writing

We all know the names of Pippi, Ramona, Winnie, Sherlock, Charlie Bucket, Harry Potter, and many more. Character names represent more than a word on a piece of paper. The name of the character comes to life and becomes a real person throughout a novel. Authors take great care in naming their characters. The ideas can come from many sources and places of inspiration. In my children’s book, Turtle Tube: An Erutuf National Park Novel, I selected the names of Reese and Dean by using my children’s middle names. Reese and Dean fit their characters really well. I based other characters’ names on their personalities and characteristics. I even changed a name at one point. Olivia was originally named Eva. In the editing process, I discovered that Eva and Emma were too similar of names to have in this book. I couldn’t imagine changing Emma, so opted to change Eva to Olivia. I’m working on the second book in this series and need a name for a 5 year old boy character. I decided to ask for some help and who else best to help than a class of children. 🙂 A local fourth grade class agreed to help and all wrote down name suggestions on pieces of paper for me to review. I love the suggestions! I am really impressed how serious the students took this task and wanted to help. Thank you to Mrs. Anderson’s class for all these thoughtful and creative suggestions!