What’s in a name

The absolute hardest thing for me to do when writing was coming up with names for the characters. Rupert Grim might be the best I can do. That happened to be a name which took me many years to conceive. With over thirty noteworthy characters in this book, that process was not going to be an option for everyone else. I was spending too much time trying to think of something of significance. Eventually, the decision was made to move forward by using placeholders with people I knew or just happened to be on my mind.

Han Solo, Katniss Everdeen, Voldemort are all names I thought to be laughably odd at first. However, they would represent the gold standard to me now. Their uniqueness is apparent and after getting to know them, their names have become very normal. As I think about the overall storyline and build out this universe, I am going to need dozens of new names. Don’t be surprised if I name a cavalier, arrow shooting, dark wizard Han Evermort. Additionally, do not be surprised if it sounds odd at first and then normal later.