new name or old name?

Hmm. I was going to say to use the same names, in case you revive Novel 1 later. But, hey, you could always change the names in 1 to match 2, if 2 is the one that takes off and you end up wanting a prequel.

So, if you fear too great an emotional tug from trunked Novel 1, change the names.

Oh, and don't think of the trunk as a grave. It's really a plot bunny hutch. The more stuff you put in there, including raw ideas, the more the bunnies will interbreed and produce amazing offspring for future use.

Do whatever helps you get working on that new story. Call the characters 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the first draft if it helps with proper motivation to get cracking on the new project. The story itself, and the characterizations of the players in that story are much more important than what labels you choose to hang on them, particularly in the first draft.

Do not overthink this business. It's about finishing projects and polishing them until they shine. Shove the psychological implictions of the minutiae somewhere far from your workstation, like in the trash bin.

By the time I'm done creating and developing my characters, they are very real people in my mind and their name is a key part of their identity and personality. Having a different character take it on would be like identity theft.

That's not to say that you can't have more than one major character with the same first name if it's a common name like Debbie, or Susie, or Bob or Tom. But if the name is unique and you identify that first character with that name, I'd be reluctant to carry it on unless the character in the second book will be essentially the same person. If it was me and I truly wanted to let go of that first book and move on, I'd ditch all traces of the first book and start completely fresh.

Your mention of using events from your own life makes me think this is autobiographical and not truly a novel. If so, that can make it harder to separate yourself from the main characters but doing so may make your writing much stronger. The first novel I wrote was largely autobiographical though it was disguised as fiction. I think many of us have the need and desire to write one like that. But they rarely get published. Mine didn't. It's been in a trunk for nearly twenty years and will stay there forever because it's terrible. The second novel I wrote was completely different (first one was romance, the second was paranormal suspense) and while it contained elements of my life so I could write what I know (MC was a single mom with a son, the setting was where I lived, the pet was the same as mine) the story had nothing else to do with my life. That one found me my first agent and sold with ease.

So consider trunking that first novel and all its characters, and writing something completely fresh and new instead.

Beth

If you want the same feeling, actions, etc, etc of the character, don't change it. I have found this out through experience. I wrote a book once that I shelved, now I want a character from it, thought about changing his name, but the very thought of it seemed to change everything about him. Ya know? What if someone changed your name. Sure, you may remain the same, but you wouldn't be who you are now. I also started a project not too long ago with a character I FELL IN LOVE WITH. But it didn't work out and I only got 5,000 words in. Needless to say, I tried to use the character elsewhere, with a different name, and yeah, totally did not work. However, it may for you. But just imagine books that you love, what if the main characters name was different? I think it's all in the mind because we READ the name over and over and over, so when you think of *THAT* character, you immediately think of their name.

But also keep in mind what Shakespeare said about the rose. It would still smell sweet without its namesake. Do whatever you feel right.

Good luck!

What's in a Name?

There might not be anything to a character name from years' past, although keeping that name shouldn't hurt, either. Especially if the name ties in with your storyline somehow. Name can be easily changed, of course, but no one will know the difference unless you've told them. For now, keep the name if you'd like and later you might find another name that works better. Or you might decide to transfer the name to a different character or remove it from the story.

Do you think names affect our thinking and writing? Do you think it matters?

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I recently had this issue. I had a POV character who just woudln't come out right. Every time I tried to re-write him he still sounded like a snivelly little whiner

Changing the name changed how I saw him - and now when I write him he works much better

Bluestone said:

Do you think names affect our thinking and writing? Do you think it matters?

This may sound like a trivial issue, but it is really giving me pause. Perhaps it is just that I can't let go of novel #1, but I'd like to see what others say.

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It's not trivial. When your characters become real to you I don't think you can easily change their names if events are tied to them in your own mind. To me it's like using another woman's name and saying she is married to my husband. I don't think so! I once had to change a character's name because I realized it was a bit too fanciful. It was darned hard because all the things in the book to that point had happened to her.

There are pros and cons with this kind of thing. Changing a name can give you the freedom to take the good things from a character, but reimagine his life, and character, and plot.

But it can also feel just...icky and wrong.

I think it depends on whether there's a problem with your character or not.

Honestly, though, if you've been working on this for a long time, and it's your first project, maybe you should either a) take a short break from writing b) try writing something that has nothing to do with your first novel, even if it's not long and it's just for fun.

It's easy to get wrapped up in a story that you came up with when you had less writing experience. (I've definitely done it.) At some point, you have to let those weaker stories go so that you can come up with something amazing.

I ALWAYS change names. For me, as SOON as I start writing in the name of an existing character, whether I like it or not, they are that character, and react/respond accordingly.

JULIET
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

They cannot help their surnames but the enmity between the two families means doom. So names are important, even if Juliet says they shouldn't be.