AMY RIVERS |AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR
  • Home
  • BOOKS
    • Suspense / Thriller
    • Women's Fiction
    • Anthologies & Articles
  • NEWS & EVENTS
  • Blog
  • Contact

N is for Names #AtoZChallenge

4/16/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’m reading Joe Clifford’s third book in the Jay Porter series Give Up The Dead (Joe’s featured on today’s #WhatsYourStory post on my blog – check him out!). Given all the things going on in my life right now, I was struck by a comment in the book about the name of a restaurant – Julie’s – even though there had never been a Julie. That’s the scenario we’re expecting with the new business. “So, who’s Melissa Leigh?” “Er, there’s no such person, but here’s the story…”
 
The story behind the name is actually really simple. My parent’s wanted to name it Melissa’s, which is my middle name. And I wanted to add my sister, so it became Melissa Leigh’s. It’s a family company and its name is rooted in family. Of course, someone suggested yesterday that I make up a story about a woman who died in one of the rooms and that got me to thinking, maybe I’ll make up several stories and pick the one that seems right for the audience. What Melissa Leigh would you like to hear about?
 
When I was born, my parents named me Amy Melissa knowing that my initials would spell my name. Of course, when I was learning to write, I wrote my M upside down so they still call me Awy from time to time…even my sister, who wasn’t even born yet!
 
What’s the point of all of this? Naming is important. Or sometimes it’s totally arbitrary, but we tend to want to see significance in the names people choose. For instance, right now my children go to school with three Tenzins. I certainly wasn’t the only Amy in my age group and Isaac and Lily have both gone to school with their share of kids by the same names. Why do people choose the names they do?

Picture
Which brings me to writing. As writers, we have to name characters. I personally hate having to come up with names and I think I’m pretty horrible at it. I ask my husband and my writing group and even my children to help me come up with names for my characters. If a character was inspired by a real person, I invariably name the character using the same initials and don’t even notice until someone who knows me well points it out. (Now you’re wondering if you’re in one of those books, eh?)
 
In a craft class several years ago, the speaker talked at length about the use of symbolism and theme in naming, stressing the importance of choosing strong names that reflect our characters traits, desires and/or needs.
 
Well, suffice it to say, this is not my strong point. Though I did enjoy naming my children (one after a Bible story and one after a Smashing Pumpkins song…go figure). 
​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm generally pulled in a million different directions and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Here's a glimpse of my life - hope you enjoy it! And if there's a big lapse between posts, well, that's the way life goes in Amy's world. 

    Archives

    October 2022
    June 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Alamogordo
    Alamogordo Live
    AlamogordoLive.net
    All The Broken People
    Amy
    Anxiety
    Atozchallenge
    Authors
    Best Laid Plans
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Business Adventure
    Career Goals
    Chick Lit
    Chick-lit
    #ChickLitLove
    Consulting
    Dixie Chicks
    Events
    Family
    Feelings
    Food
    Forensics
    Friends
    Giveaway
    Health Council
    Holidays
    Home Improvement
    Hot Pink Perspective
    Inn Of The Mountain Gods
    In The House
    Laurie Notaro
    Marketing
    Masters Degree
    Melissa Leigh Llc
    Michael Mcgarrity
    Music
    NCW
    New Release
    Nm Centennial
    On The Spot
    Parenting
    Posh
    Querying
    Recommendations
    Ruidoso
    Sane
    Short Story
    Supreme Court
    Suspense
    Theater
    Thrillers
    Vacation
    Wallflower Blooming
    #WhatsYourStory
    What's Your Story?
    Women's Fiction
    Writing
    YA

    RSS Feed


Copyright 2023 by Amy Rivers. All rights reserved. 
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • BOOKS
    • Suspense / Thriller
    • Women's Fiction
    • Anthologies & Articles
  • NEWS & EVENTS
  • Blog
  • Contact