Coming up with character names is harder than you might think, at least, for me it is. It’s hard because in reality people are more likely to have names like John Smith than Francis Dolarhyde (a fictional name I always loved)…you want it to be somewhat plausible, but not *too* crazy. Some may say I already blew that one with Calliope Flax, but the goblin who lives in my pillow told me to use that name, and I’m not about to go against what the goblin says.
I used to try to just completely make them up, but somewhere along the line I have begun absorbing the names of those around me like some name-sucking vampire of legend. I used one of my co-worker’s last name for a character I introduced in THE SILENT ARMY (a fact she does not yet know)…not because she’s anything *like* the character, but because I like the way the last name sounded. Hell, I’d squish different ones together if they made any sense, but so far all I get are ones like ‘Jeffvid Stokestruno’. Names are fair game. I’ll take them where I can get them.
It helps that I work at a somewhat large company but you can only raid the corporate email directory so many times trolling for names before all that’s left are ‘Hardman’ and ‘Quackenbush’, which I’m saving for my buddy cop story HARDMAN AND QUACKENBUSH where Lyle Hardman is the tough-as-nails loose cannon fighting a crippling Sweet Tart addiction, and Penn Quackenbush is an ex-CIA numerology expert who subdues suspects using a hybrid of drunken boxing and hot yoga (Showtime is going to be all over that, you watch).
The bottom line is; when you email me, follow me on Twitter, or friend me on Facebook, don’t be completely surprised if somewhere down the line you see a street, building, organization or person with your name. You probably didn’t know it, but by causing me to become aware of your name you actually entered into a binding contract allowing me full use of it in the future.
Sorry, but I don’t make the rules. The goblin who lives in my pillow does and believe me; if his bite is half as bad as his bark then it would be best for all concerned to just do what he says.
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I can believe this, because when I was trying to think up a name for my business, with out claiming or being accused of swipping someone elses business name, I had to do a lot of brain storming, a lot of internet engine search, trying to see if anyone had the name I wanted to name my store.
So yes, I can beleive it when you say a name is harder to come up with. But one thing that we will always do when, we take the name, is we will fight anyone who tries to take it and use it. The reason I say this is, because when I went checking on domain names for a potential website name, and I listed my business name (Jane’s Love of Books), the website decided it wanted to hold that domain hostage after they drained my bank account. I got my money back, plus turned the website into every federal and state bureau that investigates fraud, and taking money out of bank accounts without permission. I went one step further when I checked to see if my name came up on any website that was using my business name. Found out that the website that housed the domain name still had my business listed and was getting ready to sell my business name as a potential website, which prompt me to file a complaint further up the internet gateway that is over any and all website hosts. Needless to say my business name was taking off or deleted out of their for database for website names for sale.