Thursday, March 6, 2008

Tom, Dick, or Harry?

Got my strong, virile male?

Check!

Lucious heroine?

Check!

And their names are...

Uhh...

A few months ago a review site asked me what kind of obstacles I faced due to the fact that I teach Kindergarten by day, then write romance at night. They also wanted to know if I ever took anything from my day job and put it into a book.

Well, yes. I do. My kids’ names have become a great source of inspiration for characters’ names. And, trust me, after thirty plus years of teaching, I’ve come across all manner of names—spelling and pronunciation aside. I figured if *I* couldn’t pronounce the name the way it looked, how could I expect my readers to?

I know several writers who use baby names books to find a name that “fits”. Some writers have even held contests (Name My Hero/Heroine!). Gee, I remember a time when a well-known author once admitted to searching through a phone book.

Where do you get the names for your characters? I would love to hear any other ideas, tips, or suggestions y’all would be willing to share!

1 comment:

Diana Castilleja said...

Every now and then I use the naming sites, not the baby naming sites, though. I prefer to have the meaning for the name if it applies. Otherwise, they tell me their name. I've really had very few characters come to me unnamed already.