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Character Naming!

edited May 2014 in - Writing Problems
Finding a proper name for your characters is not such a difficult task. Mind you for some it will be and others it will be easier.

You need to see in your mind's eye - what this character is like - but at the end of the day, research is what is best. Example, most of my characters are acting based on their birth date. Therefore, I would chose a name according to birth date, zodiac signs and the like.

Finally, unless you're writing for Children and Lady Butternut is a wee old granny that loves butter and is nutty at times - then that is satisfactory. She may not fit all that well or be taken seriously as a Crime Stopper. Just do some research and write down on a separate piece of paper the how and what makes this person/character tick - then check out the endless lists online of Baby Names with matching feeling, description, meaning - also very important - try to find a name that fits the time-frame of your writing, a name such as Basil was popular quite a while ago but if you are writing a story happening now - Andrew might be a wee bit more appropriate.

Take time to decide - although if you're a natural writer - then names will come to you simply as just putting pen to paper with the ideas within your imagination. I hope this helps! And write me a line if you're stuck with naming a character - I'll try my best.

CeDany
BB

Comments

  • I think it helps to remember that names are chosen for babies, not the adults they become.
  • It's just a guideline of research. But the name I received is really the adult I've become - trust me, you wouldn't want to be in my shoes dear Phots Moll!!!
  • I always have trouble thinking of names. When I did national novel writing month challenge my character was called "friend" all the way through.
  • Another thing about names: they mustn't sound alike. Similarities lead to confusion. Try starting every name with a different letter. Make a list of your characters, and make sure there can be no confusion.
  • edited June 2014
    I have my departed Mother-in-law's crossword dictionary of 1970 vintage and it's invaluable. I get stuck on two or three names if I try to think them up myself - I have written 2 or 3 stories with a Pete in them, for example.
  • I thought TN had cornered the market in Petes?
  • Reading an already published book where one character is Toni (girl), later she becomes Tony - just once. Three chapters in and there's a new character...Tony (bloke).
  • Ooo-er.

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE thinking of names.

    Pete's a good one.
  • But you are biased. And just what is Pete good at?

    B-)
  • Depends which Pete we are talking about.

    *looks in Pete file*
  • In my previous life in banking I once had a colleague called Scott Badcock. I always thought he should be writing thrillers.........or something.
  • Or booklets on STDs, perhaps.
  • Lizy- that just made me laugh out loud! Badcock is NOT a good name :))
  • We had lots of cocks at my school - Allcock, Hancock, Pocock, Woodcock, Cocksedge, to name but a few.

    I ended up marrying a cock, too. I think I shall pronounce it 'co'...
  • We had a Dicks and and a Dicker.

    :-*
  • The OH was at school with a Sidebottom.
  • And a Willey. He became an actor but just used his Christian names.

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0160106/
  • One of my best friends was a Willey.
  • Of course! His family were from Wales.

    *thinks it's a small world*
  • Some time ago I read an interview with Mike Trebilcock, who scored two goals for Everton in the 1966 FA Cup Final. He said something like "Everyone remembers Kenneth Wolstenholme for his comment in the World Cup Final: 'they think it's all over - it is now'. But I remember him for refusing to pronounce my name correctly in the FA Cup Final because he said it sounded rude. To this day people still pronounce my name Trebilco because of him."

    Since reading that interview I've bought and watched the match on DVD and Mike is wrong - Kenneth pronounces his name correctly for the first nine minutes then says he's been handed a piece of paper to tell him it should be pronounced Trebilco.
  • Hoping there is a memoir writer here who can give me some advice. I would like to use real names in my book and do have most of these permissions in writing. What do I do about the people who I have not been able to get a old of?
  • What do you intend to do with the memoir when it's completed? Because that will be very relevant.
  • Great question Carol! I have often been asked if this will be the only book I will ever write. I don't think so because I have also found an interest in writing about travel since I have been doing that all of my life. This book is about my life in Sri Lanka during their civil war. It was at first a way for me to reflect on some of the happiest times of my life and how we were able to still live happily during this war. I then wanted my classmates to still remember these times. Now I have realized I am the first foreigner to come forward with this story and my research has been promoting tourism. Two publishers in Sri Lanka and one in America have seen a very basic manuscript and are interested in publishing it. No formal contracts have been signed yet.
  • edited July 2014
    It depends what you're saying about them and how much you care what they think.

    You don't need their permission, provided that what you are saying is true and you could prove it to be. They may still not like it though, and they could possibly take you to court (which would be a pain for you and the publisher even if they were unlikely to win). You could also lose friends.

    Even if what you are saying is, in your opinion, nice and/or innocuous, they may not view it that way.

    You could include the information without using names, but if the people were recognisable, then the same applies.

    My advice would be, unless you have very strong reasons for including them AND you are confident that you are not libelling them, leave them out.
    (This is my personal opinion, BTW, other may have different views.)
  • Good point Heather! I am asking my editor for her advice on this. She is an expert on memoirs. Most of the characters are recognizable. I will leave it up to the publisher on using the photos I have taken or not. My friends during this time period are in the photos. I have posted the photos on Facebook and tagged them. So far everyone has liked them and have come up with a story.
  • I always struggle to name my characters. Most of the time I give them a placeholder name (something basic like John, Scott, Ben) and change it later on. Sometimes the last thing I do is name my characters. It all depends on what genre I'm writing in as well.

    Oddly enough I don't have much trouble names places in my stories. Just people.
  • In my previous life in banking I once had a colleague called Scott Badcock. I always thought he should be writing thrillers.........or something.
    I'd love to have seen the look on his client's faces when he introduced himself!

    My sister went to school with a boy called Alistair McAllister. Either his parents were a bit short on imagination, or they quite liked the idea of giving their child a name that sounds like it belongs in a comedy children's book. I wonder what he's doing now...

    :-/
  • Google him and find out!
  • We had a N**l McN**l.

    * - to protect identity

    I wrote a funny poem about him - but changed his name. I also used the idea for a dim-witted character called Glen McLen in a children's book.
  • There was a Nigel in the youth club I ran. He was extraordinarily dim, and I have had a down on Nigels ever since.
    There's one here - drinks in our bar - and he's an overgrown child.

    So, if I wanted a hero's name I wouldn't pick Nigel.
  • So you won't be making plans for Nigel then, Lizy?

    I hope you're familiar with XTC's music, otherwise that will be lost on you.
  • I used to love them!
    I think I've still got the LP somewhere.
  • Also, Andy Partridge's spin-off band, The Dukes of Stratosphear!
  • So you won't be making plans for Nigel then, Lizy?

    I hope you're familiar with XTC's music, otherwise that will be lost on you.
    Afraid it is lost on me!

  • Ah, I remember that song!
  • When I was a school girl,
    A long, long time ago,
    What really turned my stomach
    Was a boy I used to know.

    I can’t reveal his surname,
    Nor Christian name right here,
    So let’s just call him ‘John McJohn’
    -It’s similar to the ear.

    - and then I tell about him sucking his glass eye and lining up his 'nose debris' in the pen groove of his desk.
  • Tasteful as ever, TN. Eeeeuw.
  • TN - I do hope you were making that up?
  • Lizy, I kid you not. Every bit of that is true. He was always popping out his eye and rolling it around in his cheek and when not doing that was delving around in his nostrils to see what he could find to display.

    He sat on his own, I seem to remember.
  • If you need authentic names for characters of particular ethnicities or origins then the Behind The Name website is a great resource. I have used it on many occasions.
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