Tim Timothy Tim Timothy Tim Tim Yahoo

[rj_anderson]

Thanks for all those who voted in my poll about whether or not it was necessary for me to change Timothy's name to "Tim" or something else entirely -- the general consensus was strongly on the "A bit old fashioned, but not the end of the world" side, which was exactly how I'd been thinking of it myself (it's not as though "Timothy" is a big popular name in Canada any more either!).

So I sent my UK editor a link to this poll and also expounded a little on why I thought that "Timothy" was the best name for the character, and she (being a lovely and understanding person) said that was just fine. This was a great relief to me, especially since my dutiful attempt to substitute "Tim" for "Timothy" throughout the narrative yielded a truly soul-harrowing result (I couldn't get past the first page!). And besides, I've known this character as Timothy since he first appeared in the original draft of Knife back in 1994, so it would have been very hard for me to change it (even if I did cut him from the final draft).

Anyway, Timothy he is and Timothy he shall remain. Huzzah!

Comments

[ljrags.livejournal.com]

Who knows? You might bring the name back into vogue :)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't mind that!

[po-thang.livejournal.com]

You know, I was thinking the same thing.

After all, I'm pretty sure that Harry was a big name anymore (at least on the US side of the pond) until J.K. Rowling used it. Now I'm pretty sure there are a whole generation of Harrys based solely on the fact of the HP books. ;-)

[shoebox2.livejournal.com]

especially since my dutiful attempt to substitute "Tim" for "Timothy" throughout the narrative yielded a truly soul-harrowing result (I couldn't get past the first page!).

I so know this feeling. I've tried to go back and rename characters for various reasons and it's just no use; my brain automatically assumes they're different people. It's absurd, really, but there you are.

...and just for the record, I'm firmly in the "A bit old fashioned, but not the end of the world" camp myself. To my mind, that sort of gently antiquated name is perfect for a story with such obvious roots in literary and folkloric tradition.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Renaming can actually be useful when you need to separate a new iteration of the character from an old one: it was a great help to me to change my heroine's name from Thea to Alison when reworking Touching Indigo, for instance. If I hadn't changed her name I would have had a really tough time making all the other changes I needed to turn that short story into a proper book -- making her younger, changing her background and certain aspects of her personality, and so on...

But if you're not changing the character, then yeah, changing the name is awkward in the extreme.

[erinbow.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad. I was having a tiny little sympathetic nervous breakdown just at the idea of having to change a character name. The worst!

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I would do it if I really, really had to. I've changed character names at the last minute in the past. But usually only when the character name didn't feel right to me and I've discovered a better one. Never to change the name of a character who's been living under that name (in my imagination, anyway) for fifteen years!

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. I couldn't see anything wrong with Timothy (it's my Dad's favorite name, and I had a great-Uncle with that name - old-fashioned, indeed!) What puzzles me is this:
Aren't Tim and Timothy exactly the same name? Like Thomas and Tom, and Christopher and Chris? Usually, a person will use one form in some circumstances, and the other in others. But they are still the same name, right?

Anyway, I'm glad your editor was so understanding.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Tim is the short form of Timothy. I like the full name; I don't like the shortened version.

As a child, everyone called me "Becky". I never liked it. To me, "Becky" was a name for an apple-cheeked farm girl wearing pigtails and grubby jeans, and I was so not that person. But nobody gave me the choice, until in grade five my teacher said to me, "Do you go by Becky or Rebecca?" and I immediately said, "Rebecca."

In the same way, "Tim" makes me think of a kid who's trying hard to be cool and hang out with the popular crowd but never quite making it. It suggests a puppy-dog eagerness to please, to become familiar and accepted; whereas "Timothy" seems more independent, more reserved and thoughtful, even a little bit scholarly.

Of course, those are just my associations with Tim vs. Timothy, but I trust you get the idea.

There are a couple of places in the book where Paul calls Timothy "Tim", which felt right to me -- right for Paul's character, anyway, and also right that Timothy wouldn't object to it. But in Timothy's own mind (and thus in his POV), he thinks of himself as Timothy, not as Tim.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. I personally like the short form better than the long, but it's not my character! And it does make sense that he'd be "Tim" in some places (or with some people) and not others.

I'm glad Paul will be in this book, too!

[lydaclunas.livejournal.com]

...now I am going to have that song in my head the rest of the night.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

My sincere apologies.

Would you prefer "It's a Small World"?

*ducks and runs VERY FAST*

[lydaclunas.livejournal.com]

*brain explodes*

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

My work here is done.

*wanders off singing "Lollipop, lollipop, ooo lolly lolly lolly..."*

[kristin-briana.livejournal.com]

I have a friend named Timothy (who goes by Tim too) and he is a very attractive guy, a BMX junkie, and a godly young man. So I feel no strange vibes with the name Timothy. :) And just judging by your character's short description, I think it fits.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

If you sell German rights you will have no problem. Tim's a pretty popular name there.

Maybe you can even redeem the name for the Brits. :)

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I have sold German rights! It's coming out in 2010 there.

I've sold rights to Romania, too.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Yay! (Oooh--I bet you get a nice German cover. So far I've preferred the German covers over most of the American ones I've seen.)

[kerravonsen]

As I said before, "yay!"

[tartanshell.livejournal.com]

Sorry I missed the poll! (Though I'm probably going to go find it in a sec, because I ♥ ticky boxes.) I thought Timothy fit very well, since the hero in the first book is Paul.

...But then, I really, really like Biblical names. (In fact, Paul is one of the names I have picked out for a baby, someday.)

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Glad I could help a little (my vote was for a bit old-fashioned but no biggie). In general, my view is that the writer should be allowed to follow his/her instincts, unless there are really serious reasons to interfere. I still think that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is one of the stupidest and most insulting things ever done.

[branquignole.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad you don't have to change it. From the description I've read and the associations you have, I do think that the name fits even more now. :)

(And I agree that changing a character's name can be really hard on you. That's why I usually make sure I feel that the name is what the character's essence is - I once named a character Aaron and though that is really unusual here in Germany and very old-fashioned - and though the story is not finished, in my opinion - I'm still incredibly happy with the name. So: go you!)

[tree_and_leaf]

Good call!

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Oh excellent news.

My daughter is Rebecca too, and NEVER goes by Becky by choice, so know what you mean. I'm backwards as I never by choice go by my un-nickname, which is Harriet. Names matter, and especially in fantasy!