The Original Bella Swan
Is it possible that Stephanie Meyer actually named the heroine of Twilight after a minor one-episode character from the Mary Tyler Moore Show?
There I was watching “The Farmer Ted” episode with Woofy last night on iTunes and in walks Ted’s elderly agent named Bella Swan.
Thinks I: Man, that Stephanie Meyer is way cooler than I thought.
Haven’t heard that wonderful theme song in a while? Well, here’s a treat for you then.
Enjoy. And remember love is all around, no need to waste it.
Nice. Nothing like a Mary Tyler Moore theme song to get your day going the right way.
Yessir. She’s still turning the world on with her smile.
Ha! If only…
In my current novel, I named a character Laura Meehan. Then I was watching The Dick Van Dyke Show, and it turns out that was Laura Petrie’s maiden name. I thought that might be too distracting for all those young adult MTM fans, so I changed it…
Eerie, Eugene. I think you should keep it though. I think all novels should have a character named after a character in a TV show in which MTM appears.
Maybe that’s where The Mormon got the name, but i’m all about doubting it. Think about it: “Bella Swan.” Pretty Swan. I totally rolled my eyes the first two hundred times I read the name … until I got used to it. It’s a Dickensian name, and one that’s relatively easy to come by, but one a writer would reject as too obvious, unless you’re going for comedy, or unless you’re The Mormon.