It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, and I admit that I have made little progress on my novel this week. I am actually stuck. I hit a block while working through my chapter 1 revision ideas.
I cannot decide what to name the main male character in my novel. When I originally wrote this story I named him Richard M. Deluka, but now I’m not sure I like the name and every time I sit down to write I find myself debating what to rename him rather than making any real progress.
I am pretty sure that I would like to keep the last name as Deluka, but I think I might change the first name. I have also considered the name Stoddard. What do you think?
Basically I have spent the last five days stuck on this problem and I can’t sort it out for myself. This may sound silly for someone who wants to write a novel, but I actually hate creating names for characters. I feel like their names carry with them connotations of past people and characters who they share a name with. Maybe I just need the following…
In fact, the only time in my entire life that I have been sure about a name was after I read Zadie Smith’s novel White Teeth. I knew as soon as I read that book that if I ever had a daughter I was going to name her Zadie. (And I did).
In addition to moving past this issue, I am going to create a weekly goal for myself. I am thinking a certain word count would be good. Realistically speaking, I think I can manage 5000 words a week and still finish my novel this year. My ultimate goal is around 100000 words. (I did not pick this number arbitrarily). I did some research a while ago about the length of sci-fi novels and 100000 was the recommended number for a manuscript.
Still Working on My Novel 
This doesn’t sound silly at all! Those of us who have written novels can relate–if your character’s name doesn’t fit, it changes the way you feel about your entire story. I hope you find the “right” name soon!
Thanks! It’s encouraging to know others face the same dilemma.