Yesterday, I was invited to a book swap with fellow published and unpublished children's writers. It was really fun to chat about the books we like, don't like, right down to examining the whole packaging of the book. One topic we talked about was character names and how hard it is to get the right name. Someone equated the process to naming your child. Totally agree. Naming my kid took forever. I searched online for the right meaning, the right flow of the name, if that name can be easily twisted into teasing, what the name meant in Spanish. I used the Bible, myths, character stories, movie star names. People were always more than willing to give their opinion too, which can be scary. Then, one day, we finally found the right name. It just clicked. And we kept it a secret so that no one can change our mind.
As I start on my next young adult book, I'm tackling names at a slow pace. Sometimes, I'll just use a bookmark until the right name comes along. The image above is a little inspiration for my next book, an artist rendition of the cult classic film, The Warriors. Best film ever!
Some Warrior names: Ajax, Swan, Cleon, Snow, Cowboy, and my favorite name, Rembrandt.
