case in point: Harry Potter. I read all the books, saw all the movies, LOVE Harry Potter, but I still don't like the name.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!