Why I Find Naming Things Impossible (otherwise known as the explanation behind the name)

When you name something, whether it be a pet, character, or car, you want it to be just right.  That name will identify the person, thing, whatever, for as long as it shall live (so to speak).  I am notorious for taking eons to name anything, particularly characters.  Often, I name a character, change its name, change it back, give it a third name, and still don't decide until I've written one of the names so many times that it becomes the default when mentioning that character.  OR I just do this _____ in place of the character's name and end up with lots of blanks all over the place.  It's awful, but I can't help but feel like everything has a perfect name.  Five months ago I bought my first car (of my own).  I knew there was any one of a few cars I really wanted, and different colors I could tolerate.  I had a name picked out for each type of car/color--if I got a red anything it was going to be Auntie Snix;  if I got any car with a moonroof it was going to be Moony.  I ended up with a little blue hatchback with a moonroof--but Moony seemed too masculine for her.  It just wasn't right!  So I named her Luna Moony.  The cute name that fit her, but still the Moony I had my heart set on.

When I decided I wanted to write a blog again, particularly focused on writing, I hadn't the slightest clue what to name it.  Just my name?  Meh.  I have yet to decide what name I want to (eventually in the somewhere distant future) publish under--chances are my name will be changing by the time that day comes (or will possibly be changing not long after) so that's a decision to be made later.  And as such, not a good blog name.  I thought about playing off of the word INK...  As a person who prefers to write in a notebook with an ink pen, and who also has a gigantic love affair with tattoos I thought it would be fitting, but the few names I came up with that I liked were taken, and I know of an InkyGirl and didn't want to have anything close to her name.  So I started to think about what kind of stories I write.  I have begun writing or are in the process of writing five different novels to this point (I know, I have the WORST writer's ADD), and none of them are really anything alike except for having one thing in common.  All of my main characters are spunky, quirky, strong-willed female characters.  Quirky is one of my favorite words, and it always makes me happy when someone uses it to describe me--my favorite things about myself are all of the weird stuff that makes me a little different.  Because of this I find that I translate that part of me into my creative works--my main characters in writing, and in my artwork, too.  When I had considered starting an Etsy to sell my artwork (on hold because my sister and I are collaborating on one) I wanted to name it Spunk & Spice.  Because I like to make things whether it's jewelry, paintings, or drawings that are just a little bit funky.  When I told my boyfriend what I was thinking of naming this blog he said, "Well, that's fitting."  And that decided it for me.  It reflects me, it describes the characters that I write, and also it sounds a little bit like Pumpkin Spice and anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with Starbucks, so I kinda like that, too. ;]