By Linda Lovely
I’d say my problem is due to my age, but I’d be lying.
I’ve always had a hard time remembering people’s names. I’m introduced and five
seconds later, I’m asking myself: “Is his name really Harold?”
When I start reading a book, the same thing happens. It
takes a while for me to “know” characters on a first-name basis not to mention their
roles in the story. That means I’m not fond of authors who insist on giving
their characters similar names. It confuses me.
There are 26 letters in the alphabet, so why on earth
would an author choose to name several of the main characters with first names
starting with say “D.” Dan…Don…Donna…Deb…Dora…Dennis…and the list goes on. The
same is true with last names. Does the author really need to have characters
with Webb and Webster as last names? Of course, people writing historical
fiction have an excuse but fiction writers do not.
And it’s not just the first letters of a name that can
throw me—and other readers. Belatedly, I sympathize with my mother. When I was
a teen and dating two young men with similar sounding names, she invariably
called Don by the name Ron and vice versa.
So how can an author avoid this pitfall? My solution is a
sortable Excel spreadsheet for each book’s cast of characters. Here are the headings
for the columns:
First Name…Last Name…Age….Eye Color…Hair Color…Height…
Build…Profession…Distinguishing Features…Role in Book.
If I’m creating the spreadsheet for additional books in a
series, I have two more column headers “Dead” and “In Jail.” That’s so I don’t
suddenly bring a character who died in a prior book back to life or fail to
give “jail” as an iron-tight alibi for someone who was sentenced to life with
no parole in book two.
The spreadsheet lets me sort characters by first name or
last name to see if I’ve accidentally fallen in love with a certain letter
while I’m in the process of character introduction. Of course, the spreadsheet
also serves as a cheat sheet I can reference—especially in a series—to make
certain I don’t give a grown woman an inexplicable change in build or a man a
new eye color without any mention of plastic surgery or contact lenses.
I also try to make certain the names I pick are
appropriate given a character’s age. A seventy-year-old named Linda is quite
believable. A seven-year-old named Linda in a contemporary book would be a
fluke. There are dozens of websites you can check for the most popular names
given to babies in each year as well as popular names among people who have
different cultural heritages from Irish to Japanese.
I also avoid some names for “good” characters because
I’ve personally disliked someone by that name. It makes no sense, but, hey, the
characters are in my book, I can name them as I please.
Are there names you love or hate? Does it color your ability to relate to a character?
Linda Lovely is the author of eight published mystery/suspense novels. Her latest book, BAD PICK, is the third book in the humorous cozy Brie Hooker Mystery Series.
5 comments:
Had to laugh as I read your post, Linda. In Book 1 of my Sacred Women's Circle series a secondary character (who gets his own story in #8) is introduced and we meet his foster son. I never checked because I "just knew" it was Evan. Well, my editor said (so you know the book is finished except for editing) "I thought the little boy's name was Evan." Well, that was enough to sow a seed of doubt so I checked. Yep, In Book 1 he's Evan. But I'd written 80,000+ pages with Ethan! And he was Ethan in my head and heart - what to do?
The idea of a sortable excel sheet is the next thing to terrifying to me. I keep a Series Bible but I did not add the little boy to it, never dreaming there would be a Book 8. I tend to go with names that "flow off my tongue" and if they are longer, the character ends up with a nickname or a familiar name. I love the name "Elizabeth" and throughout the series Elizabeth is also called "E" by her circle sisters.
I'm comfortable with Excel so it's easy for me. But you can also do columns in Word that you can also sort--or at least check for similarities. Yes, given that I sometimes can't even remember the name of a long-time friend, it's no surprise that I need prompts to remember my characters' names.
It's funny how we all do the naming differently, Linda. There are a couple names I have strong negative associations with, but I think I could get past them if the story is strong.
I like to research meanings of main character's names. For example, my hero in Blindsight is an undercover FBI agent going by the name Hector Guerrero. Hector was considered the perfect warrior in Greek mythology, and Guerrero means 'warrior' in Spanish. Plus, Hector rhymes with 'protector' - just sayin'.
Some names are just too good not to use for a villain. Blindsight's villain is Gregory Killingsworth. Again, just sayin'.
Oh my goodness, I forget my character names (and real people's names) all the time. It's been a life-long problem. I swear tI'm counting the days to when I can look at someone, and a database connected to my glasses will bring them up with name, occupation, children's name, partner's name and anything else I've collected.
One of the things I love about my church is that we all wear name tags--including visitors. That way I never hve to apologize for not remembering.
As to my characters, I do keep track of them--not in a spreadsheet, though that is a brilliant idea I might steal. I keep them in an electronic notepad. However, the key is writing EVERY name down. Like Judith, in one book I named children of a subsidiary character figuring I didn't need to write it in my notepad because they were babies and I'd never write their story.
Palm to forehead three books later when everyone was getting together with their children and I had to go back and read books to find children's names. The one time I relied on my memory, several of my fans corrected me after the book was published. Oy!
LOL I have such a problem finding names for my characters. Not so much the hero and heroine, they come to me already named, but the secondary characters and bit players give me fits. I'm guilty of naming people with names starting with the same letter - but only in the rough draft. I could easily write a Sam, Steve and Simon into one book. I fix the problem almost immediately but it ain't easy.
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