Family names appearing in stories

Does anyone else feel awkward reading a story where a family member’s name is the same as that of a family member?
For example, I’m sure “Meeting Maureen” is an excellent series, but I just can’t get past the fact my sister’s name is Maureen and I just can’t bring myself to read it. It’s maybe just me.

I think it is just you.

There are some names that would perhaps detract from a story for me. It can also be difficult to think of names to use when writing that have no real association to me, so no it’s not just you

I completely understand and sympathize, dund. My interest in this topic, this library, and all the things that go with it, are still largely private. Family and friends are not privy to my particular bent, nor are they likely to ever be. This is not so much to shield me as it is an inherent need to shield them from something I expect might make them uncomfortable. As such, I eschew anything that might remind me of them in the things I write and what I like to read. I’m sure some would disagree, that to be honest with oneself is a healthier policy, but I prefer not to be reminded of friends and loved ones while indulging in this aspect of my life.

Weirdly enough, most of my family have pretty common names, but in any spanking story really, I've never seen a character have the same name as one of them.

It clearly isn't just you, dund, but I don't have this inhibition myself - maybe I'm insensitive, or I've read too much to attach particular significance to character names. Is this similar to my having a negative response to someone I meet for the first time because their name has negative associations for me?

P.S. Great to see PinkAngel posting again!

TheEnglishMaster

Thanks, it’s good to be back.

That has actually never happened to me, which I can contribute to my family, like me, most being blessed with old Norse names

I have noticed though that in my authoring, I tend to avoid using names of people I know, but it's mostly because I find it distracting as I tend to associate the name with certain character traits. One of my kids do have the same name as a person I met at the university who was a total dickhead though. But as my wife said, you shouldn't let bad persons ruin good names, so we reclaimed it. There are some limits though. I would hesitate naming one of my children "Hitler". That's not a particularly good name in my ears though, so it's not a problem avoiding it.

Gloup/glagla

PinkAngel

I don't know what you'll find to post about. I haven't seen ol' blimp around in a while. So there's no sense to your wasting time here on the Forum when you could be reading and commenting on my stories.

njrick

Wow now that really is a blast from the past! I will be sure to stop by your author page and see what you’ve been up to