I started responding to a comment, and then realized I could make a whole post about this very topic. So that's what I'm doing.
Names are a very interesting part of who we are. In many ways, they define who we are, sometimes dictating how we act, who we associate with, and how we are viewed by others and ourselves.
When I write fiction I take all of this into consideration. It is one of the many aspects about writing that can be so irritating, that makes writing so difficult. In a particular piece I'm working on right now, each name has been chosen with great care. I choose names differently depending on the character. Sometimes it's all about the meaning. Sometimes it's in the symbology. Sometimes it has to do with the way particular names sound and how they would affect the other characters. Sometimes it's about association. Names sometimes come to me in a moment of wonderful inspiration, like a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. This happened in the case of the two main characters of the piece I'm currently working on. But this is a very rare occurrence. With all of the other characters, I've had to try out different names, sometimes several times, until I find just the right fit. Sometimes a name seems so perfect for a particular character, and then as I begin developing the character even more, it becomes so obviously the wrong name. As strange as it sounds, sometimes I place temporary names until the characters "tell" me what they want their names to be. It's a tricky business.
In "553," I chose names based on the way the names sounded. One syllable names such as John, Khord, and Ode all represent the stark world of a mental hospital and the one-sidedness of the characters. Edith, Alma, Irene, and Margaret, even Larry and Mrs. Wellington, have multi-syllable names to contrast with the starkness of the hospital.
So that's the short version of my naming process, at least the character naming process. Choosing a title is more difficult because so much depends on a title. After all, we really do judge books by their covers, and often by their titles.
4 comments:
wow, I'm impressed. I didn't know it was so hard. Just make sure you name all your cool characters Stephanie, or Stephen if they are a boy!
So, does that mean we need to give Lindsey baby name books as gifts???
In high school I first learned about Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and his charecter Willy Loman--a man who falls into depression and takes his life--Low Man. I appreciate how subtle the one syllable names create an impression of starkness and the romantic notion of having the charecter tell you the names they want.
Thank you so much for sharing your process! On the flip side, I really enjoy examining the elements of a short story or poem and trying to figure out exactly why the author chose the name. There's always a reason; good authors like you know that proper names are essential. Discovering the reasons and implications is like detective work! Ooh! You're making me want to go back to school!
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