Inside the Writing Mind: Character Names
Hello, dear reader!
It’s mid-March already. Last I wrote, I’d just signed a contract for a three-book cozy mystery series. While things take off with my new publisher, I’m also getting ready for the next Court of Mystery novel to enter the world. Cue my happy dance!
With this latest installment, I’ll admit I struggled. I had so many story lines I wanted to explore that I had a really difficult time cutting everything down into a succinct, well-paced novel. In fact, I’m still working on doing so! But one thing I always have fun with every single time I write a story is creating new characters for my heroine to interact with. I figured I share some inside-my-brain information about one of my most important character development processes to date!
Character creation is one of my favorite parts of the writing experience. But what about Jax? Out of all the regal names in the world, how on earth did I settle on Jacqueline Arienta Xavier?
Well, funny story. The Duchess was "Jax" before she was anything else. I wanted my heroine to have a special nickname her friends used around her, and I just loved the name "Jax" for a powerful, surefooted woman. I debated the name Alex, but at the time, I rarely saw “Jax” as a book character moniker, so I thought it was pretty unique (maybe now that I'm paying attention, I'm surprised by how many novels feature someone with the name "Jax"). So, I started off with Jax and tried to puzzle out her full name from there. I’m not sure what ultimately led to me deciding that J.A.X would represent her initials. The name Jacqueline shot to the top of my short list, due to the elegance it exudes. Jacqueline describes the “royal mask” Jax forces herself to wear in times of trouble and inner turmoil. It’s a calm and powerful name. While this wasn’t directly intentional, the name Jacqueline derives from the Hebrew name Jacob, which is thought to mean “supplanter.” Notice how Jax begins her story in The Ducal Detective replacing her father? Meanings, on meanings, on meanings…
I could have simply gone with Jacqueline as her first name which she shortened to Jax, and then come up with the remainder of her name. But I decided her middle and last names would begin with A and X, so I set forth determining Jax’s royal name.
X was pretty easy, as there aren’t that many names beginning with the letter. My two final choices were Xander and Xavier. In the end, Xavier rolled off the tongue better and in the instances where the title Duchess Xavier or the “late Duke Xavier” is used, it just read more effortlessly. There are enough tricky names in my books as it is, I figured I could make Jax’s name a bit easier for readers.
Jax’s middle name was much harder to nail down. With names like Annabelle, Ariel, Alexandra, etc, I had a lot of regal-sounding choices. However, in the end, I wanted Jax to be unique and distinguishable from all the other characters that have come before her, so I made up her middle name. That’s how Arienta came into being. Modeled off of “Henrietta,” I designed the Duchess’s middle name to come across as almost musical. Pronounced Air-ee-en-ta (I love hearing how some folks have come up with their own pronunciations), it has a graceful flow about it, book-ended by the strong, resolute connotation of Xavier. I spent a lot of time walking around my apartment, saying different strings of names over and over again, waiting for one to feel right. Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier had the sparkle I so desperately searched for.
Once her name was down on the page, her character began to fully blossom in my mind. Not so much her appearance and looks (although she’s ALWAYS had those purple eyes) but her strengths and insecurities. She’s a mess of contradictions—she can be bratty and judgmental one moment, yet calm and fair the next. She struggles, just like we all do, to process her emotions. She’s been trained to wear a serene mask, yet there is so much more going on behind her neutral expression.
I can’t wait for you to see what happens next!
Arms around,
S.B.