How I Come Up with Character Names
I hear a lot of author stress about coming up with character names. I don’t write fantasy, so it’s generally pretty simple. Except, once you’ve written more than a few stories, it’s easy to get stuck. You want your characters to be memorable and you don’t want to use the same name over again. I have a simple trick for coming up with character names:
BABY NAMING BOOKS
Some of you are going, “Duh, known about them forever." But for those of you who’ve just had a light turn on, you’re welcome. We don’t know what we don’t know until we know it. I’ve been using The Baby Naming Wizard for years. Most times I just flip the pages and stop. Whatever it lands on, it lands on. That’s it. Here’s one now….flip flip flip stop. DeAndre. Let’s get one for our heroine….flip flip flip stop. Trina. This also really helps me coming up with ideas for new stories. What can I do with DeAndre and Trina? I’m already thinking about ideas for their love affair. Who is DeAndre? What kind of girl is Trina?
The Baby Naming Wizard not only has “normal” sounding names, but also many exotic ones too. It’s worth picking up as one more tool for your tool chest. It also has lots of information about the etymology of many of the names for those of you looking to give your character names meaning. It also pairs names that are related and sound good together. It’s a fun book to look through.
When I’m not close to my baby naming book and need a name quick, I run through IMDB, pick the latest blockbuster and scan through the credits. See, I don’t like naming my characters Shirellasa or Frizmata. I write extraordinary stories about everyday people. That’s fun for me. Taking normal people and putting them into wonderful situations. In Lessons in Love, it doesn’t get more basic than Anne. I also love the name Anne. What thoughts come up when you hear that name? She’s probably sweet. Maybe she’s a little feisty like Anne of Green Gables. I like the randomness that comes from flipping through a book for a random name. I also design my characters in a similar way.
Character Structure Worksheet
To see how I then take my newly named characters and turn them into real people, download my Character Structure Worksheet. It’s free, BTW. It contains some tricks I’ve developed over the years through trial and error, after attending many workshops, and reading lots of books.
