I don’t judge writing contests any longer. I don’t have time, or the inclination. I much prefer talking writing in general terms or even getting specific at times here on the blog. But I did 
recently judge a contest with very short entries specific to a particular publisher and imprint, and I’d like to make a comment (or an ongoing series of them) about some things I noticed. First up?
Character names. Can we talk?
Now, I’ve been known to use some strange names, probably more so when starting out (my very first hero ever, unpublished and for a good reason, was Cable Kincaid, snort) because it seemed the Thing To Do in romance. All those Bricks and Cades and Damons, and very few Bobbys or Stans or Toms. Yes, my first Temptation hero was Gardner Barnes, but I stole that from my favorite Kevin Costner movie ever. (Points to anyone who knows what it was!) And I still use names that aren’t exactly what you find in the workplace.
Thinking of my SG-5 guys . . . I used to work with a Christian (and then there’s Christian Bale, yum), though have never known a Tripp or a Julian. One of #2’s friends from school had a brother named Kelly. I don’t personally know anyone named Eli. Mick isn’t too far out there, and Harry is as common as it gets. Ezra, not so much. Jack, yeah. Coming up, are Simon and Finn, neither one requiring a dictionary to sound out. And then there were my gIRL-gEAR guys: Leo, Eric, Ray, Jacob, Doug, and Patrick.
But when the spelling of a name makes a reader stop to figure out how it’s pronounced (and I’m not talking sf/f with weird punctuation or extra added H’s), or the name has another meaning that’s has a very negative connotation or is actually an emotion, let’s not go there. One of the entries I read in this contest had so many unique spellings of unusual names, I got lost – and in only 750 words. And then one might wonder, who were this character’s parents and what were they thinking? My own first name (not the pseudo) and its spelling is unusual, and I’ve gone through my life correcting its pronunciation. I didn’t foist the same on my kids, and was thrilled when the son and d-i-l named their baby Sam.
One of my favorite reads of last year was Robyn Carr’s Virgin River trilogy. Jack, John, Mike, Paul, Dan . . . yeah, down-to-earth names. Common. Identifiable. Dare I say, real and believable. Even giving a flavor to the tone of the series, pulling the reader into the story world. I’m not saying you can’t use “romance-novel” names, but what I saw when judging was just that. Names that seemed chosen simply because they were unique, and not because they fit the person in the story.
What about you guys? Ever run across a name as bad as Cable Kincaid that had you rolling your eyes? *g*
Your RL life name Can’t be as bad as mine. you would not believe some of the pronounciations i’ve had. it’s Ayla, as in phonetical, Aay-laa, i’ve had Al-yaa, Eye-laa, Ee-luh, and thats not even counting all those awful spellings i’ve had. (one of which was Eelauh or some such)
compared to that those names are really tame.
by AJ O'Donovan November 14th, 2007 at 1:01 pmFandango!
by #2 November 14th, 2007 at 1:02 pmYou Google well, my child. ;)
by Alison November 14th, 2007 at 1:03 pmYeah, I can be guilty of using unusual names, but if I do, the name is chosen for a REASON (like the meaning) and the other other character(s) names are normal, short, etc. to balance it. It is something I tend to overdo, though. *cringe*
by Joely November 14th, 2007 at 1:19 pmWhat is this Google you speak of? I like that movie too!
And hey! answer my texts once in a while!
by #2 November 14th, 2007 at 1:21 pmOh, sorry. Haven’t looked at my phone all day.
Joely – I think in this particular entry I was overwhelmed by how many there were. It was a short scene, and there were at least 5 names used, and only 1 of them was immediately recognizable AND pronounceable!
by Alison November 14th, 2007 at 1:31 pmI can’t stand weird names in romances OR in RL! Honestly, I don’t think weird character names are that unrealistic these days, because an awful lot of people are giving their kids incredibly stupid names (my SIL and BIL included). That doesn’t make it okay. And weird spellings, too. I’m not sure why people think that unusual spelling makes for an unusual name if it’s pronounced the same. *rolls eyes*
The absolute worst, though, is when historical authors start getting creative with names. It’d have to be a damn good book for me to get over it!
by Bekke November 14th, 2007 at 2:15 pmGive me a Harry, Bill , Sam or John anyday.
by Estella November 14th, 2007 at 2:25 pmany names are ok with me.
by kim h November 14th, 2007 at 2:31 pmI like the name Holly. It bodes well with me. Did I even use that right? who cares.
by #2 November 14th, 2007 at 2:46 pmI went to a hippie liberal arts college, I’ve heard em all. I will say, some names make me snicker and when I start snickering, unless that’s the point, I can’t take some big badass warrior seriously.
I try to do normal but I’ve had a few that meant something (Kael for instance) but generally, I like regular dude names like Ben and Sam, etc.
by Lauren Dane November 14th, 2007 at 3:04 pmOh and I forgot, I had a mini brain blackout when I read Patrick’s name up there. Sigh. I think I have a problem with my deep state of Patrick lust.
by Lauren Dane November 14th, 2007 at 3:05 pmI went to a school with some unusual names, but there were plenty that were unusual and also easy to come up with a pronunciation, so I don’t think it’s that hard.
by RandomRanter November 14th, 2007 at 4:24 pmI can’t come up with any doozies right now, but there was one author who had such a plethora of R names that I started to wonder if there had been a bet. The names were mostly workable and distinct, but it was noticeable.
>Ayla
Please, please tell my that your mother did NOT name you after Jean M. Auel’s character.
I’ve run into some pretty freaking ridiculous names in historical romances. An unusual name in isolation isn’t too bad, but if you glance across a shelf of romances, you’d swear that the 19th century was populated by Lucians, Rafes, and Damiens. I’ve personally come up with a theory called the Putney Effect. If MJP uses an unusual name in a historical romance, it will spread like wildfire through the shelves until you can’t turn around without bumping into one. Now, there are two subtheories: one is that she’s great at picking names that resonate and writing stories so good that they stick, and the second is that it’s just the story and if she names a character Percival, that would do just as well.
I am hereby lobbying for MJP, the next time she writes straight historical romance, to name her hero Percival. :-)
by Lydia November 14th, 2007 at 5:20 pmI don’t mind the occasional unusual name, but if every name is like that (like you mentioned) then it does get confusing and annoying.
I know two Eli’s by the way. Young children. Must be a new popular name. Well, and they are at church too ;)
by Tracy November 14th, 2007 at 5:41 pmI swear I read the blurb to a published romance where a last name was Hardon. It should have been the hero’s name *snicker* but I think it was the heroine’s. I totally realize this is a legitimate family name, but in a romance it’s just too, well, funny.
Give me a Ben, Kevin, or Bobby Tom any day. ;)
by Lynn Raye Harris November 14th, 2007 at 6:01 pmThis is one of my peeves too. I’m dying for a romance hero named Bob.
Apologies to Miranda Lee, but she has a Callum McCloud in her early Blaze, A Man For The Night. There’s scads of others, but I’m tired and my brain hurts….
I’m related to an Eli, my 3-year old nephew ;)
by Wendy November 14th, 2007 at 7:04 pm*cringer on this one* Yeah I can guess which one of those entries was mine…I go with the “phonetic” sound of a name when I’m in the mood to be a real goof. I had entered a BN contest with a different pen name.
Probably won’t be doing that again. But I can never resist writing characters with odd names. Having grown with the RL name of Lydia, which is why I don’t use it in the writing world.
I know how many different ways the name is pronounced or misspelled or in general not understood…
by B.L. Foxxe November 14th, 2007 at 7:06 pmMy sister is a school teacher and she has issues with unusual names and/or spellings. She named her children Ben, Faith and Sophie and I like to think that they will thank her for that when they are older.
As for books I really get taken out of the story when I have to stop and sound out a name. Or find myself thinking “huh?” or “is that a name?”. I also don’t like it when the names are too matchy matchy (Hayden Houston, Claire Connor, or when they are Hayden and Hannah…. you get where I’m going there).
As someone who reads A LOT I find myself really particular about names. It probably shouldn’t matter so much but it does to me. (shrug)
Oh! And I also like the girls to NOT have guy names. But whatever, we can’t have it all.
by Jill November 14th, 2007 at 7:36 pmCant think of one off the top of my head. But it could have been worse – he could have been named Cable Mann. LOL.
by Pat L. November 14th, 2007 at 8:51 pmLOL, Pat!!!
B.L. – I wouldn’t have any idea who wrote this one, or any of them, as they were assigned randomly, so don’t be a-worryin’!
by Alison November 14th, 2007 at 9:07 pmAh well,
Only time will tell *grins* In the case of the 70 day one. I use the names “Amity” and “Marikos” for the hero and heroine.
For the NaNo: Elisha and Quinn. So yeah, I chose to write somewhat normal sounding names…if those are normal. hehehe
by B.L. Foxxe November 14th, 2007 at 10:33 pmI am very much a traditionalist when it comes to names and love the “regular” sounding names, spelled the way one might expect. Weird sounding/looking names are hard to overcome in real life, and in reading!
And since I have a somewhat unusual name myself, I chose very boring names for my children (who’ll have the burden of sharing their names with tons of other kids–oh well!)
by Fedora November 15th, 2007 at 12:40 amI like to look at lists of babies born in my area, if only to stare in amazement at some of the things that people are coming up with these days. I found it interesting that the day before you posted this entry there was a Chloe (made me think of the girl gear series) and a Tripp born. :)
by Nicolle November 15th, 2007 at 11:28 amIf you want to waste a whole day, and laugh yourself silly, try Babies Named a Bad Bad Thing.
by Lynn Raye Harris November 15th, 2007 at 12:43 pmI had-notice the past tense-a weird name. Most people thought I was a boy, or they mangled the HELL out of it. I hated it. Then, as I got older, I LOVED it. It was different. Now? The under ten set is teeming with them, and I hate it again. But my parents named me it becuase it was the only name that translated well in both their languages.
by Eva Gale November 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pmMy present hero is named Johnnie.
by Bernita November 18th, 2007 at 5:06 amAm I safe?