It is only now I'm writing the third book I'm having problems. Firstly I've already used up a lot of favourite names, secondly names of friends or family often spring to mind and then think eek I can't use that because they'll get offended (especially as I have a fair amount of seriously evil characters in my books!)
The main problem I have just encountered is totally my own fault and comes from my start writing and see how things pan out style! I know authors are told to meticulously plan their entire book series but it doesn't work for me. I started out doing that in Witchblood, but then the characters got a mind of their own and started veering away from my plot, so in the end I gave up, let them do their thing and ended up with something better.
Currently I have plot lines for WitchLove up to Chapter ten and I still don't know how it's going to end... well I have an idea but... Anyway, a new character has just popped up and become a main character - Jess's aunt. Now for some reason in WitchCraft I mentioned Jess having an American aunt and without much thought, I called her Sally... and then I forgot about her! Move on five months and here I am writing WitchLove with a great new auntie character I've called Aunt Cora (yes I'm big into Downton Abbey currently!) and then six chapters in I suddenly find out I already named her Sally in the last book! Damnation! Now in my head she's Cora, but due to a couple of thousand people out there having a book that tells them Jess's aunt in Sally, I'm going to have to revert to Sally... and it's too twee. Why oh Why did I not plan?!
I haven't had that problem yet with names... Well, if you don't count the one WIP where I accidentally changed a minor character's name halfway through. At least I caught it!
ReplyDeleteI read many books and I have to read the names over and over. I kind of have to get use to them. The reason? It is because there are many books that have the same names and I tend to get confused. I tend to think of the other books while reading the current novel. I do try to stay away from sci-fi/romantic/fantasy books now due to the fact that many of them are similar in names. I do appreciate it when an author uses a name that is not as common. It can also be used as a back story kind of like how or why the character got their name (maybe somewhere along the lines of lineage). I really do enjoy your books. I have read them multiple times and I hope you finish the third installment soon!
ReplyDelete-Marlene (An avid reader)