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Remember me? From that cheesy 70s TV show?
Next step as I stumble through this storyline is the love interest. If you’ve read any of my books, you know he is bound to be a manly man with a manly name.
Manly men have monosyllabic names. It’s a Rule. Deal with it:
Sam. Will. Mike. Rourke. Rand. Greg. Tom. Steve. Ross. Rob.
Here are some manly names you will never see in a Wiggs book, because I’m related to them so I can’t write about them as fictional characters (shudder): Nick, Jay, Jon, Dave…all good names, but too close to home to use.
The initial and final sounds of a male monosyllabic name are like muscular biceps framing a massive chest. I’m not kidding here. Pay attention, you might learn something.
Okay, they can have ONE MORE syllable if you promise to give them really cool surnames:
Ryan Calhoun. Jesse Morgan. Dylan Kennedy. Justin McCord.
If they’re really special and have a following even though their book is not yet written, they might get to have a totally special name:
Julian Gastineaux, anybody? Logan O’Donnell?
FYI – here are some move names you will NEVER find attached to the hero of a Wiggs book: Winston. Percy (even though it worked fine for the Scarlet Pimpernel). Vivian, Uriah, Seymour, Poindexter. To name a few.
Oh, and another thing. The name has to sound good next to their girlfriend’s. The female love interest in this one is Tess (short for Theresa) Lindberg. So I wouldn’t want Jess or Jesse. That’s just too cute.
His surname has to work with the girl’s name too, since she has to live with it the rest of her happily-ever-after life. So, Farraday. Someone mentioned that earlier. I’m thinking Quinn. Quinn Farraday. But maybe not, because Quinn + Tess looks a little suspicious, like someone just made them up out of think air. Lemme think on this.
What are your thoughts? What are some of your fave fictional manly names?
So in our interview, Deborah Bouziden asked a key question. My answer is short, because it’s not going to work for every writer.
DB: When creating your characters, how do you choose traits, personality, etc.? Are your characters given your traits, friends, relatives, or are they formed from observation? What traits must main characters have?
Crazy Quilt Rendered by Charlotte Winter, c. 1938 from National Gallery of Art
SW:
My characters come together like pieces of a crazy quilt. I pull together colorful bits and pieces (traits, issues, background) and assemble them into a person-like creation. The bits and pieces come from people I know, but once they’re assembled, they’re an original creation. At the outset, I focus a lot on the character’s history and the defining moments in her past that motivate her emotions and actions in the story. There are no consistent “must-have” traits for me other than being fascinating! I love the endless variety in people–and in characters.
Who are some of your favorite, most unforgettable characters in fiction?
