Naming Characters
I have posted about naming characters in the past, so I wanted to touch back on it for this month’s writerly musings.
So, how do we find the right name for our characters? It has to fit because it is like a part of their personality. Just like naming a real life human, character’s names have to work for them and for the reader.
Here are some of my tips I have touched on in the past for naming characters…
Gut instinct:
Sometimes, we name a character on nothing more than gut instinct- it just feels right. If you love the name for them and your gut is telling you it’s a perfect fit, roll with it.
Weird spellings:
I personally steer clear from names that the readers may not be able to pronounce, but you do have the option of including a page on name prenounciation in your book.
Google it:
It doesn’t take a few minutes to Google a name to make sure it hasn’t been used, or if it is the name of a popular figure etc. I also like to check the connotations of a name I might not have heard of before.
Preconceptions:
This links into the above point. Some names may be linked to a stereotype. For example, the name Jezebel is most commonly thought of as a harlet.
Age appropriate:
Be aware of your story era/ time period and what names were used. You’d probably not find a Jayden in the 1800s.
No to samey samey:
Samey samey means that the names are so similar the reader may get confused. If you have a character called James, it may be best not to call another character a variant of that name such as Jaime.
Listen and look:
Listening to conversations, reading names in the newspaper, or even reading names on gravestones is my tried and tested way of finding the perfect name.
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