Names are the Things

A follow-up to last week:

I complained lately that my characters hated their names .

Since then they have chosen names and I am pleased.

I think they are, too.

Several people have asked my method in picking out names.

I thought I’d share herein.

Step 1: Who is it?

I am almost at the midpoint of my Work in Progress {WIP}, so by now I have gotten to know my characters fairly well. Obviously. I would be in bigger trouble than merely choosing names if this were not the case.

So the first thing I did was brainstorm different one-word characteristics that describe each person.

Here was my thought process behind the four characters giving me such a hard time.

Not-Edvin wasn’t difficult. He is a somewhat retired mercenary-cum-potions master with a penchant toward hybrid beasts. Not-Ed has been in hiding for some time, but in his day he was quite the scrapper. Dark-skinned and scarred, rugged and handsome, he is hardened with a soft inside. This made me think of a dog – a mutt – a mongrel – a cur. Not a bad guy per se … but not immediately lovable, either.

Not-Tipp was a bit more of a challenge, since his character started out pretty annoying to me. I absolutely could NOT get him right. Now that I’m further in, he has grown on me, and I have figured out his place a bit better. He is a young man and serves as Not-Ed’s sidekick / protégé. Very naïve and hopeful, he sees the best in people and is easily misled; likewise, he is intuitively wise in seeing the best path when it comes to personal dealings. Not-Ed becomes quite fond of Not-Tipp, and indeed, Not-Tipp eventually becomes the rock of the party.

Not-Polly is someone we at first trust, but who eventually betrays our confidence. She is the Judas we never see coming. All I can think when I picture her is RED. She isn’t young and sexy; she is middle-aged and kindly, and as Emandine’s closest friend, her betrayal is all the more shocking and hurtful.

Not-Pandora is actually young and sexy and wrapped in red, so our first impression is that she is a naughty creature bent on destruction. But this isn’t the case. She embodies the phrase “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful”. Or, more appropriately perhaps, “I’m not bad; I’m just drawn that way”. Eventually she provides a source of hope and redemption.

Step 2: Pick one word.

• Not-Ed: mongrel.


• Not-Tipp: rock.


• Not-Polly: Judas.


• Not-Pandora: Pandora.

Step 3: Look it up.

There are several etymology sites – that is, word origin – available online. I am lazy. I went straight to Wikipedia. Some might argue that Wikipedia isn’t a reliable source of information, and while that may or may not be true in the grand scheme of things, I wasn’t on a fact-finding mission.

I was looking for a specific word that would *POP* and sound just right. When I skim material in this fashion, I don’t ever know precisely what it is I’m looking for.

But I sure know it when I see it!

Not-Ed became Medaskal.

Actually, for about five seconds he became Askal, which apparently translates to “street dog” and would have been perfect. Except that another character already has a name that begins with an “A” and I don’t like when that happens. Askal is too close to Anson. I would get confused in writing, and I have to think readers might get confused, as well. Plus, someone had suggested his name should definitely begin with an “M” which sounded right to me. So I combined Ed and Mongrel and Askal: Medaskal. He tells me I have done well and that this is, indeed, his name. The process works.

Not-Tipp became Kephas.

This fits so well, I can’t believe I ever DIDN’T know his name. He thanks me profusely for such a strong name, since he is such a weak boy. In his own eyes, at any rate. His name is more true than he knows.

Not-Polly became Kerioth. And studying about her name origin makes me more mad at her than I already was. Her name SOUNDS caring, but I know otherwise. Back-stabbing bitch. She is smiling at me all smug in having a name which fits her so well.

Not-Pandora became Sinevas.

She was the most fun to study, because Pandora in many old cultures was known as “first woman” much like Eve or, preceding her, Lilith. And while in many stories she is depicted as a temptress {as in Christianity, wherein she made Adam bite the apple}, in most cases she represents hope and redemption for mankind. I like that her name bares both aspects of good and evil, like a yin-yang, because this truly embodies her spirit. Sinevas is bowing to me for having discovered who she really is.

Everyone is happy.

Having spent hours researching possibilities, I am now able to move on to more pressing matters. Like, for example, placing my head in a blender since I have to start all over. Okay, not “ALL” over. But I do have several scenes to rewrite and some characters to move about into better positions. And, of course, I have the tedious, administrative task of doing a “find & replace” for all those not-names.

Glory!

Writing is hard.

• What is your process for naming characters?


• Do you ever have difficulty in settling on character names?


• How do you deal with unruly characters?

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