Naming Characters and Coffee Shops
Someone on Facebook recently asked me when I planned to auction off another character name, which made me realize that I forgot to auction one off for my work-in-progress, The Lies We Told. Life got a little crazy during this book! It's too late now, unfortunately, but I will definitely remember for the next book. Meanwhile, I thought I'd tell you about some of the names I've had the challenge of using in the past.
First, an explanation. When I auction off a character name, that means I will use the winner's name--but not his or her personality or likeness--in the novel on which I'm currently working. The winner must agree to have his or her name used for a secondary character, for good or evil. The purpose of the auction is to have fun and to make money for a charitable organization.
The first time I auctioned a name was for my church in Virginia. I had in mind, as I usually do, both a male or female character that I could name after the winner. However, I didn't count on the winner being Moto Sato. I mean, what were the odds? The book I was working on at the time was Kiss River, and I had to somehow fit a Japanese man into the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the second World War. Okay, I could have used the name for one of the modern day characters, but I like a good challenge. As I began thinking about it, I came up with a perfect subplot involving Mr Sato. Writing is often that way. What seems like a dilemma turns into an opportunity, just as in life.
The second auction, also for my church, was won by a gentleman with the perfectly sane name Jim Price. I've always been grateful to Mr Price for this! He became a lovely character in Her Mother's Shadow.
Next came The Bay at Midnight. I knew which character I needed a name for. He was a thug. A real brute. And who won? Bruno Walker. The name was too perfect. How could I name a brute Bruno without the reader groaning? But I did, and it worked out well.
Unless I'm forgetting, which is very possible, I don't think I auctioned a character name for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. I was writing that book the year I moved from Virginia to North Carolina, so a) I was moving away from my church community and its auctions and b) I was frazzled.
When I became involved with the North Carolina Writers' Network, though, I raffled off a name at their conference. I was writing Before the Storm at the time, and I had a fairly good idea what character I needed a name for. I'd forgotten my usual luck at this auctioning-off-names thing, though. The person who won? Jabeen Akhtar. Sigh. I played around with the name for weeks, trying to figure out where she would fit into the story without simply taking over the book. Such a great name! I had a coffee shop in the book, and it came to me one sleepless night: Jabeen's Java Bean. Jabeen's is practically a character in the book, and since the coffee shop is also in the sequel, my current release Secrets She Left Behind, I think I've done my duty by Jabeen.
So I will do this again with my next book (which I'll be starting in September! No rest for the weary). I'm not sure yet, but I may use the Internet to help me auction off the name this time. That way, I can increase my chances of getting a name that keeps me awake at night as I try to figure out how to use it.
First, an explanation. When I auction off a character name, that means I will use the winner's name--but not his or her personality or likeness--in the novel on which I'm currently working. The winner must agree to have his or her name used for a secondary character, for good or evil. The purpose of the auction is to have fun and to make money for a charitable organization.
The first time I auctioned a name was for my church in Virginia. I had in mind, as I usually do, both a male or female character that I could name after the winner. However, I didn't count on the winner being Moto Sato. I mean, what were the odds? The book I was working on at the time was Kiss River, and I had to somehow fit a Japanese man into the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the second World War. Okay, I could have used the name for one of the modern day characters, but I like a good challenge. As I began thinking about it, I came up with a perfect subplot involving Mr Sato. Writing is often that way. What seems like a dilemma turns into an opportunity, just as in life.
The second auction, also for my church, was won by a gentleman with the perfectly sane name Jim Price. I've always been grateful to Mr Price for this! He became a lovely character in Her Mother's Shadow.
Next came The Bay at Midnight. I knew which character I needed a name for. He was a thug. A real brute. And who won? Bruno Walker. The name was too perfect. How could I name a brute Bruno without the reader groaning? But I did, and it worked out well.
Unless I'm forgetting, which is very possible, I don't think I auctioned a character name for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. I was writing that book the year I moved from Virginia to North Carolina, so a) I was moving away from my church community and its auctions and b) I was frazzled.
When I became involved with the North Carolina Writers' Network, though, I raffled off a name at their conference. I was writing Before the Storm at the time, and I had a fairly good idea what character I needed a name for. I'd forgotten my usual luck at this auctioning-off-names thing, though. The person who won? Jabeen Akhtar. Sigh. I played around with the name for weeks, trying to figure out where she would fit into the story without simply taking over the book. Such a great name! I had a coffee shop in the book, and it came to me one sleepless night: Jabeen's Java Bean. Jabeen's is practically a character in the book, and since the coffee shop is also in the sequel, my current release Secrets She Left Behind, I think I've done my duty by Jabeen.
So I will do this again with my next book (which I'll be starting in September! No rest for the weary). I'm not sure yet, but I may use the Internet to help me auction off the name this time. That way, I can increase my chances of getting a name that keeps me awake at night as I try to figure out how to use it.
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