Mildly affronted

[vynehorn]

So I was surfing channels last night and came across a show called "Castle," which I stopped to watch (despite it being yet another criminal investigation show) because it starred Nathan Fillion. At any rate, they were trying to solve a murder and were interrogating the stereotypical drug dealer whose last name was the same as mine. Since my name is not all that common, I'm always amazed when it pops up in the movies or TV. Now I'm sure that there are some criminals out there who share my surname, but I was still a bit insulted (silly, I know).

It did make me wonder how writers choose the names of their villains/bad guys. Do they pick up a book of surnames and choose one at random, or do they think about the jerk who made their lives miserable in the 8th grade?

Comments

[safiya-shirazi.livejournal.com]

I will admit that when I'm coming up with character names - good or bad - I pick up cookbooks. If I ever publish, anyone who speaks Farsi will be very confused/amused by the number of people named Pomegranate or Shrimp.

But for the average writer, who is not obsessed by Persian cookery, I'd guess that the answer to your question probably depends on the writer and genre. People writing stuff that's aimed at 12-yr-old boys probably uses the latter method. People writing for grownups probably go through phone books looking for something that is distinctive enough to stand out - hence your name, which is not particularly common.

[vynehorn.livejournal.com]

Cookbooks for character names, huh? I guess that works!

That reminds me of the time I was talking with a grad school roommate from Taiwan. Her "English" name (a tradition I've never understood) was Candy, which I found bit too sweet for my taste, but not unusual. What really got me was when she mentioned that one of her male friends from back home had decided to take the name of Tangerine. LOL!

The truth is,

[dragoncaller.livejournal.com]

In the drug world, your name is very common. It always made me wonder about you.





Kidding!

Re: The truth is,

[vynehorn.livejournal.com]

Oh boy...I was hoping none of my friends would make the connection....

[galingale.livejournal.com]

Names in general can be a lot of fun -- I'm on my third book by Janet Evanovich and *OMG* her Stephanie Plum books have the greatest crazy characters.
The dead man in the recent book is "Stanley Chipotle"..and he's a BBQ chef. Er, was.