Day 14: #atozchallenge
When William Shakespeare’s Juliet discovered Romeo bore the name of her enemy, she asked:
“What’s in a name?
That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
I respectfully disagree with Juliet. To me, a rose is a rose, is a rose, and I venture to say others feel the same. To call a rose by any another name would be nonsense.
We all have certain mindsets when it comes to names. For example, Billy Bob denotes an image far different than the name Randolph. Naming a child, Elizabeth Marie Kennedy Thornton (fictitious) makes us think privileged.
Names conjure memories both good and bad. Ever time I hear the name Gene I am once again in the 5th grade. Our brothers, sisters, or distance cousins all provide us a mental picture of a person. It’s from life experiences and the individuals that cross our paths in which we draw inspiration for naming the characters in our stories.
Important Points to Remember:
- Match the name to the character’s personality. Channing is not likely to make readers think of a shy introvert.
- Don’t get stuck on a letter. Sure it might be easier, but Carol, Cait, and Cami will make the readers head spin trying to tell the characters apart.
- Assigning cute or unusual names is tricky. When done, the character’s personality must fit the name like a glove. The name, Apple, however, popular in Hollywood, is never going to make me think of anything other than a red delicious.
- Tread carefully when naming a character based on someone you know. Get too close to the real thing and you might just have a family member on your back.
Helpful Resources for Naming Characters:
It isn’t always easy to come up with the right name, or one we think fits the character, but there are resources.
- Utilize baby name books – Babble, Baby Center, MooseRoots (genealogy/origins).
- Name generators: Fake Name Generator, Random Name Generator, Character Name Generator.
Naming characters can be fun or frustrating but don’t let it get in the way of telling your story. You can change names anytime, just write the story.
How do you choose the names of your characters?
I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.
I can’t agree more. Names are very important. Even going back to my days of playing Dungeons and Dragons, naming a character was an incredibly important thing. Great reminder of something that might seem so simple but can make or break a story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, glad you liked it. Your thoughts are always appreciated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really helpful post and I love the discussion as well. I ended up writing about this also for the AtoZ Challenge. One of my readers suggested adding a list of characters, especially helpful in historical fiction when sometimes it seems we have a cast of thousands! A helpful example can be found in Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy. He creates a Cast of Characters and separates characters by country and then fictional and real historical personages (his words).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great minds think alike, Beth. I thought your post was awesome. Thanks so much for your kind comments and contributing to the conversation.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
Here is a great post about resources to help you name your characters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Don for the reblog and as always stopping by.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. Very useful post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If a character doesn’t tell me their name, then I google names and look for something that matches their character. Naming is something I always find fun and I enjoy looking up names.
~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree the character must speak to me. Names are important. Thanks so much for stopping by and contributing to the conversation.
LikeLike
I remember trying to read “War and Peace” but could never get past all the names they had for themselves. It was way too confusing.
You are right though, names have to really fit the character to work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
War and peace. A long time ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I Google Top 50 names of the decade when my character would have been born. or ask my husband 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great idea. Thanks for the suggestions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve changed a character’s name over and over because it just didn’t fit. Name generators don’t do it for me. I have to find it on my own.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed. I have to visualize the person and the name has to match.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Does that make us weird? That we see invisible people?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe to some people but only if they aren’t writers. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
True
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great points!
Once I was traveling from SFO to meet my husband in Jakarta. I stopped at the airport bookstore and purchased a book that looked interesting. When I got on the plane I realized all the characters names were so similar I couldn’t follow what was going on. I tried and tried, but felt like I needed to take notes to keep things straight. I ended up giving up.
Shelly @ http://hangryfork.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh i hate when that happens! Names are as important in our work as they are in person. Our characters become so much a part of our work. Thanks Shelley for stopping by and contributing to the conversation.
LikeLike
Naming is a tough thing to do, and I completely agree that different names can’t be used for certain characters. For example, I chose the name Welty for an imaginary ogre character in my Middle Grade Fantasy book. Welty would not be the first name of a prince in a castle. Change it to Wesley and you’re good to go.
Julianne
Ink & Stitches – http://blog.jhwinter.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed. I’ve changed a few of the names in my novel as well. sometimes you start out with one because the character reminds you of someone, but as you develop the character, it’s apparent the name doesn’t fit. Thanks again for stopping by and commenting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They tend to just name themselves 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes they do and when that happens,it’s awesome. Thanks for commenting.
LikeLike
My pleasure, Sheila. I love it when the characters introduce themselves 🙂
Like
Me too. It makes things so much easier.
LikeLike
And they always feel right that way too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely.
LikeLiked by 1 person