What's In a Name?

The twists and turns of a new story are taking shape in my mind. I've been mulling. Plotting. Hearing snippets of dialogue at unlikely moments. Before I can begin writing, though, I've got to get a point or two straight--at least for now. These may (probably will!) change later on, but for now I've got to figure out what to call my characters.

In the past I've used X and Y, but that feels so impersonal. So, I'm trying to come up with decent names for these folks. It sounds easier than it actually is.

The flowers above have a pretty name which, unfortunately, eludes me at this pre-coffee moment. Their "true" name hardly matters, though, since in our house they have a moniker that is, I imagine, fairly unique.

What do we call them? Blood and Guts.

No, I'm not kidding.

We call those dainty purple flowers Blood and Guts, as in, "Hey, did you plant this clump of Blood and Guts over here?"

The Blood and Guts were here when we bought the place. We've moved them from garden to garden. They increase with each division, and flourish. When we first discovered them, Hubby couldn't recall their name and dubbed them... Well, you get the idea. The name stuck, and now we say it as naturally as we say "tulip" or "daffodil."

So I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't just go ahead and call the new characters "A" and "B" or "Zippety" and "Do-Dah" and just begin writing. Yes, I think that's what I'll do.

Thanks for listening while I figured this out. I hope I can someday repay the kindness.

Have you any plans for this sunny Wednesday?

Me? I'm off to begin a story with two new characters who have some pretty unusual names.

Wish me luck! And have a great day!