My grandkids are getting to the age where we feel comfortable taking them on excursions without their parents. My daughter and son-in-law are under a lot of stress both at work and at home, so Dan and I decided we would try to help them out. We already babysit once a week for our son and DIL so they can have a “date” night, and we’re planning on getting more helpful now that our granddaughters are getting older.
The plan was to pick up the two boys (ages 6 and 3) on Thursday night and have them sleep over. Instead of daycare on Friday, we were going to take them to a water park that opened close by. The boys sleep together at home, so naturally, they wanted to do that here, too…with me. Have you ever slept with a 3 and a 6 year old in one bed? Legs and arms go flying, bodies somehow get upside down, and both boys are jammed as close to me as they can get. I get about 8 inches on the edge of the bed, and even then, I usually have squatters. That's a whole other story, though.
Anyway, the six-year old (Grayson) fell asleep watching some cartoon, but the three year-old (Caden) was not about to give up without a fight. After all, he’s at Nana’s house, and all rules go out the window. What happens at Nana's …stays at Nana’s.
After the cartoon ended, I shut off the TV and of course, he fussed. Cuddling him close, I told him the story of Goldilocks. When I was finished, he wanted one more story, so I gave in and decided on The Three Pigs. Here’s how the conversation went:
Me: There were three piggies, brothers like you and Grayson, and they all decided to build a house. The first piggy didn't want to spend a lot of time on it, so he…
Caden: What’s the piggy's name, Nana?”
Me: “He doesn't have a name, Caden. He's just the first piggy. Anyway, he finds straw…”
Caden: But what’s the piggy's name?’
Me: “Piggy number one. Anyway, he builds this straw house, and before long…”
Caden: “No, what's the piggy's name, Nana?”
By this time, I can hear the frustration in his voice, but I’m getting frustrated, too. I want to huff and puff these piggy houses down and get to sleep since we had a big day planned for Friday.
Me: “He’s Mister Porker…”
Caden: “That's not a name,” he shouted.
Me: “Okay. Okay. Joe Piggy.”
He got quiet for a while, then said, “Oh.”
So, I finish the story with this scenario repeated for Piggy Number Two, who is Fred, BTW. By the time I got to Piggy Number Three, I went straight to Sammy.
I was telling the pig story to Dan the next day and having a good laugh over it when I realized there was a lesson in all this.
NAMES ARE IMPORTANT!!
When a reader is getting into your story, they need to identify a character with something. The name you choose usually comes with a little back-story. For instance, if I called a young boy Winston, you would probably automatically think smart and rich. Don’t ask me where I came up with that, but that's what I would think. Johnny, on the other hand, conjures up an energetic, ornery kid with freckles from the many… “and the teacher asked Johnny “ jokes.
Since I have confessed my absolute suckiness at writing descriptive stuff, names become even more important. I have a lot of different characters in my books because I kill ¾ of them off, and I introduce most of them in the first three chapters in my setup. I know. I know. I can hear all your tongues clicking about doing that, but it's how I roll. In my second book of the Clueless Cook series, my agent suggested I send a character sheet to the editor with the manuscript since there were so many new folks. She’s almost freaky about names that sound alike, too many Hispanic names (both of which I am guilty of.) etc.
So, I now have a sheet of paper with every letter of the alphabet on it with several lines in between. I alphabetize the name of every character in my series, both by first and last name. That way, on book three I don’t repeat a name or get one too close. It's only then that I can see how many Hispanic names I really have. (Hey, I'm in Texas!!) And now I’d like to hear how you handle your characters’ names.
But first I have to confess the outcome of my Joe/Fred/Sammy Piggy story with that adorable grandson of mine. When I finished, I said, “Well, did you like that?”
He thought for a minute, then said, “You don’t tell it like Miss Ronda does.”
Seriously? No, the little toot did not just give me my first negative review!!
29 comments:
Liz: Fun post and your little ones are adorable!
As for naming, I too find it very important. I started using the A-Z with 1-26 as you mention. I have three vertical columns. The first is A-Z for the first name, the second is A-Z for the last name that goes with the first name, and the last is A-Z for just last names. This lets me be sure I don't repeat starting letters and also lets me see what my characters' full names are.
I hate it when I have Susy Sunshine, Thomas Terrible as matchy-matchy. I also hate having Thomas, Timothy, Terry, and Toby all in one book. If I have to remember who is who, then it's not good.
Too funny, Liz, and so like a little kid that age :-)
I need to start a name sheet because I do the same thing with names with the same letter, etc. Great idea.
My thing is names that rhyme, like Carrie, Barry and Harry. I'm getting better at spotting them though :)
Great advice, Liz! There have been a couple times I've gotten stuck when I've started a story, and I discovered one of the characters didn't have the right name -- once I figured out what they SHOULD be called, the story got unstuck. Because having the wrong name gave them the wrong personality, just as you said, and they ended up in the wrong story!
Cassy, your method of keeping track is great. I use the Suzy Sunshine, Tommy Terrible kind of names when I'm making fun of someone my heroine doesn't like.
In Liver Let Die, my heroine gets dumped for the weather girl where her ex works. I call her - Little Miss Thunder and Lightening with perky clouds of her own.
Kari, it really does help making a list, especially for a series.
When you're writing a chapter at a time, it's hard to remember what you've named things. Christine hollered at me in my second book because my girl was always getting cheeseburgers for dinner. She said, "Give her pizza or chicken nuggets, for God's sake!"
I'm thinking a sheet for the fast food restaurants in my fictional town would be good, too.
Sarah, I have a problem with last names...like Barrington and Wittington in the same chapter. Freaks my agent out.
It's too funny that you rhyme your names. You need a name sheet!!
Donna, that's amazing that by simply changing a name, you got UNSTUCK in your story. I will definitely try that trick.
What other names conjure up a little backstory? Rosie? Fanny? Colt? Fat Albert? Mary Sue? Joe Bob?
I could go on and on. Help me out here, folks!!
What cuties. And what a fun story!
I try to give my characters first names that start with different letters. I'm doing the second story in a series now, with more characters. But the old ones are still in it and might pop up in the future. So I really have to be creative.
I'm roaring over that negative "review", Liz! May Joe, Fred, and Sammy Pig live forever, and with practice I'm sure you'll get better. :-)
Edie, it is a daunting task to keep a the characters in a series straight. For me, the characters are named even before the plot is thoroughly hatched in my brain. If I am casting a hunky hero, for example, I might call him Colt (my hero in my ghost story) or Rocco. A wimpy guy on the other hand might be named Junior.
Now don't y'all send me hate letters if someone you love is named that. It's just a generalization!!
Leigh, you hit it one the head. I am so in need of practice, obviously. I'd better stick to stories like the Seven Dwarfs where I already know the names.
Thanks for commenting.
Try coming up with names for the dogs and cats, Kari, in your stories. That's hard.
Well, not really for Target Identified it was easy. Kebi.
But the sequel and and then the Emily Dahill, CID series it was harder.
Adorable, Liz! And a great lesson. Is your grandson available for beta reads?
I've been doing the alphabet list since the beginning of Who Do, Voodoo? because I have an awful memory and ended up with four "L" characters. Mow I love my character list. I add hair color, eyes, those little details that could come up later!
My favorite way to pick names is from movie crew lists. I'll pick an old movie (like "The Thin Man") then mix and match crew names for my secondary characters.
Funny how fast that alphabet fills up. I don't have any "Q" people yet :)
Loved the story. I think grandma got suckered by a 3 year old who knew how to stall.
My characters tell me their names and I go with them. I sometimes keep notebooks. Now I just type the names at the beginning of the working manuscript document so I can see them.
Names can be extremely important for setting up the character's personality but I've read stories where all of the main characters didn't have a name and I didn't even notice! (The Cougar's Tale by PI Barrington is an example). Personally, I love to name my characters. Often I do use names of people from my life. As I grow as a writer I hope I'm getting better at coming up with unusual names for my people. Great post, thanks!
Rochelle, I have never thought about checking the credits for a movie to get unique names. That is freakin' brilliant.
As for "Q" names, I had a Quincy Dozerly in my last story, so I have that letter covered.
Mary, you have probably just hit the nail on the head. The little twerp probably was just stalling.
I actually like choosing names, too. I have discovered that writing a series requires a little more due diligence, though. I can't even remember my own kids' names sometimes, so a cheat sheet is essential.
Loni, welcome to the blog. I am intrigued by the fact you use real names for people in your life. I sure hope none of them end up dead!!
I am also intrigued by a book with no character names and will have to check out the Barrington one.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I struggle with names. I have to find the right one for my protagonist BEFORE I begin writing because their name is part of who they are.
--and let me tell you that Kyte was NOT the first name that character had--Oi! the revisions and catching all the 'nicknames'! Headache central!
Love the story, Liz!
Too funny, Liz! I love that you are the one who ended up learning something. I guess we writers always should learn, right? And like your little guy, I also believe in the power of names. I'd love hearing more about this three year old and his brother!
What a wonderful post, Liz! Your grandkids are just adorable, and yes, I've slept with kids in bed, and the arms and legs seem to multiply during the night. I would wake up with whichever kid's legs draped over me. When Caleb was little, he would climb into our bed and stretch out up at the pillows. Needless to say, there werer knees and elbows in our heads.
Names are so important. I don't have a list, I probably should, but I keep them in my head so I don't repeat something similar. When I first started writing I didn't pay attention and had to change characters names because they didn't have the right cadence. Faelan and Bree, used to be Faelan and Erin. It took forever to think of her as Bree, but now I can't imagine her with any other name.
With my Scottish male names, I've made an exception and allowed several names that end with "n" but I loved the names and they weren't too similar otherwise.
How about forgetting a characters name? I just happened to me. I wanted to use the husband's name and not only forgot where in the story I used it but forgot what it was.
Good thing it's a short story so I didn't gave to many pages to ho through
Margaret, I struggle with names, too. Just when I think I have the perfect one, I check my sheet and realize it;s too close to a character I already used. Headache central is right.
I love the name Kyte. How did you come up with that?
Hey, DR, it;s nice to see you at the blog. And yes, we can find the best info all around us if we just look.
My little guy is definitely a Nana's baby.
Lindsay, I think dog names would be easy, but I would end up with all the common ones..Max, Fluffy, Snowball, etc.
Where did Kebi come from?
Anita, I can;t imagine Bree as Erin, either. It is amazing how names can mean so much. I always try to get at least one really great nickname in my stories, too. Quincy Dozerly (I referenced him in an earlier comment was Dozer.
When I adopted him that was the name he had. Since he was 18 mths old at the time I couldn't change it since he seemed to respond well to the name.
Dakota-I got that from an iPhone app for pet names. Pot luck
Nibs-his other half is the daughter of an English earl so I thought that the commoner reference to Lords was good.
Adorable little ones! I love kid stories.
I like the Snowflake software--helps keep track of characters. One screen is just a list of their names on the left side and then on the right side you can develop descriptive info about them.
M
Post a Comment