Episode #169: How do you pick the names of your characters? with Lin Thompson

TRANSCRIPT:

Grace Lin: Hello, I'm Grace Lin, children's book author and illustrator of many books including, the middle-grade novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and the picture Book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today I'm here with Lin Thompson, the author of middle-grade novels like The Best Liars in Riverview and The House That Whispers. Welcome, Lin.

Lin Thompson: Hi.

Grace Lin: Thanks so much for coming.

Lin Thompson: Thank you so much for having me.

Grace Lin: Are you ready for today's kid question?

Lin Thompson: Yes, I am.

Grace Lin: Okay. Today's kid question is from a person named Junie, and they ask how do you pick the names of your characters?

Lin Thompson: This is a great question, Junie. Typically, when I am starting to think about a story and starting to think about the characters within it, I'll kind of have a list of possible names or just different names that I've heard in different places and kind of collected. And then as I'm figuring out the character and who they are and how they interact with the world, then I'll kind of try on different names for them. And so one day I'll think of them by this name and then the next day I'll think of them by another name on the list.

And all of this is before I've started to really write anything down. It's just when I'm brainstorming and really first thinking about story ideas. And typically, I'll realize there's a point when the stories starts to come together in my mind and I'll realize that the character who has worn all of these different names at different points in my brain that kind of one of the names has stuck, and that's how I've started thinking of the character all the time. And then that's usually a really good sign that that's kind of the name that will fit for them and that's going to work for them.

Grace Lin: So how did that work for The Best Liars in Riverview?

Lin Thompson: So, Best Liars in Riverview, honestly, that one I wrote so long ago that I was trying to remember how I came up with those names. And I feel like because it has been so long, and because I kind of worked with them with these names for so long-

Grace Lin: Oh, it wasn't that long, was it?

Lin Thompson: I can't imagine them by anything else. I worked on it for a very long time before trying to get that one published. So they probably had their names for seven or eight years before I started trying to get it published. With The House That Whispers, then it was a lot of fun because the main character, Simon, who's trans, so there's kind of a layer of he has actually chosen his own name. So obviously I was choosing his name for him as a character, but also within story, I got to kind of think about how would he choose his own name and what would his process look like for that and how would he find the name that best fits him. And so it was a fun layer there of getting to incorporate a little bit of that into the book itself of the name selection.

Grace Lin: So the way that Simon chose their name, was it similar how you chose Simon's name? Did Simon in the book kind of try out different names or did they know that they were Simon from the beginning? I'm sorry, your book comes out, The House That Whispers comes out in February 2023, and I have not gotten a copy of it yet because we are in August.

Lin Thompson: Yes, we're very far out from this one.

Grace Lin: Far out. So that is my excuse for not knowing more about your book, but I'm so excited to hear more.

Lin Thompson: Yeah. He doesn't try out as many names as I probably did, as I tried out for him when I was kind coming up with the story. But the way the name that he settles on, Simon, kind of sticks with him is actually the same reason why the name Simon has kind of always been floating in the back of my mind as a name that could go for a character, is just because I remember being a kid and hearing the story in the Bible about Jesus telling Simon Peter having him change his name to Peter, because Peter means rock and that's the rock on which he's going to build the church and all of this. But I remember being like, oh, but Simon is a really good name, why would he change his name away from that? And so I got to put a little bit of that into Simon's story and that's kind of how we first meet Simon is with him asking lots of questions in his Catholic religious education class and kind of-

Grace Lin: Wow, that's so fascinating, [inaudible 00:06:30] that story.

Lin Thompson: Filing away. Yeah. Yep. So that's kind of part of how in the story Simon chooses this name, but it was fun to be able to be like huh. And my experience was not actually the scene that plays out in the book, but it was fun to get to pull a little bit of that, of what catches his attention with this name and then the name Simon actually means listen, which is something that Simon the character is not very good at and kind of struggles with. And so it was fun to kind of have that be almost an aspiration for him, something that he wants to grow into and wants to get better at as he picks that as his name.

Grace Lin: Oh, that's so fascinating. And it's so interesting how you talked about how your Catholic upbringing helped the research for Simon's name because I also get asked this question about my books, but I come from it in such a different way because in Asian culture, especially Chinese culture, the way that names come about, it's all about the meaning of the name. Everyone's Chinese name has a meaning. Here in the United States, names are usually named after a relative or a dead ancestor or Queen Elizabeth or something like that. There's some kind of, it's usually just a name. We don't really think about what that name means too often. Whereas in Chinese culture, it's very much like they take your last name and they think about how your name's going to fit in with your last name. So my last name and actually your first name, Lin, if it's the same Chinese character, it means forest in Chinese.

So my Chinese name is actually Pei Su, which is precious thought. So my name means a forest of precious thought. So they think about the whole thing. And so that's why for my books like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the character's Min Lee. And not only did I choose it because I liked the way it sounded, but because it meant quick and clever and I really wanted the character to be quick and clever. It's like quick and clever like a bird. So for me, all the characters in that trilogy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Starry River of the Sky, When the Sea Turned to Silver, everybody's name is meaning. And if you know the Chinese characters, there are meaning to their personalities and sometimes a hint to their secret identities.

Lin Thompson: That's so cool. So kind of a different way of that the names really fit them and you are able to really fit the meanings to the characters. It's such a cool approach.

Grace Lin: Yeah, it was really different, but it's interesting how we all come from it in different ways, but I love all the layers to it. You think in some ways, it's a really simple thing, but it's actually quite complicated, the names.

Lin Thompson: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Grace Lin: Because it's the first thing that your reader learns about your character, when you think about it.

Lin Thompson: It's so key to kind of that first impression. And yeah, when you read the description, that's almost always the first piece of information that you get about the story is the character's name. So it really does make an impact and the different meanings there and the different layers and it's very cool.

Grace Lin: Well, thank you very much. I am so excited to meet Simon in The House That Whispers, and I know our listeners are too. So thank you very much for answering today's kid question, and thank you very much, Junie, for asking it.

Lin Thompson: Yes, thank you, Junie.

Grace Lin: Bye.

Lin Thompson: Bye. Thank you so much.

More about today’s authors:

Lin Thompson (they/them) is a queer author of books for kids and teens. Lin grew up playing pretend games in the backyard and basement of their home in Kentucky. Now they get to write pretend stories in the backyard and basement of their home in Des Moines, IA, where they live with their wife and cat. Find them on Instagram at @linthompsonbooks.Lin is represented by Beth Phelan at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.

Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.

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