Feels about right

So, I’ve gotten up to about page 33 in the back burner work. I’ve given up on trying to take this slow, and I’m just going to do what I feel like. It goes contrary to everything I tell people when they are looking for advice, but since what I feel like is usually six hours M-F, not two hours twice a week, I don’t think it’s going to matter.

Page 33, brings me to the end of chapter three, and all ready Roy is now Dylan because I wanted to change William (tech guy) to Riley (tech woman) and it’s a no-no to have two people with the same first sound in their name in the same book. It’s not a big deal, but  if you can avoid it, do so unless there’s a reason for it. (like all of Jenks’ kids having the same first sound.) Trice (young girl snot) has become Walt (young boy snot) and though I ache to be letting such a great name like Trice go, I’m really liking young snot as a boy. The girl was cool, but the boy is charming. He’s got such a great ego, much like Jenks, I’m afraid. Even Jo’s boss has had a name change from Bob, which truly was nothing more than a place holder, to Lloyd, which captures his attitude perfectly.

If you look for names, check out this website from the Social Security office. I’ve used it for years. It has practical information about how a name has changed in popularity for over 200 years in some cases, but mostly I like it because they are real names and browsing about doesn’t get you diaper ads in your news feed. 

I particularly like doing a search by year. If I want a dignified name or one for an older character who was born in the 30’s, I do a search on the 1930’s, and if I want one for a younger person, I hit the 2000’s. You can even search by area, making your character’s name very southern, or eastern, or west coast.