McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Character Names

(1/6) > >>

Abstruse:
This is without a doubt the number one cause for writer's block for me.  Right now, I'm trying to name the protagonist of my story.  I wanted a cool sounding last name, so I went with Frost.  I already gave him a first name in a previous version of the story I wrote years ago, which was Robert.  I thought that worked well until I put the two names together.

My main character's name is Robert Frost.

I've done the same thing with the names Kevin Smith, Michael Jackson, Robert Smith, and Gary Larson.  I've now wasted half an hour of productivity trying to come with a new name for the character.  Does anyone else have this trouble?  Am I overthinking things?  How does everyone else name their characters?

The Abstruse One
Darryl Mott Jr.

Josh:
Two things help me in this. First, I tend to do more fantasy, and so I look at the culture the person is living in and see what kind of name fits that culture, as well as gives perhaps a subconscious inkling of what that character is like. Some people, and I've done this at times, go so far in their worldbuilding that they actually develop an alphabet and basic phonetics for their cultures, so it's easy for them to make a name, even a name with true meaning and grammatical structure.

The second thing that helps me is the knowledge that I can go back at any time in the writing, revising, 10th draft...and change the guy's name. Sure, I may always think of him according to the first name I started with, but sometimes it just needs to change. It is never going to be set in stone until you get the first book off the press, so don't hammer yourself into having to etch it in acid on your forehead, or think that a character's name is going to totally make or break the story (unless of course, you've got a system of magic where names are some sort of power or talismen...heh...then you might have to put a little thought into it).

terioncalling:
My method of coming up with non-fantasy type names is to have two lists: first names and last names.  It hasn't been updated in a while but I went through my old year books taking names and the cast list of the old tv show Dark Shadows on a random whim.  So now when I need a name I just go through and pick a first name then go find a last name that goes along with it.  If it matching up with a name I know in real life, I find another name.

Abstruse:
Maybe I overthink things, but I feel that the name should reflect the character's personality.  For one thing, I wouldn't have named that character Robert Frost anyway if I'd thought about it for another five seconds or so because his main magic is based on fire.  Plus, I like having something that ties the character's name to the character's personality to make it easier for readers to remember.  If I name a minor character "Aiden", then you'll think of fire (Aiden means "Flame-bringer" or something like that).  If he is a very passionate person with his feelings always at the surface, this ties the name to the character and makes it easier to remember.  However, if he was a very cool and collected person, then it would be the wrong name for him.  I mean I could randomly look up the cast and grew for Day of the Dead and start matching up names, but then it'd lose a lot of meaning.

And I can't change names.  I've tried, but it doesn't work.  In one project I was working on, there was man and a woman who were originally siblings both from Houston, TX.  I then changed the male character to being from Ireland and having moved to the US a few years previous to the story.  However, I could not bring myself to think of the character as anything other than the name I had originally chosen for him.  So now I'm forced to figure out a believable way to have her still be from Houston and him from Ireland yet still keep them siblings.

The Abstruse One
Darryl Mott Jr.

Josh:
What if you created a character whose name actually contrasted to their personality? Maybe it was a strong name, very bold, but in actuality they were quite weak and timid. It could even be something they are ashamed about, adding more to their emotional depth.

Look at Dean Koontz's character...Odd Thomas. That's a name and a character you aren't going to forget. Plus his girlfriend, Stormy Llewellyn (or however you spell it). Definetely characters that you can get a lot from just by reading their names. So, yea, it makes a difference.

Good luck with the Ireland/Houston didgeree-doo. That should provide some intriguing backstory. Sounds like the brother is quite the roamer. Or maybe he left to escape something...what could it be? Heheh.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page