They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription. I say, ‘Can he name a kitten?’ ~Samuel Butler
Have you had the pleasure of naming some kittens or cats? Maybe a dog? Or best of all, a sweet new baby in your arms? With those babies, you have months and months to debate the perfect name and get your spouse to agree. When I had my babies it was before you could know the sex months ahead, so back then you had to think up names for both a boy and a girl. Just in case. I had two sons and one daughter. My husband and I picked the daughter’s name before we married. We were planning ahead, I suppose. 
My husband had seen the name Tarasa on a book or maybe in a movie. When he mentioned it, I latched onto it right away. We just had to wait a few years until that sweet girl came our way. The boys were a little different. The first son we named after my dad and my husband. The second son and third child had a much debated name. My husband would mention a name and I’d frown and shake my head. I’d mention a name and he’d frown and shake his head. I can’t remember now if we agreed on a girl’s name or not, but we did finally agree on Daniel as a boy’s name. When he was born, he didn’t have to go nameless while we did more debating.
Whatever name you pick for a baby or even for a dog or a kitten, does fit after a while. You might have to say it a few times. Maybe convince the grandparents or your siblings that it’s the right name, but a few weeks or months down the road and the name generally works.
If I’m gonna tell a real story, I’m gonna start with my name. ~Kendrick Lamar
If I’m going to tell or write a story, I have to start with a name too. The name of my character. Over the years, I’ve named many, many characters. Sometimes I pick a name and work with it a while and then realize that no, this person is not named that. Right now, I’m in the process of bringing some characters to life – at least trying to – for the book I’m working on. The right name is very important to my character becoming real to me. In this new story I’m tiptoeing around the edges of right now, I’m struggling to find the right name for my female main character. I started out with Marcella, shortened to Marci. Somehow, even though I’ve been thinking about the story for a while and about her too, that didn’t seem right. So I tried Martina or Marla. No, not right either. So how about Lisbeth Jayne? I thought I had it then, but no, it didn’t fit. I tried Margaret Jayne. I sort of liked it, but for some reason my character didn’t seem to like it at all. She just lay there on the paper and didn’t show the first sign of life. Sigh. At this point, I’m thinking of going back to Marci. Or beginning to think I might need a new character who is willing to let me name her!
So I got out my very old, falling apart baby name book and leafed through the pages. Not a “S” name. Not a “J” name. Not a name that sounds too much like the names I’ve used in other books. I did finally decide on a name. Well, maybe I decided on a name. We’re a long way from having this story written and much can change. But, right now anyway, my girl is Piper Jayne. So what do you think? Do you think you’d like to read a story about a girl name Piper? Or should I pick up that name book again?
My book giveaway is still going on. You can enter by leaving a comment. If you left a comment on Wednesday’s post, then you’ll get another entry if you leave a comment on this post. You do have to be at least eighteen to enter. The deadline is midnight December 15, 2018. You might win your choice of one of my books.
Let’s have fun with your comments and tell me what you would name that cat up top. That will test your literary power.
So what is the kitten’s name?