Jackson Pearce's Blog, page 16
March 7, 2011
The End of the World!
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
March 5, 2011
Book to Movie Adaptations
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
March 4, 2011
Rejected Careers
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
March 1, 2011
February 26, 2011
Character Names
So, when we did the Branson live shows, a question that popped up over and over (and over and over and over) was "How do you come up with character names?"
To me, that's always a weird question because it's like asking "How do people come up with their childrens' names?"
Sure, some people's names have Great Purpose (people named after grandparents or parents or the model car their parents once made out on), but plenty of people come by their names Just Because (people named because "it sounded pretty" or "I needed a one syllable first name to go with my eight syllable last name," for example). There's no one magical, all encompassing way that people come up with names for their children, so why would there be one magical, all encompassing way that authors come up with names for their characters?
For example– some of my characters' names have Great Purpose, and others? I type in some idea to Nymbler.com and see what pops up, then choose one that sounds nice from the list. That's how I ended up with Silas's name in SISTERS RED, and Samuel and Ansel's in SWEETLY.
Some characters' have names that I just *liked* for that character, with no explanation. Sophia in SWEETLY, for example, and Shelby in PURITY. Even the dog in SWEETLY, Luxe? His name just came to me one day. There's no deeper explanation than "Hey! The dog should be named Luxe! I love it!"
And others are names I grabbed from pop culture or history, or from people I knew, or family members, or names that have symbolic meaning. Sometimes I'm reluctant to reveal how I came across these names, since I don't want people to suddenly view the character as the source of the name (for example, if I said I named a character Lindsay because I love Lindsay Lohan's name, you'd probably expect her to steal necklaces or do some crack, right?).
But, since we're talking character names, here are the sources of a few:
AS YOU WISH-
All the character's first names are Shakespearean references, because the story itself contains many Shakespearean themes and symbols (for example, Lawrence helps Viola and Jinn fall in love– he's named after Friar Lawrence from Romeo and Juliet). Most of their last names are from the musical RENT. Because I like RENT.
SISTERS RED-
Scarlett and Rosie's names are pretty obviously color-themed names. Silas originally had a different name that I had to change– I came across the name Silas while hunting for his new name, and loved it. There's an obituary in the book as well; most of the names of the "surviving" family listed in the obituary are members of my own extended family. Screwtape the cat is named after C.S. Lewis's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS.
SWEETLY-
Gretchen and Ansel are variations of the names Hansel and Gretel. Layla is named for the Eric Clapton song– the song is about Clapton's intense, impossible love for a woman he calls "Layla," who was really Pattie Harrison, his close friend George Harrison's (yes, from the Beatles) wife. There's also a list of girls that appears in the book– most (not all) of the names are the names of my students that graduated in 2010.
So, to make a long story short– the answer to "How do you get the names your characters?" is "I get them from everywhere."
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
Character Names
So, when we did the Branson live shows, a question that popped up over and over (and over and over and over) was "How do you come up with character names?"
To me, that's always a weird question because it's like asking "How do people come up with their childrens' names?"
Sure, some people's names have Great Purpose (people named after grandparents or parents or the model car their parents once made out on), but plenty of people come by their names Just Because (people named because "it sounded pretty" or "I needed a one syllable first name to go with my eight syllable last name," for example). There's no one magical, all encompassing way that people come up with names for their children, so why would there be one magical, all encompassing way that authors come up with names for their characters?
For example– some of my characters' names have Great Purpose, and others? I type in some idea to Nymbler.com and see what pops up, then choose one that sounds nice from the list. That's how I ended up with Silas's name in SISTERS RED, and Samuel and Ansel's in SWEETLY.
Some characters' have names that I just *liked* for that character, with no explanation. Sophia in SWEETLY, for example, and Shelby in PURITY. Even the dog in SWEETLY, Luxe? His name just came to me one day. There's no deeper explanation than "Hey! The dog should be named Luxe! I love it!"
And others are names I grabbed from pop culture or history, or from people I knew, or family members, or names that have symbolic meaning. Sometimes I'm reluctant to reveal how I came across these names, since I don't want people to suddenly view the character as the source of the name (for example, if I said I named a character Lindsay because I love Lindsay Lohan's name, you'd probably expect her to steal necklaces or do some crack, right?).
But, since we're talking character names, here are the sources of a few:
AS YOU WISH-
All the character's first names are Shakespearean references, because the story itself contains many Shakespearean themes and symbols (for example, Lawrence helps Viola and Jinn fall in love– he's named after Friar Lawrence from Romeo and Juliet). Most of their last names are from the musical RENT. Because I like RENT.
SISTERS RED-
Scarlett and Rosie's names are pretty obviously color-themed names. Silas originally had a different name that I had to change– I came across the name Silas while hunting for his new name, and loved it. There's an obituary in the book as well; most of the names of the "surviving" family listed in the obituary are members of my own extended family. Screwtape the cat is named after C.S. Lewis's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS.
SWEETLY-
Gretchen and Ansel are variations of the names Hansel and Gretel. Layla is named for the Eric Clapton song– the song is about Clapton's intense, impossible love for a woman he calls "Layla," who was really Patti Harrison, his close friend George Harrison's (yes, from the Beatles) wife. There's also a list of girls that appears in the book– most (not all) of the names are the names of my students that graduated in 2010.
Anyhow– so the answer to "how do you get the names your characters?" always has and always will be "I get them from everywhere." And I don't want to assume, but I'd guess that's about the same for every author.
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
February 24, 2011
L.K. Madigan
Lisa's books:
http://amzn.to/ekvd6H
Her blog:
http://lkmadigan.livejournal.com/
The friend I mentioned wrote a beautiful piece about his mother HERE.
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
February 22, 2011
February 17, 2011
February 16, 2011
Branson, in summary
Mirrored from JacksonPearce.com.
