Thursday, May 27, 2010

Call for Names by Susan Cushman


When I read that the optional theme for this month at A Good Blog was “covers or characters,” I knew right away what I would write about. Since my post on March 30,"A Novel Idea," I’ve been researching and outlining a novel, and I even have a few pages of the first draft done.  It’s been a slow start. The problem isn’t the plot—I’ve pretty much got that in my head and notes. I’ve even got a “story board” of sorts—a bulletin board by my computer with sticky note cards and a few pieces of art printed off the internet. And the characters aren’t slowing me down—I know who they are—but it’s their names. And the name of the book itself.

Joshilyn Jackson (who did an excellent post on “covers” a couple of weeks ago), told me once that she can’t get a new novel started until she settles on the title, and a killer first line. I get that. Even though it might be changed in the end, by editors or agents or publishers.  I just have to know the characters I’m writing about, and for me that includes being comfortable with their names.

(My first published essay, “myPod,” was about naming an iPod Nano.)

I’ve added a third main character since the inception of the novel. She’s based on an artist who was part of the “New York School” of abstract expressionism in the 1940s and ’50s. But now I’m struggling with whether or not to change her name, or just write her as “historical fiction” the way Michael Cunningham did with Virginia Woolf in The Hours. (I love how he structured the book, weaving together the lives of the author, one of her characters, and one of her readers. How cool it was, the way he wrote about a fictional day in the life of a real person, and then a real day in the life of two fictional characters.) So, if I leave the artist’s real name in, will I have to be concerned about how much stuff I make up about her? If I change her name, will the character be as strong? And should the fictional name resemble the real one? Hmmmm.

And then there’s the completely fictional character in the book. I’ve already changed her name several times, and I just can’t move forward until I settle on something.  She might be the love child of a couple of hippies, born in 1965, so I Googled popular names from that movement, but I’m just not happy with “Star” or “Sun” or “Serenity Dawn.” Or she might be an orphan who runs away from a cult and grows up in a foster home. 


Anyway, I’ve been writing her as “Mare,” (I’ve always loved Mare Winningham) but I’m considering “Meg” or “Emma,” or maybe “Maggie,” or “Kate.” She grows up in the South (small town in Georgia, actually) so the name needs to feel right for the geographical area.



Names were on my brain Sunday afternoon when I went to the ballet. It was a children’s ballet theater recital that my seven-year-old Goddaughter, Sophie, was performing in. She was a swan in “Swan Lake.” While I was waiting for the show to begin, I read the names of the children in the program, and I was amazed at the trends in this fairly small group of little girls:

Maddie, Madeleine, Meghana, Maya, Mara, Maggie, Mary Madeline and 3 Madisons
Isabelle, Isabella, Emerson Belle and Bella
Addison, Ava, Anna, Alyssa and Avery
Emma, Emily, Erin, and Emme
Kasha, Kylie, Katherine and Kate

No wonder I’m so confused! When I was growing up in Mississippi in the 1950s and ’60s, most of my friends had names like Carol or Jan or Peggy or Nancy.  And while many of these little contemporary ballerinas’ names are lyrical, I’m not sure any of them would fit a small town Georgia girl born in the 1960s. Any suggestions? Seriously, leave them as a comment here—I’d love some ideas! Meanwhile, I’ll just be here inside what’s-her-name’s head, working on interior monologue.

As this post goes to press, I’ve gotten a good start on chapter one. Each chapter will have one of the three main characters' names as its heading, and will be written in that character’s voice. For now, the first chapter says, “Kate,” but I’m still open to changing it to one of your brilliant suggestions. Please leave a comment!

And now for a title….hmmmm...

Susan Cushman lives in Memphis with her husband of 40 years. She has three grown adopted “kids,” a ten-month-old granddaughter (and another on the way), and thirteen Godchildren. Her essays have been published in First Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture and Public Life, The Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Journal, skirt! Magazine, Southern Women’s Review, Mom Writers Literary Journal, and Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal. Later this year, her essay, “Jesus Freaks, Belly Dancers and Nuns,” will appear in the second volume of All Out of Faith: Southern Women on Spiritualitypublished by the University of Alabama Press. Read Susan’s blog posts at Pen and Palette. 

27 comments:

Laura said...

Susan, I love this website: http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#
It gives you tons of amazing information about lots of names and trends. I could get lost there. Be sure to check out the name finder for suggestions.

Also, the NY school was a huge influence on me when I first started painting, so now I'm even more intrigued by your book. Can't wait! I'd say keep her real name but feel free to fictionalize her.

Darrelyn Saloom said...

I love the name Kate, but I think Mary Jane would be a good fit for your character, too. And not because it's my granddaughter's name. Okay, partly because it's my granddaughter's name. But I've always loved the name Mary Jane. Or even Jane or Jane Ellen. Simple but lovely.

Good luck in finding the perfect name. Like love, you'll know it when you find it.

Susan Cushman said...

ooooh, Laura. I'm going to FB message you and pick your brain about the NY School abstract expressionist artist! thanks for commenting!

Anonymous said...

I really like Kate.

Unknown said...

I have always loved the name Kate too. But as far as other suggestions: Laura, Maura (for a twist)or Thalia. Those were the first names that came to mind as I read your post. Plus, I see the first commenter is Laura - it's a sign. :)

Karin Gillespie said...

I love Thalia, but I think the character in the Girl Who Loved Swimming.

The Unbreakable Child said...

I believe an agent tweeted 'bout names not too long ago. Why not something simple ... There are far too many Kate's, Emily's, Emma's etc. Try a Susan, Mary, Debbie, Jane. My 2cents.

Anonymous said...

Half the girls I taught from that period were named Tara.

cin said...

i went to school in the mississippi delta and many girls had double names like kate scott, anna claire, emily katherine, laura jane, etc.
also, went to school with girls named brooks,douglas,rivers,boyce,harlow. i think they were family names paired with like mary or susan but they went with the middle name.
if the parents were hippies, you might want to go with rain, dawn, willow, poppy, summer. You could also choose faith, hope or charity.

mlydawn said...

Leigh Anna (nickname LA)
I knew this charachter in law school. ;)

cin said...

p.s. or you could pick a color name like violet, rose, sienna, amber, sage, sky, lavender. or scarlet.

Amanda said...

Susan,
What about Camille? It's the fictional name of Carolyn Cassady in Kerouac's "On the Road." It would have been popular with hippies and it's southern. If you haven's read her account of the Kerouac years in "Off the Road," it's an interesting perspective.

MichelleBright, brightwriter4hire said...

I first thought Serena or something Like that when I began reading your post, then saw where you didn't like Serenity. So, Sabrina came to mind, but, I'm not sure how to marry the rural Georgia with hippie parents vibe for a name. I'll be curious to see what you come up with!

Herman said...

The name Elaine struck me for the painter and Stella for the flower child.

caitlyn said...

ok, this is sort of a play on our author's love of this person, and also related to the time she was born...

flannery jane.

she was born one year after the death of flannery o'connor. i feel like sometimes eccentric people name their children after public figures more often than those who are "white bread". i think some devotion to the writer could play into the naming of the girl and could give her a southern gothic edge.

plus, i love the jane middle name. very southern to give her a double name. and i think flannery jane would be very hippie-ish.

Mimi said...

Well, anything remotely brilliant I was going to say went out the window when I read Caitlyn's post, I think Flannery Jane is perfect.

kathy said...

Kate is great - we went to school with Belmont, Estelle, and Penny and they never had to share their names - Flannery Jane is interesting - and I love your Mom's name though I can't picture her in a hippie setting, but most exciting is that you are writing! Hooray

Corinne said...

I vote for the name Sunshine.....
I actually knew a girl whose parents were hippies who named her that. I'm not sure what she named her children!

Susan Cushman said...

oh, my. I'm thrilled with the comments, including more I've received on Facebook, Twitter, by email and even a phone call! I'm intrigued by Flannery Jane, but I'm wondering if the name might actually be "too wonderful" and distract the reader from the core of the story and the equally important other two characters. But I'm thinking about it. So grateful for the interest, everyone!

Carol ReMarks said...

Well, I have to say, as a reader and southern I love your first stab at her name, "Mare."

LOVE IT.

wickedmess said...

I love the name Mare, too. It's perfectly appropriate for the area if you consider that some of the early settlers of Georgia were the Scotch-Irish. Clearly Mare is a family name.

;-P

Found you via your comment at Southern Sinful Bliss.

Anna-Sarah said...

Not sure if you are still polling for names, but perhaps consider "Silvie". It's an old name, and has a bit of whimsy to it.

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