Spent 45 minutes trying to name a character in my fantasy novel and ended up using my cat's middle name

I stared at a blank document for nearly an hour trying to come up with a warrior name that didn't sound like a rejected pasta dish, and then my cat jumped on the keyboard and I saw her vet records pinned to the wall - her middle name was Mittens, so now the dark lord of the Northern Wastes is called Lord Mittens, and honestly has anyone else had a pet totally hijack your writing process?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_mason311d ago

My cat's actual name is the main villain in my story now too.

the_ben1d ago

Oh man, that's gold. My buddy Dave was writing a gritty detective novel and his dog kept stealing his socks. He got so frustrated he named the main suspect "Red Sox" as a joke, and then it turned into this whole plot point about a stolen sports memorabilia ring. The dog's name was Buster, by the way, so that didn't make it in, but the socks did.