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Athelstone posted an update 1 year, 7 months ago
I’d be grateful for some thoughts. I read a section from my WIP at a writers’ meeting and somebody commented on the name I chose for a character aged around 40. I named the character Carol. She said that this seemed rather an odd name for somebody of that age and that if you see “Carol” you immediately assume somebody older. This hadn’t occurred to me. I know a couple of older Carols and also one of about the right age. However, at the meeting, my critic had a strong voice and assumed authority as some people do. She was soon joined by one or two others who agreed.
She may be right. The name wasn’t especially popular in the early 80s. But is it wrong, or an unnecessary complication if I stick with Carol?
Not sure if it’s simply that I’ve grown used to it during writing, or some form of name synesthesia, but alternatives don’t do it for me.
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As far as I’m concerned the answers to your questions are ‘No’ and ‘No.’ I had a similar experiance about ten years ago when my daughter suggested that Angela was an unlikely name for a twenty-year-old, but the character had been with me in some shape or form for years and I couldn’t imagine her being anything else, so i stuck with it. And lo and behold, when I had a WW (remember them?) MS assessment done the assessor let it pass without a word.
Your critic sounds like an opinionated person to me.
Oh, and people do sometimes choose unfashionable names for their children. My nephew has an eight-year-old son named Wilfred, if you please – though they always call him Fred, which isn’t particularly fashionable either.
I’ve realised for a while that I’ll need to change the name of one character. I introduced her simply for a physical look and mannerisms that I could understand and write about with some realism. But the name belongs to a real person and I’m not the only one who knows her. So…
But the other name? Is my critic opinionated? I couldn’t possibly comment. But…
I don’t remember anyone called Carol in the 80s and my younger sister did not have any friends called Carol that I know of. However, I do not associate the name with any particular generation in the way that I would, say, Mabel or Enid or Hilda.
I knew a couple of Carols at work, but I think they were both probably born in the 60s. I also know a Carol (as I said up there) who’s in her early 40s now, so would be around the age of my character. I suspect that the person who was so definite on associating the name with an era was extra sensitive to it because she was a Carol herself. I’ve had a think, and a brief remark from my MC (Teabreak) to the effect that it’s a good old-fashioned name will settle any qualms.
I’m late to the conversation but I think it’s fine to have a character with an out-of-era name. The only problem I could see with a story is if all the names were old-fashioned or unusual in some way without the author giving any explanation.
Seeing Carol and Angela now, I’m struck how pretty these names are. When they were in commoner currency I took them as ordinary.
As a matter of interest (or not…) my character isn’t usually referred to as Angela. It’s part of an authorial joke. I gave her that name so that she could have the nickname Jelly, with the excuse that that was how she said her name when she was learning to talk and it stuck. The girl is a head-turner, and ‘jellyroll’ (as in Jellyroll Morton, pioneering jazz pianist) is an old jazz/blues euphemism for the sexual act. That’s why I was reluctant to change it.
I’d better not describe the original Teabreak to you as that might break something. Personally I can’t see anything wrong with Carol for the 80s, although I might add an “e” to the end (Carole). I’d go with what you’re comfortable writing with – you can always do a global change when finished if you really want. In other news I know at least one Donna and one Nina from your timeframe, if that helps.
Well, thanks for the replies. She stays as Carol, with a suitable comment or two to settle her age. I’ve given this some more thought. In the novel her age is quite clear anyway because this and her appearance are described before Teabreak gets to know her. That’s one of the possible disadvantages of offering critique (especially “definitive” critique) when you are unfamiliar with the whole story I suppose.
Jelly Roll Blues
A century old this year