I have a nice, healthy obsession with character names. I need to get them right, or they don’t work on the page. In the past, I’ve started writing a character as one name and he’s changed his mind mid-sentence, started referring to himself as a different name, and it was a couple of pages before I noticed! (At which point, I proceeded, calling him by the new name, and he turned into a slightly different character I like much better. So I’ve learned to go with the character’s gut instinct about themselves.)
Most times I’ve ever changed a character’s name mid-stream: three. I’m writing this chameleon now.
Stephanie Hale discusses the naming of characters, and several other authors weigh in, here. Check it out.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Names are so crucial. I used to be a teacher, so it’s even harder to pick names–every single one of them is associated with a former student, and that just won’t do!
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January 25th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
In one of my WIPS on the shelf… One of the male characters in the book has gone through at least five different names. Hmmm… Maybe that’s at least one reason that project is currently on the shelf.
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