I’m sure many of you have been following my posts as I name the characters in my modern apocalypse story. I stepped back from “to be named” for a little over a week. I’d like to say it’s helped…it hasn’t. [name]James[/name] “[name]Jimmy[/name]” Beaudry still wants to be [name]Jimmy[/name] Beaudry. However, I was told by a small handful of fellow nameberries that [name]Jimmy[/name] and Beaudry doesn’t go well together, so I am considering something besides [name]Jimmy[/name]. And, “to be named” says he’s not [name]Jim[/name]…he could be [name]James[/name], but he’s definitely not [name]Jim[/name]. Gotta love the characters that scream at you, or they wanna choose their own name.
Anyway, I want to keep the surname Beaudry. The ‘beau’ part of the name is significant to the character and the story. Other surnames: [name]Buchanan[/name], [name]Langston[/name], and Riggins received a lot of votes in the poll. A fellow berry suggested Beaumont. To me, Beaumont feels to rich…to stiff for the character. Beaudry feels more casual. I just keep coming back to Beaudry and because of this I need to use it.
O.K. the first name. Here are the others I’m considering.
[name]Wade[/name] - means ‘at the river crossing’.
*I like the meaning. At a point in the story, this character is in love with two women. He will have to make a choice at one point.
[name]Keith[/name] - means ‘wood’.
It has a soft sound, but it gives off a strong but gentleman impression.
[name]Clayton[/name] - means ‘place with good clay’.
*Sound wise, the stronger of the 3 names.
[name]Dwight[/name] - means ‘white or blonde’
I like the meaning. As mentioned, the character is chosing between two women. [name]One[/name] is blonde, the other is brunette, but she’s a lab tech…hence the white coat.
Other considerations, [name]Roger[/name], [name]Stanley[/name] (NN. [name]Stan[/name]), or [name]George[/name]…If I use any of these it will be because the character is [name]Jr[/name]. or he was named after his Grandpa or another family member. They feel to ‘fatherly’ to me.
[name]Jimmy[/name] Beaudry isn’t bad at all! I would use that.
The other names don’t sound right, too country-ish. Unless the whole story is set in the country, then I guess they’re ok. I like [name]George[/name], though, and it isn’t too old sounding to me! I like the idea of a [name]Jr[/name]. though.
So, you like [name]Jimmy[/name]? I’m so glad. Naming this character is driving me insane. With [name]Jimmy[/name] Beaudry…it’s the double ‘y’ sound on the end. A few people have told me it’s a naming no no. And I understand that there are some naming rules out there. However in the case of this character, is it such a bad thing? He wasn’t born [name]Jimmy[/name]. [name]James[/name] is his birth name. [name]Jimmy[/name], he acquired as a young lad…which often happens.
[name]Illona[/name] Haus: a favorite author of mine, told me one time that once you give a character a name and refer to them as such, and write chapter after chapter using their name then later on you have to change it, it’s the toughest thing to do.
I think [name]Jimmy[/name] Beaudry sounds great. It’s a name that has enough interest that you can visualize someone wearing it, but it isn’t too dull. My own full name ends both names with a y and I actually find the cadence to be a lot of fun to say. Stick with it.
I don’t like any of the other names really. [name]Wade[/name] isn’t terrible, but it has a very different feeling that [name]Jimmy[/name].
If you think that [name]Jimmy[/name] suits him the best then that should be his name. [name]How[/name] often will his last name be used? And if you wanted you could introduce him as “[name]James[/name] Beaudry” first off and then just use [name]Jimmy[/name] or (you said in earlier posts that he would be in law enforcement of some kind, not sure if you’re sticking to that, so this may be irrelevant) Office Beaudry.
I was told by my writing mentor to ALWAYS choose a name that you love. If you don’t love it, by the time you hit chapter five you may hate the character. Go with your gut, it’s your story
