What's In A Name?

Everything!

When I begin writing a novel I usually give my characters common names like Bill, Bob, and Mary. As I proceed through the first chapters the names come to me. I am about 10,000 words into a new novel and one of the characters I named Brad Parker. I could never get excited about Brad although he had a large part in the novel. My wife and I were in the car one day and she was making up names for pets when she saw the red Max bus in Kansas City and its destination was the Waldo area. She immediately chimed up Max Waldo. Let's change our name to Waldo! Instantly, I knew Brad had his name change and it changed his whole character so there will be some rewrites. Brad was supposed to be a crime reporter but I found him boring. Suddenly, everything about Brad changed now that his name was Max. He became tougher, more abrasive, and someone who took chances. I like Max Waldo.

Two Novels

I am in the process of writing two novels: a new experience for me. For years, my friends have asked me to write a series instead of individual novels. I find that very hard to do because it seems so confining as a writer but I've finally acquiesced and I am trying my hand at writing a series. The hard part is defining your protagonist. Should it be a policeman, reporter, etc. which I find to be the most difficult. I am still working on it and have a couple of trial manuscripts out (few chapters) to see if it works. My target audience has always been women age 45 to 65+. My other novel, The Frog Pond has been a joy to write but it is in familiar territory. We'll see what happens.