It is an unfortunate aspect of my life that I am not very good with names. My memory for names is not ideal, and I can often be found chanting ‘I think it begins with a P’ (when in reality it may begin with an S). It is particularly unfortunate, for a writer.

Although I can create sweeping visuals, rounded personalities and driving plots, I appear to have a singular lack of imagination when it comes to tilting my stories or naming characters.

Read any book or online guide on writing fiction, and they will stress the importance of a name. In ‘Writing a Novel’ (1996), Nigel Watts states that ‘A name is not just a facility to help us refer to things: names have layer upon layer of meaning and confer dignity.’

Some stress the importance of the meaning of the name, imparting symbolism, foreshadowing plot developments, identifying character traits or social position, or reflecting famous names from history. Others note the ‘sounds’ of the name. 

Sophie King suggests choosing a ‘friendly’ name for the main character suggesting that ‘names which end ‘y’ are often good for this’, while Mary Wibberley suggests the use of ‘hard letters’ for hero names.

Most of these guides focus on the names of the main characters: the hero/ heroine, and by implication any villain of the story. However, there are frequently (though not always) more than two characters in a story. As well as the main characters, there are secondary ‘support’ characters, as well as place names and passing visitors. Even if one of them is a dog, names need to be found for all of them to some extent. 

And this is where I often struggle. Particularly in the initial drafting stages of the piece. As I am a ‘write first and a research-expand/ correct/ re-direct later’ writer (also known as a ‘write by the seat of your pants’ “pantser”), I commonly pause only briefly for a name in the first instance. In doing so, I have discovered over the years that there are a number of names that I fall back to. Claire and Nina are some of my most commonly used names and can be found throughout my catalogue of drafts.

But as I’m developing my Whatten Hall novel series (currently typing out book two as book one does the rounds of agents), I have realised I am developing a new quirk. With this series, I seem to have developed a fascination with the letter J.

Of the approximately 25 characters who appear in either of the books, 13 of them have the initial J somewhere in their name. Or did have until I started to realise this and correct them. That’s almost half the characters in the story!

I’ve got two John’s, a Jesse and Jessica, Black Jack the horse, several Joe’s and a married couple with the surname Jones (with the wife’s Christian name also starting with a J!) and the protagonist and her father having the surname Johnston.

However attractive the letter J may be, this is over the top and will be filtered as part of the editing process. As I get to know the characters better, and understand their place in the story I can review what will suit the character and the situation. I shall review my book of baby names, review film credits and explore online sources to identify appropriate names and create a more diverse nomenclature

More immediately, however, I am now considering the possibility of a short story deliberately filled with characters including a particular letter. Perhaps I will expand on the success (or otherwise) of this in another post.

References:

King, S. (2010). How to write your first novel. London: Robinson.

Masterclass. (2021, 08 07). How to Name your Characters. Retrieved 12 16, 2023, from Masterclass: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-name-your-characters

Watts, N. (1996). (Teach Yourself) Writing a Novel and getting published. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd.

Wibberley, M. (1985). To Writers with Love: on writing romantic novels. . London: Buchan an Enright Publishers Ltd.