by Laci Paige
People often ask where I get my
inspiration from. My answer is simple. I tell them life inspires me, everything
in it and around it. Today I will try to be more specific, and I will try to
get into more detail on the topic of my inspiration.
Titles:
When choosing a title for my
stories I try to sum up the story in one word. If I cannot do this I then
pinpoint the main theme and do word play with it looking for synonyms and such.
Other times, when I have a powerful word in the story that stands out above the
rest, I take it into consideration.
Characters:
People watching is the best way
to come up with characters for me. I cringe thinking about using people I know.
I tried that once and I didn’t feel comfortable with it; I also felt I didn’t
do the character in my head justice trying to make him like someone else and
not himself. People watching on vacation is best for me. My mind isn’t clouded
with other information. For example, if you are in the doctor’s office,
shopping or at the post office your mind is generally focused on the task at
hand. When in a relaxed state my mind is more open and I can have fun with it.
Story Line Ideas:
These come from a number of
places: dreams, TV, movies, things happening around me, and books or magazines.
Sometimes just one sentence or line will get my creative juices flowing.
For my debut novella with
Decadent Publishing, Let’s Keep On Truckin’, the whole story played out in my
mind while traveling on the highway on a trip to visit friends out of state.
Giveaway Opportunity:
How do/did you name things? Your pet,
car, boat, child, characters, or anything you’ve given a name to? Is your story
unique? Share it with us and one lucky commenter will win an eBook from
Decadent Publishing of their choice.
Winner will be chosen on July 29th using
Random.org.
11 comments:
Naming my kids was easy. Naming my characters - not so easy. I'm really picky about it feeling right! Consequently, I have Kate used too many times as Kate, Caitlin, Katya - you get the picture! If I hear an unusal name on TV or see it in a book, I make a note of it. I have a list of maybe twenty names I'd like to use, but they have to fit the right story.
When I name something, I have to observe first and then pick a name that feels like it fits.
debby236 at gmail dot com
I name pets based on how I feel about them after spending a few days with them. We have a cat who was initially INSANE who's named Karen after the cougar in Talladega Nights, a troublemaking cat named Booger, and a dachshund named Scarlett because she has beautiful eyes (and because her mom was named Tara!) Characters are hard, because I want their names to fit together and sound like a couple. I tend to pick one name first based on how I imagine that character, and then fit the SO's name to match/complement it.
First off, loved this story. Second, beware the name you give your kids. My James is hell on wheels, and has been since he could walk. Every James I know is like this. My youngest was named after the best man at our ceremony, and he fits his name. Calm, laid back--Derek. There are certain names I gravitate toward like Barbara, Nate is one, Ava another and I've had this thing lately with the names Justin and Nolan.
I create a list of possible character names from census data based on the year and state of a character's birth. Once I have a good list, I pick the one that best fits the character.
I wait, sometimes a very long time, for the name to come to me. With my first novel, I'd been working on it for months and went through about five names for one character. I guess when I finally had him 'down' one of the names just felt like him.
I use a Baby Naming book to name my characters. Of course, sometimes I have to go through it a few times for the PERFECT character name to jump out at me.
Great topic!
Choosing names and places is such an integral point in my books. In every book, either the title, location or name has some cryptic meaning to the story, I don't openly admit it, but I'll share just this once:
My dragon story, about twins, their names both mean dragon in Chinese. I always consider geography, heritage, meanings, and then narrow it down to the one that feels/sounds right for the character or story title!
Thanks Laci,
hugs
Kali
I tend to name things on the spur of the moment or whatever seems to fit at that time.
JessieL62@comcast.net
Random.org chose #10 as our lucky winner. I will be contacting you shortly JessieL! Congrats! :)
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