Naming Characters
Coming
up with names for your characters can be hard. To be honest, there are days
when I think that, if I’m having trouble naming a character in a book, it’s
amazing that my kids were ever named!
There
are a number of ways I try to name a character:
Use the first name that comes to mind
Every
now and again, a name will just come to me as I write the story, and it works.
If it doesn’t, I figure I can always change the name later if I need to.
Baby Name Books & Apps
Books
and apps can be useful when you are trying to find a name that is a specific
ethnicity, or you are looking for a name that has a specific meaning. When all
else fails, close your eyes, open the book, and put your finger on the page,
and use the name closest to your finger!
Top 10 or 100 Lists
If
you are looking for a name from a certain year or era, then doing a search for
the top names of that year or decade, can give you a lot of great ideas for
names you may not have thought about before. There are also lists of the worst
names in a year, or strangest names.
Name Generators
These
can be useful if you are looking for names for a fantasy or science fiction story
or are looking for a name that is a bit different from names that would appear
in books, apps, or popular name lists.
Ask for suggestions
When
I’m really stuck, I will post something on Social Media asking for suggestions.
The ideas that come back may be used in the story or may point me in the right
direction so I can find a name for my character. I also know of people who have
auctioned off the opportunity to name a character in a story!
Names of people you know
As
much as I try not to do this, you could name characters after people you know. This
can be both a good and bad thing as people you know could take it as a positive
or a negative, especially if you name a less than pleasant character after
them!
What
are some of the other ways you come up with names of characters?
*****
Melissa Gijsbers is an Australian author,
blogger, and speaker who has been a member of the Chapter Book Challenge since
it began. She currently has three chapter books published, all written and
edited during the challenge. When she’s not writing or running workshops, she
is caring for two teenage boys and working in the family business. You can find
her online at melissagijsbers.com and www.facebok.com/melissagijsbers
*****
Give-away
Today's prize is a copy of Shakespeare: A Book of Quotations. If you are a signed-up member of the Chapter Book Challenge or ChaBooCha Lite, just comment on this blog post in order to entered for the prize. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on the 30th of September 2018.
I generally find names come with the character. It is part of the profile I work on, but sometimes the name changes as the character grows. It's always fun to give them a name. Great post!
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ReplyDeleteI have used old year books for names.
ReplyDeleteI love coming up with unusual names! But often times I find the common ones work well with a story too!! Thank you for a great post!
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