Character Names Part 2
Blog #4 Creating Character Names As mentioned before, one of the things I enjoy most in writing is giving my characters names. For what it’s worth, here are some of my own guidelines: Free associate : I envision my character’s appearance and personality, then see what pops out of the ol’ subconscious. Often, I’ll be writing a scene and wait until the character makes his/her entrance before I first reach for a name––and it’s amazing how often something just emerges. It’s also when I’ll often come up with half a dozen names at once; write them all down; then drop them in the text one by one. Often the first one sticks. Evolve the name : Let’s say you’ve always liked the name Rebecca (love that name) and you have a female heroine for which it seems to be perfect. Well, in fantasy, you can’t generally use ‘real’ names because they have too much association with ‘reality.’ So: evolve it. This is best done out loud. Rebecka, Rebbeka, Recca, Reaba, Berecca, Brecca, etc. When you hit the right