I think it’s been a while since I made one of these. But here I am, stuck on the name of a character because I made Choices.
So I did a blurb from the Title and Blurb Game back in December 2023 for the title Changing Tides. I’m going to write it up here in case anyone wants to see the original version, but it’s not massively important. The main thing you need to know about this is that the protagonist is named Rowan.
Changing Tides (Dec 2023)
“There’s a kelpie here,” Elspeth whispers, straightening up suddenly. “At least one. Look at that.”
I know a little too much about the stories to want to, though. I know what she saw. I don’t want to see it for myself.
Cousins Elspeth Hunter and Rowan McGill have been best friends almost since Rowan was born, close as twins despite being born six months apart. Thirteen years later, though, things between them have shifted.
While Elspeth plans to spend the summer holidays doing the same thing they’ve always done – searching for evidence of sìth on the land around their home – Rowan would rather have a meal with the Fachan. Something that probably exists, terrifyingly enough, because he knows at least one of the creatures they’ve been fascinated with for years is all too real.
And all too close to home/
After the remains of a human body turn up in the nearby river, Elspeth is intrigued… and Rowan is terrified. When quiet, unassuming Kell turns up, things just seems to get worse. Because Elspeth and Rowan both know the truth, even if the stranger refuses to admit it.
Somehow, the vanishings feel like the least of their concerns.
Plenty of things have changed in the last year and a half, naturally. Rowan’s cousin is now called Summer Lithgow while Rowan’s surname is Ness, and Summer is 17 to Rowan’s 16 rather than them being 13. Rowan is also English rather than Scottish. And most relevant to this post, they have a twin brother. Who is the character whose name I need to switch. Or, you know, choose.
Originally this brother was named Alex. Now Alex is part of the friend group, though, so he needs a new name. Which is one of the Choices I made that kind of screwed me over, but I prefer Alex being the other character so that’s staying. The other Choice was picking the surname Ness – it’s made Elliot unusable, and I liked that idea.
I am also not changing the surname because I think it’s perfect for who Rowan is as a character.
Other names I’ve settled on include Jamie, Cameron, Daisy, Evie and Kell (which is one of the only things from the original blurb that I didn’t change, honestly).
In terms of what the twin is like as a character, I’ll start with the fact that he was born in England in 2009 because that’s definitely got everything to do with his personality. He’s a quiet person who is by far the worst member of the ‘friend’ group when it comes to socialising – only really part of the group because half of them are his relatives (Rowan, Summer and Evie) – which is saying something because their town’s opinion of Rowan is considerably less than stellar. He’s more scientifically minded, a fairly typical ‘one believes in magic and the other doesn’t’ kind of thing.
I haven’t really worked much else out and I think I’ve been trying to write this post for at least two hours, so that’s about as much as I can say about him. Regarding his appearance, he’s got brown hair and green eyes, although I’m still not entirely sure whether that should mean anything because his parents wouldn’t have known exactly what he’d look like when he was born – Rowan is a different matter since they’ve changed their name (at least twice).