reply

Hi, Nina,

Thanks for posting. 

Names. Names are easy — everybody gets one. If you have a phone directory, or even a newspaper, you can find a whole list of names somewhere. Pick a Caroline from P. 1, and a Stinson from page 25. Stay away from names like “Johnny Smith” and “Howard Jones,” because they’re SO phony. But names are the easiest part of the writing game.

Having said that, I admit I work hard at my characters’ names. I like something slightly unusual, e.g. I prefer a name like “Rudy” rather than just “Steve” or “Mike.” My character’s name has to fit him — not that I really know what that means! But the star of the SWINDLE series had to be Griffin Bing because the name was “right,” I decided. I know I’m not explaining this very well, but that’s the way it all works — names are important, but they’re really easy to come by. Honest!

Hope that helps.                                                                   —–Gordon Korman—–