... before I began writing my newest work-in-progress (which I have admit I have been slacking on lately!). I'm now questioning whether to change them or not.
For the letter in my work, I used a fake zip code and what I though was a fake city name. It is, but there is actually a city with a similar name, that I know nothing about. As a disguise for Hollister, California, I used the name Holtsville, which does not exist. When I posted about this in a Hollister-based group on Facebook, someone pointed out a city in Southern California called Holtville. It's near El Centro, at the border of Mexico. I have to admit I have never been to a lot of parts of my own home state, including this one. The name was changed from Holton to avoid confusion with a city in a nearby county named Colton (another I knew nothing about). Holtville is known as the "Carrot Capital of the World."
At least the zip code 95025 does not exist. Even so, I am not sure whether to come up with another fake city name. Notice the fake name is one letter different from the real one.
Another is that the last name I chose for my character, Dutton. What I did not know is that is the name of the characters on the series Yellowstone, since I have not watched the show. I only knew about the character Beth after meeting the girl at the bar last Halloween dressed as the character. (I had to ask who she was, since I did not know immediately). But I do not see any reason to change the name, since it is a somewhat common name. If the story ever gets to print, some may think I took that name from the series, but is entirely coincidental.
After getting my ideas down, I feel I worked too hard to want to change the names. The city, I may have to, give the circumstances, but if there can be a fake Springfield in the US where many real-life cities named Springfield exist, then I don't see why there can't be one that is only one letter off from a real one, and in different parts of the state. It is fiction after all, just loosely based on a real town. The only time the city is mentioned, BTW, is in the letter, as the story is mostly based on the character's thoughts, blog and journal entries. No email yet, but I may work that one in. So the location only plays a minor part.
3 comments:
Go for it!
Change or keep as is...which are you saying?
I don't care what you name the town, you will likely find a real town with that name or a name close to it. Same with character names. It's like a teacher naming their child--they are going to have students with that name at some point. It's unavoidable. (Too many people/places in this world.) Only change your names if it feels like you *must*. Because no matter what names you pick, you will find a parallel somewhere. At least these you found while still writing. After you finish, you'll still find parallel names elsewhere.
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