ITL210: The 3 Laws of Baby Naming, and Surprising Writing Advice from an Author

On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about how Polly and I determined the names of our boys; we also discuss how incorrect writing can become your style. We all have seen names where we think, “What in the world? Did you not think this through for a second?” I love names, but there are some that should no longer be in use (you don’t see any little Attilas running around anymore). You don’t want to name your kids: Something someone is going to make fun of. A name that has a weird connotation. Something they’ll have to spell out for the rest of their lives.   I told Polly that she can name the boys whatever she wants, but they have to start with an “A.” We always liked “Austin,” and his middle name, Gray, was one of my grandfathers’ names. When Adam was about 9 years old, he asked where his name came from. It just came out of my mouth: “Well buddy, we named you Adam because it must be God’s favorite name.”   The second question I’m answering in this episode is, what advice do you have for young writers on how to perfect their craft? This sounds silly, but one of the major things to do is to write. I don’t know any profession that doesn’t benefit from repetition and deep thought. What others may see as incorrect may develop into a style. For instance, because I try to write in a conversational way, I’ll sometimes start a sentence with “And…” Editors used to mark this out, but now they leave it because they understand that’s part of my style.   Tune in to hear about a family that named their son after a character from one of Andy’s books, and find out what milestone an Andrews family member just reached. And please share this free content with any family, friends, or co-workers who might be inspired by it!   Questions for Andy Would you like to run something by Andy? Contact us and your question might be featured on the show! Phone: 1-800-726-ANDY Email: [email protected] Facebook.com/AndyAndrews Twitter.com/AndyAndrews