On Naming: Vol. 2, the Quest for the Name

by Brenda W. Clough

You write fantasy or science fiction novels. And, unless you write very philosophical Olaf-Stapledon type fiction about colliding universes and enormous spans of time, you have created science-fictional or fantasy characters — elves, Klingons, Martians, Wookkies. They need names — and this time you cannot resort to Robert, Mildred and Susie!

This is particularly hard for those of us who need to have the names in hand before starting to write. Because names imply enormous thi...