Hello. I think that when you write a book, it comes out the way that it's meant to. If your main character's name is Azlan, then let it be Azlan; that kid Christopher Paolini entitled his first novel Eragon, or something like that, which is pretty close to J.R.R. Tolkien's main human character, Aragorn*.
On the other hand, if you feel you should change the name because you're worried about what people will think of you, then already you've lost sight of the value of the written word, and the beauty of writing itself. For in worrying of what others will think of your tale, your characters, you believe you are somehow able to control what happens in this world you stumbled upon. Take note; The fictionalized world, though 'unreal' to us, is very much real to your chracters. The character's name is Azlan. My name is Daniel; my father wanted me to be an Eduardo. My father's name is Eduardo, and he ended up in jail more than three times in all his life; I do not speak to him anymore. I'm not saying all Eduardos are like this, but I think that my name being Daniel has helped to shape who I am, just as my fiance's name being Wendy with a 'y' and not an 'i' has shaped who she is.
So my point is this: Your character's name is Azlan. Perhaps she (I assume, if the character is based off your daughter) has a middle name, and yes, you could very well go and change the beautiful name of Azlan to some other name, but tell me: Do you want to change the name? Or does it feel like you're ruining your character by putting to the real thing a mask with which you plan to cover your insecurity?
Your insecurity is born of a need to control. The world of fiction, as we've just read, is not at all one that you can control: As Stephen King said in On Writing, each book is a fossil, one that must be slowly extricated from the millions of years of ground that has settled around it: It is not fake, it is a relic of old, a thing long past, and you are the tool chosen to write this thing down. That the character's name is Azlan is how it was meant to be; it is my conjecture that if you change the character's name, then you'll never be quite fully satisfied with who that character will eventually have become. Indeed, as I said, to worry of what people think of your character's name is to attempt to control the world of fiction, a thing that is not possible except in the rigidity of forced prose; to write with worry of others' thoughts is to write for money, is to write not for the beauty of writing itself, but with the desire to make money off the task. No! Writing is not a money-making deal; without my fiance I would indeed starve, as I've made approximately one hundred dollars in about three months living off the income of my books as I do. Why has this happened? You might want to say that it is because I haven't gone to a traditional publisher, but self-published my book; but as much is not true: There are people who come up to me everyday, surprised to find that I am the author of that book they've been hearing about, and could they have a copy? But they consider themselves suddenly my friends and I, being the nice person that I am, am unable to refuse when they ask for a free copy.
Such is my own plight, however. Why I've made so little money probably has more to do with the fact that I actually write most of the time, as opposed to promoting my books eight hours a day as I suppose I should. The title of my latest work is How God Was Created, a title that I know offends some who are religious. But I will not change it if I can help it, nor will I change it unless I feel a desire to. I think you should not change the name of your main character, unless you feel a desire to. Love the written word, love to write - not for the money, but for the experience of it, the people you meet, the journeys on which you find yourself tagging along.
Daniel Martinez,
Author of How God Was Created,
Artemis Grant
Queen of the Undead,
Paranoid Schizophrenic
and currently at work on a six- or seven-part collection tentatively entitled A History of Mendoh.
* Disclaimer: I've not read The Lord of the Rings, though I've seen the movies; and so if his name is not actually Aragorn, please forgive my ignorance.
