Names are damn important.
Consider the hyrax.
Wikipedia describes the hyrax as a “well-furred, rotund animal.”
Now look at the pictures!
What Wikipedia is trying to say is that these are cute, fluffy, squeezable cuddle-chums!
There’s just one problem.
Not that they are genetically closer to elephants than to other rodents.
Who cares? If anything, that makes them cuter (watch the video of them chewing on Wikipedia if you’re not smitten yet).
It’s their poor marketing.
Come on.
Hyraxes.
They sound like Skeletor’s evil sidekick.
Meanwhile, pandas (aww!), koalas (aww!), and bunnies (aww!) are regarded as the last word in cuteness.
Because they sound cute.
Even wombats – small, homicidal Australian rocks – feel the love, because it sounds like they must womble when they walk. (Cute!)
Names can make or break you.
Consider my two uncles.
Big Daddy Delaney and Sweet Lollipop Delaney.
They both went to prison for the same crime.
But one of them had it much easier than the other.
That’s why I spend a lot of time hand-picking names for my characters. There’s a reason Mrs Champion is called Mrs Champion, despite having a pain in her Big Toe. -> She’s a winner.
And why the most exclusive club in town is called OWCHH (The Official Women’s Club of Hawkinge-By-Hythe). -> It’s actually a pain.
If you want to know more…
Consider buying The Forgotten Creatures, available here now!
Chat soon,
Morgan
P.S. More Morgan? Get 2 of my books free here: morgandelaney.info/newsletter
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