by Denise Swanson
I’ve always been fascinate with names—maybe because I always hated my first name. Granted, Denise is better than my parents’ first thought, which was to name me Ernestina after my father. But I would have much preferred a more elegant name like Kathryn or Laura—which were my grandmothers’ names.
As a teenager, I used to write down the names of characters from books that I read. I had a system where I would group the names under heroes, heroines, and villains. I still have those index cards and find that my taste has changed a bit, but not too much. I also collected baby-naming books. When my mother first discovered my cache of these books, she was convinced I was pregnant—and since I was thirteen at the time, she nearly had a heart attack.
I continued to buy baby-naming books, finally having a legitimate reason once I started writing. Two of my favorites are Beyond Jennifer and Jason and The Baby Name Personality Survey. But I like the traditional ones, as well.
One of the best parts of starting to write a new book is picking out the characters names. Until I find the right name for a character, he or she doesn’t come alive to me. And even though names are important to me, I really goofed in my first book, Murder of a Small-Town Honey. If I’d had any idea that Wally was going to become a love interest for Skye, I would have chosen another name. Like the Johnny Cash song goes—Blake or Caleb or Max—anything but Wally. The worst part about choosing Wally is that I went to kindergarten with a Wally and everyone is now convinced I was secretly in love with him. Geesh!
Another lesson I learned from early books is that like clothes, names go in and out of fashion, and it’s important to give your characters names that are appropriate for their ages. For instance, most Debbies, Nancys, Barbaras, and Denises are from the Baby Boomer generation. I’ve made a few goofs in this area, as well.
Still, I love names. And in writing my newest book, Murder of a Royal Pain, which debuts April 7 (hint, hint), the character’s name are a much better fit.
-Denise
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6 comments:
As an avid reader of your books , I must admit I actually love the names in your books even Wally's because it is real and down to earth and makes the characters seem more accessible. I also have on my to buy list your latest book due out in April 2009. :)
Thanks, Rosalind!
Wally has grown on me--both the name and the charater :)
How very interesting, this blog on the names and the names chosen for novels/books!!
Fascinating...
Yes, I understand WELL your 'thing' with names. Whyever else would I go by "**re". My name is so 'teenagerish', which is fine were I a couple decades closer to that. NOT.
Oh, for Sara, or Diana, or Elizabeth, or Catherine. Such ladylike and lovely names. Alas. Not.
lol.
**re
ps: like bree (I say/write) without the b.
remmons@gmail.com
nope, NOT saying. Solidly NOT.
*smiles, but true.
I've always loved names too. I can remember making lists of names that I thought I'd like to use in the stories that I wrote in elementary school. And baby name books, they are great. I have one called, "The Last Word on First Names" by the same authors as the Jennifer/Jason book you have. Interesting stuff.
Kathryn was what we named our daughter - but her daddy started calling her Kathy & soon that's all she heard. She also ended up with the nickname Katydid. No sophistication there.
I bought two baby name books for each of my two kids (only 3 1/2 years apart but you know those first ones were out of date) so I'm glad to see somebody else with multiple baby name books.
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