This is, hands down, once of my favorite parts of writing a new story or creating new characters. But it is SO easy to do wrong. I cannot count the times I've read a maze runner fan fiction where the main character is named Skyler or Jessica, or a marvel fan fiction about the Red Room with a character named Emily or Rachel. Or even a story set in medieval times with a Taylor and Bryce. Please no. That is the number one thing that will turn the readers off of your story.
How do you prevent this from happening, you ask?
Here's what I recommend:
- Ask yourself 3 things: where was my character born, what year were they born, and where to they live now?
»With these in mind, you'll be better able to name your character by looking at name trends. Usually you can find a list of the most popular names by the decade or by the country if you google it.
- Baby name sites are super helpful. Personally, I use nameberry, because they not only have the origin and meaning of each name, but they also have forums, one of them meant specifically for writers. It's free to sign up for, and a great resource for finding names.
- When writing fan fiction, make sure your name fits with the story. Characters in The Maze Runner were named after famous figures (the boys in group a after scientists, the girls after religious figures). Characters in the Hunger Games have unique and unusual names. Keep in mind other characters names and make sure the name has the same vibe.
»In the next few chapters, I'll give examples of names for oc's that would fit well into different universes.
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HOW TO WRITE | tips & advice
Randoma book in which i offer advice on how to write, gain new readers, and not fall trap to cliché storylines or characters
