That's my roll book. You'd think with all these possibilities I wouldn't have my nose stuck in a baby name book as I prepare to start my next novel. But in my mind there is only ONE name that will fit my heroine and my hero. My job is to find that one name.
I know my characters pretty well. They've been buzzing around in my head for some time. Knowing them will help me find their names. Although names and personalities don't always match in the real world, I like to make up for this oversight in my fiction. A previous heroine named Meg is no nonsense, Blythe is carefree, Grace is cool under pressure. My lifestyle maven will have an old fashioned name. Maybe Emma or Eleanor.
Whether a name starts with a vowel or consonant, a hard or soft sound, also depends on the character. For my TV producer, I want a name that barks, something that starts with a B or a D or a K. No sibilants, please.
My first day of teaching I stood in front of 100 fifth graders and their parents to call my roll. I called, "German Servin," just like it looks. Only this boy's name was "Her-MANN Ser-VEEN." I've obviously never forgotten, so pronunciation is a factor when I choose a name. I don't want my reader jerked out of the story every time they try to figure out how to say the name.
Then there's appropriateness to the time period, ethnicity and the age of the character. I love the name Arabella. She is the heroine of my all time favorite romance novel, a medieval. I love how the hero calls her Bella. But I write contemporary and you just don't see a whole lot of Arabellas running around. Thank heavens I don't write historicals, because the reverse is even worse. It's doubtful a lot of Jennifers were running around Regency England.
A friend who read my first novel hated the heroine's name. He just didn't think a thirty something Hispanic woman would be named Jordan. He was right, on two levels. To a lesser extent, it wasn't ethnically appropriate, though boundaries are blurred. More importantly, it wasn't age appropriate. A conventional couple wouldn't have considered the name Jordan for their daughter thirty plus years ago. Thanks to Michael Jordan, there are probably thousands of ten year olds named Jordan. Names like Cody and Tyler and Chelsea are popular today, but would they have been considered when your character was "born?"
I like to pick both protagonists' names at the same time, to see how they go together. Meg and Will, Luke and Kelly have a rhythm that Vanessa and Harrison just doesn't have. Also, I don't want to pair names reminiscent of popular couples. No Luke and Laura, no Jamie and Clair. I want my readers to envision my characters.
Then there's personal choice. I love the name Genevieve, so feminine and delicate. The same with Jacqueline. I won't choose these. Too hard to type. (Good thing my parents named me Mary.) I could abbreviate, I suppose, but Ginny and Jackie don't convey the same image.
Maybe it sounds anal, but I just know once I find the right name, my characters will turn to me and say, "You called?"
Mary Fechter has been a member of SARA for two and a half years and since then finds herself doing things she never thought she'd be doing, like writing this article. When she's not writing her contemporary romances with redheaded heroes, she teaches elementary music and spends time with her husband and son Josh.
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