Character Naming: A Grave Situation

It seems that, when I write a short story for my website, it gets me thinking about a specific piece of my writing process. Last time, I was hung up on a theme I’ve noticed I often return to and how ideas spring up in our minds. This time, I’m thinking about my favorite way to get name ideas. 

In my story from last week—Ghosts Anonymous—there were two characters I named: the main character and someone he meets later on. They are, respectively, Robert and Marilyn. I hadn’t had those names in mind when I initially started my first draft, and I didn’t decide on them until I was a good twenty minutes into picking specific story details and thought, “Hm, I suppose I’ve got to name this guy…”

I gave myself a moment to consider if my idea of this character gave off any certain vibe or name connotation, if there were any name ideas that were naturally springing forth. When that wasn’t the case, I had a few options for what to do next. I could:

a.) consult any number of baby name websites

b.) check out my Pinterest story inspiration board

c.) find the notebook I’d taken on my last cemetery visit

And, with Option C, we’ve landed on not only which route I took to decide on what name I’d be using but also my favorite way to get name ideas, in general.

That’s right. A cemetery visit, though I’m more likely to refer to them as “wanderings.”

There may be people who read that and, at first, find this eerie or strange. But, friend, I’m not making these visits at night. I’m not wandering around in the shadows at dusk. I’m not trying to commune with a dead mother nor rendezvous with a lover (no shade, Mary Shelley). I go when the sun is up. I’m not always alone (last time boysy came with me). I find nothing eerie about it.

Overall, a wandering is filled with a lot of quiet and solemnity. There’s no disrespecting anyone’s grave or walking upon things that are better left at peace. Occasionally, there’s some amusement over funny names, and there’s known to be soft sounds of sympathy from me when I read a touching epitaph or come across an old-fashioned wedding portrait.

I find, aside from name inspiration, cemeteries are good for my curiosity. I come across the tombstone of Everett Nicholls, learn “[h]e layed down his life for his friend,” and wonder precisely what that means. I read that Nettie was the “Light of our home” and imagine all the ways she was cherished by her family, the day-to-day of that house, and how she might have laughed. The wonderings can take a morbid turn, but, for the most part, cemeteries make me think about what makes us human and how I can apply that to my characters and the plots I’m crafting for them.

The first time I did this I was in college, sophomore year. Just a quick drive down the road from campus was Mount Hope Cemetery in Veazie, Maine. It’s the second oldest garden cemetery in the U.S., and ole Abe Lincoln’s vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, is buried there. Also, if you’re a Stephen King fan, it will delight you to know Pet Semetary (1989) was filmed there. It’s especially beautiful in the fall when all the leaves are in full color.

Anyway, I wandered various plots and up a large hill and all around. By no means did I visit every tombstone; I went back a time or two after this first excursion and still didn’t cover all the grounds that cemetery has to offer.

I found, though, the tombstone of one William McGrillis Griswold. What a name. I should say, as I jotted it down, I actually thought, “What an unfortunate name.”

Then I mused, “You know what would be unfortunate? Being stuck in high school—forever.”

Well, guess what fictional problem I then wrote for William McGrillis Griswold? I turned it into a piece I had a lot of fun with and used for that semester’s Creative Writing seminar.

Now, more recently, the names I used for Ghosts Anonymous came from a cemetery in Edwardsville, IL. Why, you may be wondering, did I make note of the highly normal Robert and Marilyn?

Well, you see, on their stone, they were actually Robert “Bob” and Marilyn “Mert” but using that quirky nickname for my fictional lady didn’t fit, though I had thought I’d use it. Like, she introduces herself as Marilyn but everyone calls her Mert. And Robert, crawling his way back toward social connection with someone other than his supernatural roommate, has a moment of self-reinvention where he suddenly decides he wants to go by “Bob.” Different draft, though. Different avenue to take that story down.

I like finding “ordinary” couple names in my wanderings and tucking them away for later. Because, in a way, they already make sense. You don’t have to independently find one name and then see what might sound good with it. Like, if I’m naming someone’s married parents, Fern and Lonnie Slone sounds good, to me. They go together for the story, and maybe that’s because they were already together in real life.

I haven’t yet wandered any German cemeteries, but I probably will, at some point. It’s a good thing to do every now and then. Gets me outside, instead of cooped up at my desk. Gets the gears of imagination turning.

This may not be a tactic for everyone, but it’s my favorite, when it comes to finding name inspiration. Let me know if you try it, if you find anyone who sparks your curiosity. The world is full of stories and characters; sometimes we just happen find them written on a stone in places we hadn’t initially thought to look.