Tuesday 8 May 2012

What's in a name? Everything.

No you didn’t. Tell me this is just a dream, a nightmare. Tell me you did not just change my name! OMG. You did. Sonofa… I can’t believe you had the nerve. If you think I'm going to lift so much as a finger until the end of the book you are sorely mistaken. I’m just going to sit here and stare at my navel until you give me my name back.


This was the attitude I got from one of my characters a few months ago after having changed their name. I knew early on in the writing process it would need changing but I procrastinated. You know, there's a saying about procrastination, inappropriate as hell to mention here, but so true. Anyway, fast forward two and a half years and I suddenly realized changing the name was going to cause me some difficulties, but I did it. And for weeks after the change, I cringed every time I saw the new name written on paper or on screen.

 So why did I change it?  Believability.



 As writers we have to control the type and amount of information we give the reader when we first introduce our characters. Their names can and should (in my humble opinion), provide some information about them and can sometimes be used to convey backstory. The reader is going to make automatic assumptions about our characters and we can't stop that. However, we can control these assumptions to a certain extent. Obviously, ethnicity, religion, age, language even personality traits can be transmitted to the reader based on their given names. 

When I began writing my wip, one of my characters had a Middle Eastern background with a Middle Eastern name. But I quickly realized my lacunae of that region made me uncomfortable writing about it, even if it was briefly mentioned in the book. So I changed it, giving my character an English lineage instead. But having to change their name two years later was like having to change one of my children’s names.  I had grown accustomed to the old name. On top of that, I had trouble moving forward with the story because the new name was so distracting. I'd say it took about a month for me to get used to the name change. And I’m still not 100% satisfied with it, but I know the new name makes my character more believable. 

So I respectfully disagree with you, Will, a rose named sweatymammothbreath would not smell as sweet…at least not in my book.

Let me know if you've ever had to change one of your character's names. Did you find the switch difficult to make? If you had to change your MC name could you do it?  

17 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this post! And it is so true! Character names do matter.

    I had to change one of mine well into the story. I kicked and screamed and cursed, but I did it. For MONTHS after, I would stumble over it and say the old name when discussing it with my mom who knew the story. ("...Lucien--I mean Walter." LOL) But finally it stuck. And you know what? I like it better. I can't imagine Walter as anyone else. :)

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    1. Thanks Melissa, I see you know the feeling well! But I'm glad you finally got used to Walter (I like Walter better, Lucien is my grand-father's name! lol).

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  2. I rarely change and name because right away I know what I want the characters' names to say about them.

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    1. Hi Theresa, I can usually say the same thing, with the exception of this one particular character.

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  3. I like the names that I've chosen.

    I guess as long as you don't start calling black people Lahonda Civic Johnson, I'd be okay with it.

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  4. I have changed it but it has always been a good thing. My current antagonist's name is BADGUY. I know the name will come to me, but it hasn't yet and I didn't want a stand-in name other than BADGUY.

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    1. BADGUY! Ha, love it. I need to do that next time until I'm 100% sure of the name.

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  5. I haven't changed their names, but it was hard to name them. I think it was almost as hard as naming my kids. Here were these characters, I already knew there personality and all their flaws. It was hard.

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  6. I think that naming characters is one of my weaker points. I tend to battle with it and just call the person Mr.X or Mrs.Y... yet identity is so important, it lends credibility to the character.

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  7. I think I may have done this once a long time ago. I think there would have to be a very good reason to do it and if so then it would make sense...and not bother me so much.

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  8. "I’m just going to sit here and stare at my navel until you give me my name back." Hah! I love it. :D

    I've only changed the names of secondary characters. Then again, I spend hours and hours poring over ideas/research for my main characters' names. I get pretty attached to them. :)

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  9. I've thought of it, especially since my MC's name is also the name of someone I find annoying. But it's a good name and have to leave it and just try to ignore the connection. The other names have come from people I know. My "badguy" name came from someone who in real life made me miserable. I see it as sweet revenge!

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  10. Jessica: For me, some of my characters were easy to name, but a few have given me trouble.

    Michelle: Yes, totally agree with you about the importance of character names and credibility.

    Cindy: Thanks for stopping by Cindy. This is the first time I've had so much trouble with a character's name.

    Carrie: Lol, navel-gazing characters are so difficult to work with. (: I've gotten pretty attached to my characters too.

    Honey: You're brave naming your "badguy" after someone who made you miserable in real life. If I did that, they wouldn't make it alive past the first page. lol.

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  11. I change character's names all the time. I think the character should make the name, not the other way around, so it's not usually very hard for me, but I do understand where you're coming from.

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  12. I've never changed my character's names, but I had to (yes, had to) change the title of my first book, Felicite Found. The original name could have... well, let's just keep it at that. I begrudgingly changed the name and struck out to find a new name of which I love more than the original name, now. Sigh! And it makes a great deal more sense with the books theme than the other one.

    Now that I think of it, I guess I did try swapping the names of two of my characters once, but alas, I just couldn't. They were their names. And good French names too: Pierre and Luc.

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    1. The title of my book came to me from the start, figuring I would change it down the line, but I never did and I think it fits pretty well now. And yes, Pierre and Luc are great classic French names! (:

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