Sometimes
the idea for a story comes easy (sometimes not) but the author is stymied when
she/he tries to name her characters, creations, her babies. Choose the wrong
name and you risk making the character laughable or causing him or her unnecessary
lifelong ridicule or even bullying. While branding someone with the wrong name might
give a hint as to why they are angry at the world, used to being bullied, or expects
that no one would take him seriously — it might not be the image the author intended.
How far do you think that ‘boy named Sue’ got in life?
The easiest
names to choose should be for characters who were born, raised and live in your
local region and the current time. You could choose the names of friends or family
members (be sure to mix them up so they are not easily identified, Paul Jones
and Marie Smith becomes Paul Smith and Marie Jones for example); warn those you
might have borrowed especially if the character turns out to be a nasty villain
or has a tragic ending. You could also mix and match the names of TV stars,
sports figures, writers or more. Try to stay away from similar sounding names
for two or more main characters. Try to make sure the names you choose are
relatively easy to pronounce even if they are from another country.
If you’ve
made a character dossier and know who and what your character’s personality
personifies you could also look in an online baby book of names using the characteristics
you feel are most important. Keep the age of your character in mind, the same
name might not be popular for grandparents, parents or babies. Talking about
the generations, go back to your character dossier and see what kind of parents
the character had, they may have named a child for a favorite actor, singer or
cause. And if you choose a name that is associated with a controversial
personality make sure that the reason is important to the story.
When you are
writing historicals look for online directories for popular names in specific decades.
If you are looking at most popular baby names allow for the character’s age and
the year your story is set in. Try to choose names for folks that go with the
county they were named in (born in, raised in). There are sites such as Behind
the Name http://www.behindthename.com/
that can help you choose names for characters with a variety of origins.
Writing
Exercise: You have 10 people in a room — one is a recluse AND dead; one is a
police detective, and eight are invited dinner guests. Name each party and a
snippet about each one’s personality) and please do NOT use the names from the
game Clue, lol)
Writing
Prompt: List five to eight of your closest childhood friends. Next to each name
use a one word description about the person. Having known their personalities
are there any name(s) you would change if you could (based on the specific
personalities)?
Challenge
Assignment: Write a short-short about a society that doesn’t allow the parents
to name their offspring. Instead a council names each child based on social
standing, astrology, and an intended career chosen by the state at birth.
