Depending on the story, picking names for the characters can take a lot of thought. In my novel All That Glitters the time period covers the late 1800’s. I should have determined the age of the characters and worked back to their birth year and checked for popular names of babies in those years. I wrote the entire novel with the main male character as Brett and then changed it to an appropriate name (Ben) after I found out the name wasn’t common during the era. Often a character arrives in my head already named and I can’t see them as anyone else. I’ve also chosen names to give recognition to family members. Both of my grandmothers appear in All That Glitters as secondary characters. I didn’t remember until my second to last reading before publication my oldest son’s name also makes a brief appearance as a farm hand.
Modern day tales are a little different. Writers recommend the consideration of the personality of your character and the location of the story when choosing character names. I also just learned you should use different first letters to keep characters distinguished from one another. In my new novel, the leads are Lindsay and Lucas. I haven’t decided if they are going to change or not. The names shouldn’t go over the top either: although, I did write in a Habakkuk to add a bit of humour. It’s also suggested you use soft consonants for softer characters, like Amelia for a pleasant travelling companion, and hard consonants for strong characters. Which brings us to Jodi’s choice for naming a character, she chose the:
– Muscle bound former military medic from Texas with a cute drawl. He works on the mission rescuing kids from difficult situations and giving them a new home.
And her name of choice is …. Cordell Sweet (Cord for short.)
What a great name for a strong character. Unique and memorable, Cord was named after her Grandma’s brother who passed away at the young age of 21. His last name gives a salute to Jodi’s own family.
Thanks so much, Jodi. I can’t wait to see how Cord’s character develops!
You all have yourselves a great week!