What's in a Name? How important is the name of your character to the success of your novel? Would Harry Potter have been as popular if the main characters name was Joe Smith? Joe Smith and the Chamber of Secrets? Would Albus Dumbledore have been as mysterious if he was named, Pat Connor?
In the ongoing process of outlining my novel, I am currently developing my characters. Surprisingly my biggest problem is naming them. Early on I named my main character, Willow, now after reading and writing the name over and over again I find that I hate the name. I am now scouring countless baby name websites in search of that perfect name. I don't remember having this many problems naming my own children.
It's not just the main character either, I'm having difficulties finding any name that I feel is right. I want the name to define my character and who they are. Since my book is about faeries I have been looking at Irish names. The only problem I have with that is that some of them are so different that I'm not even sure how to pronounce them, which is something I want my reader to be able to do. I want the names to be as rememberable as the characters themselves.
I suppose this is the root of the problem. Either that or I'm completely obsessing about something that isn't that big of a deal. So, dear readers? I ask you, just how important is the name of your characters, and am I the only one who obsesses as much over something as simple as a name?
No, you are most definitely not the only one who obsesses over the names! I also like to have the names of my characters mean something related to the story I am telling or to the characters' personalities. Some names are very difficult to pronounce, but maybe it will give you an idea and you could then change the spelling to something which is easier for the reader to guess, more phonetic? Sometimes names just come to me and they are perfect, but other times like one of my characters in my current novel...I know I am going to end up renaming him because he sounds ridiculous. If it helps though, I think the names are more important to the author than they are to the reader. As long as it has a nice ring to it and is a bit distinctive I think it will stick. Good luck!
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