Character Names

[KayceeCharles]

Each generation has its own "favorite" names for boys and girls.

Each ethnicity also has its own, despite attempts to not be racist.

And there are a LOT of cliche names in romance. So tired of seeing "Grayson" and "Dom"

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

My other problem is I can never use any of my friends names because then I picture them as the characters and well that's embarrassing.

I also am a name snob, I loathe trendy names, and really can't stand when they are spelled trendy too. It took me the full nine months to find names for my kids and I think I did pretty good. They all have classic timeless names, except maybe the one I let my ex name :/

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I think it's some of that too, I know these characters, I like them, and I just want to keep writing about the same people putting them in new scenarios.

Yes, comfort. Everyone likes to be comfortable, but we also need to expand our horizons. My first novel length work had a cast of thousands, but you only saw a core group of twelve with about ten others playing supporting roles.

My next broadening of my horizons only had ten characters and only four in staring roles. And I knew them so well, I didn't need a character sheet.

Then came my Warrior series...with a cast of main characters that numbered in the 100's. A lot going on in that series. I had to come up with names for aliens(four different kinds), Irish, American, and Saxons. Plus a few other nationalities from earth. Along with names for the ships Androids(male and female). Along with ship names, that was a lot of names to keep track of.

But in most cases I can write without a character sheet, as even though the names may change the characters remain the same. For most stories under 10,000 words I really don't need a character sheet yet. Maybe in another five years the assinhimers might kick in a little and I'll need a character sheet for a 3,000 word story. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, if I remember what a bridge is then.