An Example Dissected
I went through many name changes for my characters in The Spare. Some names just came to me. Sebastian Alexander (the hero) is one of those names. (But check out this for a hero's name that didn't come easily.) In fact, most names don't just come to me, or else I get tired of them or -well check this out:
The problem of Harry's last name comes to a head. I like Royce, it sounds good and looks good on the page, too. Only Harry's a viscount and no one uses his last name and that's a waste of a good name.
Round One:
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Verney |
| Hero's Best Friend | Harry Royce |
| Antagonist | John Willow |
| Butler | Hasstard |
Round Two
I decided I didn't like Verney anymore for my heroine's last name. John Willow was originally a much older cousin. But I thought that wasn't going to work so I made that character unrelated - for a while -- he was a nice young man....
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Willow |
| Hero's Best Friend | Harry Royce |
| Antagonist | Tommy Verney |
| Butler | Hasstard |
Round Three
Darn. Too many -y names, Harry, Tommy and Verney. I decided to restore the blood-relationship between Olivia and the antagonist - they needed the same last name,and I liked Willow better than Verney. Tommy needed to go because for some reason Tommy Willow sounds like a ten-year-old (but Tommy Verney did not. Don't know why.) I tried Tom and Thomas, neither of which were really satisfactory.
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Willow |
| Hero's Best Friend | Harry Royce |
| Antagonist | Tom Willow |
| Butler | Hasstard |
Round Four
Still dealing with the -y problem. I liked Harry for the best friend and so, Tom, Tommy, Thomas had to go. Besides, Verney was originally conceived as a nice guy, but he just refused to cooperate. He insisted on being bad and Tom just didn't fit any more. I have another problem looming, which is Harry's last name.
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Willow |
| Hero's Best Friend | Harry Royce |
| Antagonist | Trefor Willow |
| Butler | Hasstard |
Round Five
Well, after a while, I decided Trefor was too cool a name for that bad boy antagonist. It just didn't quite fit. So, I decided to name him Hew. Doubtless you can see the problem... The problem of Harry's last name comes to a head. I like Royce, it sounds good and looks good on the page, too. Only Harry's a viscount and no one uses his last name and that's a waste of a good name. He has a half-sister, so I ended up giving her the last name.
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Willow |
| Hero's Best Friend | Harry DuPlessis |
| Antagonist | Hew Willow |
| Butler | Hasstard |
Round Six
Three names starting with H. Harry, Hew and Hasstard. Oops. Hew was just perfect for my antagonist and I absolutely wasn't going to change it. So, I got strict with myself.
| Hero | Sebastian Alexander |
| Heroine | Olivia Willow |
| Hero's Best Friend | James DuPlessis |
| Antagonist | Hew Willow |
| Butler | Price |