I chose to name Snout’s vine clone friend “Kaianda” because I went to college with someone of the same name, only she spelled it with a C.
We weren’t very close. In fact, we barely knew each other. We spoke a few times in those first few months of freshman year, where everyone is eager to meet as many new people as possible. We were both Acting majors so our paths crossed here and there, but overall, I can count on one hand the amount of times we spoke to one another.
But after all these years, and despite having barely grazed each other’s social circles, her name always stuck with me. Caianda. And so, when deciding on a name for a major character in this story, I remembered a name that my brain had decided to latch on to. I not only think it’s a very pretty name, but apparently an enduring one.
Sometimes, when you’re gathering life experiences to put somewhere in your creative works, it can be the simple things that endure in your mind. Not every memory has to be deep and meaningful, or have a lengthy story behind it.
Sometimes inspiration can come from a brief encounter with a pretty name.