What’s in a Name?

When setting up characters for a story, one of the first things a writer usually decides upon is their name. The choice should not be undertaken too lightly. The name is, after all, their most significant unifying, identifying marker. For me, I always want to make sure it fits the personality type, the image that I want to project.

For example: When I think of the name Stacy I think of a popular girl. Blond, wavy hair. Aqua green eyes—large, doleful even. Perhaps not academically intelligent, but gifted with a unique magnetism that draws people in, makes them like her, whether they really want to or not. She’s not terribly kind, but this is done in a thoughtless, selfless manner, which makes her a little less of a formidable enemy. She favors peach-colored lipstick and is known for her coconut-smelling shampoo….

See how much detail I envisioned on the name alone? Given how connected I feel toward her based solely upon that fact, it would be quite easy for me to convey those traits believably (thoroughly) to my readers, and as such, probably difficult to aptly present her as a kind, loving, dark-haired and curvaceous stay-at-home wife who spends the better part of her days caring for the needs and wants of others…. Not impossible, of course, but not instinctive, either.

 Try it on for size. Take the name Logan: what does that name inspire within your mind’s eye? Write a small, 750-word story based upon it. Who is he? What kind of story would he be part of? Write it!

*ALTERNATIVELY, if you want to REALLY stretch those writerly muscles, do the inverse. For example, I would take Stacy and actually write her AS the kind, loving, dark-haired and curvaceous stay-at-home wife who spends the better part of her days caring for the needs and wants of others… and make it BELIEVEABLE. As I said above, it’s certainly not impossible, rather it’s a more deliberate and conscious creation–one that you’ll have to craft so well that you’ll shift your own instinctive image.

Okay, have fun!