What’s in a Name?

All authors, from writers of picture books to writers of novels, have their own ways of going about creating their story. Some map out each page or each chapter carefully, outlining the action meticulously. Some have a looser approach, and let the book lead them where it will, a little at a time, the way a car’s headlights at night light up just the bit of road directly in front. I have writer friends who tape outlines and diagrams all over their walls. But as for me, I can’t start writing until I have named all my characters—even if I have the whole story in my head. The book just refuses to come together until each character has found his or her rightful name.  Not just a placeholder name, either.  I rarely change the names once I start writing. Once, far into the process, my editor asked me to rename the central girl character because there was another book coming out from her department for the same age group and with a similar sidekick dog; the two girls shared the same name. I agreed to rename my character, but it took months before I warmed up (mostly!) to it. Not that there’s any science to my naming process—just a gut feeling of being the right fit.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” according to Shakespeare. But I beg to differ!