So I just came back from my neighbor’s house – he’s a professional photographer, and I asked him to vet my manuscript before I send it off again, since I’ve been playing up the photo angle (er, sorry about the mangled metaphors).
He was so sweet – he read the whole thing and gave me very thoughtful comments, as well as some interesting technical insights. But one thing was really bothering him:
“The name Brice is the name of a spoiled rich kid with a yacht. And it’s effeminate!”
I cracked up. The character in question is the brother of the MC, whose name is Blake. He’s a tough guy football player. (I obsessed over every other character name but his!)
“Really?”
“Yeah, yeah. Back in Jersey, kids who were named Brice spelled it with a ‘y’ and were total posers.”
Clearly, it must be changed! And while we’re at it, let’s make it a name that doesn’t start with B, to minimize confusion. Although my neighbor likes the name Brett … apparently that’s a sufficiently masculine name.
What do you think?