Character Naming Contest
I’ve had so much great feedback on SECRETS TO DIE FOR I’ve decided to give away a few more copies. This time you have to earn it by coming up with a great name for one of the characters in my next novel, which I’ve just started outlining. Here’s what I know about the characters so far:
Female paramedic (and ex-cop) in her late 40s. Twice divorced and currently content to be single. Slightly jaded, straight talker who mentors young women who come out of correctional institutions.
Male bureaucrat, early 30s, bachelor by choice, but not necessarily liking it anymore. A list-maker and number-cruncher who finds a way to work the system to his great financial advantage and becomes corrupted by it.
Did I mention this story is set in the future?
Post your first name/last name suggestions (or e-mail me if you prefer). I’ll pick my favorite name for each character and send you a copy of SECRETS TO DIE FOR. Knowing me, I’ll send extra copies to people who submit names I get a kick out of but can’t use. Past examples: Randy Cockburn (for a strip club owner) and Stig Bloodgutter (for a kidnapper). Howlingly good fun!
Helena Bradford for the female paramedic and Denney Conners for the bachelor.
Oh, I SO want a copy of your book! Let’s see, hmmm…. how about Caleb Tate for the bachelor and Loretta Prestwood for the female. I have no idea where those came from, but it’s my attempt to help and win a book
Best of luck,
Robin Cain
JoHannah Acher, Madge Oppen, Karlotta Phive
and
Jake Connel, Carlos Counter, Cong Banker
Hi, I would really like a copy of your book..so here goes!
For the female character: Marta Edwards or Ava Edwards
For the male character: Chase Jennings or Shane Jennings
Alister Lockland for the bureaucrat and Moriah Hollister for the paramedic.
Lorelai Randall for the woman and Cole Mathers for the man.
Since I have very little imagination, I’m using real people. I’m sure they would be thrilled: David Venard for the numbers cruncher (my husband, who used to be a numbers cruncher) and Linda Rozo for the female paramedic (my sister; personality sounds sort of like her).
Sure, I’ll play:
Darren Perkins: For my nephew killed in a single car crash a little over a year ago.
Lillian Carson: She could hate Lillian, so goes by Lilly or Lil.
Deva Francontti, just because, or Pixel Montgomery for the female.
Sherman (Sher) Dogg for the guy.
The divorced female paramedic was last married to an abusive surgeon, hence her name is
Linda Cuttwice (pronounced Cutwiss)
You didn’t say how far in the future. That’s important.
For the more-or-less immediate future, the names people are giving you are fine.
But if you jump, say, 100 years, then maybe….
People will have unique, individualized names. At birth, each person receives a SKU number and the future equivalent of a bar code implanted under the skin of the forehead.
However, at the age of twelve, people are allowed to choose their own name. They will be allowed to change that name once a year until they become 17. Then the name is theirs forever.
The name will be created in the following way: The individual will enter into the computer a list of words that person considers important. It could be Mom’s maiden name, or the name of a historical person, or a completely made-up word, or whatever the person wants.
From that list of words, the central computer at the World Identification Agency (WIDA) will generate a list of names for the person to choose from. The name will be only one word, although hyphens are allowed.
For example, your heroine’s maternal genealogy includes the family name Russell. Your heroine’s favorite color is blue. Her favorite historical character is Lady Antonia Fraser. (The word list will be much longer, but to keep the example simple, let’s limit it to three).
The computer generates a long list of names based on those three words. Your heroine selects the name Bluesel-Lafia. The central computer already knows that no other person in the world is using that name, so the computer registers her.
The computer also creates (using graphic design software), a selection of written signatures. Your heroine selects a signature she thinks is beautiful and trains herself to sign everything that way.
Voila, your now have your character’s name. :O)
[ Hey, I didn’t say I would actually like this system. I just said it might happen this way.
Personally, I prefer the name my wife calls me – - ” ol’ what-his-face.” :O)
Della Althoff for the paramedic because her secret love is history and this is a name from her past.
Fred Farmer, because number crunchers aren’t very interesting people.
Or call your number cruncher Manny Martinez because it’s so unexpected.
In the future, maybe people will be known by their email addresses. I’d be MaxieGirl68. I like that name for the girl. The number cruncher could be Charlie24n8.
Female character – Marcy Duering (which makes her initials MD)
Male character – Jason Roder (seems like a numbers kind of guy name)
Hmm … not sure I like the future as Robert envisions it. He may be right though. Anyway; the lady in question wants to be a Laura … mmm …. Laura Chase. The number crunching gentleman is a little unusual … Harry Oda, third generation Japanese-American with a lifelong fascination with numbers, especially on the stock market. (Sounds a lot like a guy I worked with :O) )
Okay here are the character names I came up with for the two characters.
Female: Pepper Hart
Male Keifer Sloan
Pamela James
To Dave. – I agree: I wouldn’t like living in that world. But the “computer-assigned ID” theme interests me. I believe I’ll use it in my own book.
To L.J. – I’m afraid I won’t be much good in creating names for your book. My names usually end up something like “Tobias Pennywacker” or “J. Twigleby Pharms.” (Guess I saw too many W.C. Fields movies as a kid
)
However, it seems to me that a lot of names in today’s novels are a bit “too, too” precious for my tastes.
I like to read about people with plain ordinary names like. . . Denise Holmes . . . and … Ray Courtland.
(By the way, I’m sure you know that your character going from cop to paramedic is the reverse of how it usually works. My friend the paramedic tells me a lot of paramedics end up joining law enforcement. Law enforcement pays a lot better than being an EMT.
Apparently, police/sheriff departments give serious consideration to applicants from the paramedic field because there is so much about being an EMT that is similar to being a cop.)
Looking at it I believed it was highly enlightening. I actually appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this short article along. Just as before I find myself wasting way too enough time both browsing and posting comments. Although so what, it had been even now worthwhile!