Writing Tips

Names

I personally love finding the perfect character name. I have lists in my notebook of many, many names that I apply liberally to my stories. But how do you find the perfect name for your unique character? Here is a list of ideas:

1) Find a name that actually means something important about him/her

Ie. When I was thinking of a name for my protagonist in Black Dove, I searched through baby names and found the perfect one for my moody, depressed, determined character. Avalynne. Why? It meant 'beautiful bird' in French, and the 'Black Dove' motif is a pivotal plot point throughout the book. Mission accomplished. 

2) Think of a letter that has to do with your character, then mentally/electronically/paper(ly?) search through that letter's names

For instance, a bad character's names might start with the letter 'S'. So search 'S' names until you find one that really jumps out at you. By narrowing the search, you can find a name that fits your character's personality like a glove. Or you can find a cool name like "Saar". (I'm saving that one for my next sarcastic, saucy, evil guy). 

3) Make sure it is right for the time

In 1850, they weren't naming their children Katniss. I'm sorry, they just weren't. Make sure you stick to facts. If in your future society, you have really unique names, don't add a few Marys and Johns in there when you can't think of a name. Too often you see amatuer historical fiction books names like "Cody" or "Damien". I'm thinking more along the lines of "John" or even "Josiah Ficklegruber", which brings us to the next point:

4) Your character's name doesn't have to perfectly fit his/her personality

You're probably thinking "what? She just said how to find names that fit your character like a glove!!! This is so lame". Okay, probably not. 

Having a name that doesn't fit your character's personality could contribute to character developement. Say a girl in a fantasy novel is named "Oresia Blackpool". And instead she insists on being called Ree, and rolls her eyes when you call her Oresia. While her full name, which the author may actually use, doesn't fit this tomboy at all, her demading of a nickname can instantly formulate an idea in the reader's mind of what this person is like (demanding, tomboy, not frilly, etc)

5) Make lists

Find names you like, and file them away on a doc or in good old fashioned paper and ink. It can be immensly helpful when you start other projects.

~Star