While writing my current novel, I realized I was re-using names for new characters. That’s confusing for readers. It’s also a violation of the Author Rule (I made that up), but it should be avoided.
There are guidelines for naming characters. In a blog I wrote several years ago, naming characters, I referred to Writers’ Digest’s rules for naming characters:
- Check the meaning of names. Lucifer, for instance, certainly makes a statement.
- Get your era right. A 21st-century name like Heather wouldn’t be appropriate for a character in the 1800s.
- Say the names aloud. A good name on paper might be confusing to the ear.
- Use different initials and a variety of syllables for the cast of characters.
- Consider alliteration. Severus Snape from the Harry Potter books is a good example. (I love this rule.)
- Don’t be too specific with names. Writers’ Digest cautions that can lead to lawsuits by “real life” people.
- Double-check to ensure the names are ethnically correct. I researched “common Irish names” for Lone Tree Claim and “common Norwegian names” for Proving Her Claim.
So, how do authors keep track of names? (insert shrug here). In Medicine Creek Claim, I named the Claims Agent Mike Morgan. Because it sounded familiar, I did some back-tracking. Yes, there was a character named Joe Morgan in Proving Her Claim. Before Medicine Creek Claim went to print the claims agent was re-christened Mike Mathews.
That’s when I realized I should be tracking the characters’ names and including a brief note about who they were. Often, I describe the horse they ride (insert another shrug here).
It happened again in my current work in progress when I named one of Charlotte’s children “Betsy.” I wanted to name the little girl after her Aunt Lizzy, using a nickname for Elizabeth, and “Betsy” sounded playful. But there’s already a character with that name. Betsy Tomlinson owns the best and only diner in Shady Bluffs. Charlotte’s daughter is now Eliza.
I did intentionally name Lizzy’s son Max after Lizzy and Charlotte’s deceased brother Max. It’s a common practice to use the names of deceased family members as a way to honor and remember them. I didn’t think it would be too confusing in this instance.
On the subject of honoring deceased family members, several of my characters are named after my ancestors. Charlotte Blanche Ward is named for my paternal grandmother, Blanche Ward. Elizabeth Ruby Ward was named for my grandmother’s sister, Ruby. I switched to the other side of the family tree in Iron Horse Claim. William Bartholomew is the town’s mayor. He also owns and operates the town’s grist mill, “Bart’s Mill.” I’m not likely to duplicate those names for new characters in future books.
As I continue writing about the characters in On the Dakota Frontier, my cast of characters continues to grow. I tell friends that I write books because “all these people are living in my head.”