Character Names

[SpecialK]

How do you name the characters of your stories?

One would think that naming a character would be an easy task but, damn, it drives me nuts!

For my latest story, I just picked the first names that came into my head and plugged them into the story so that I could write the thing.

After the story was finished I sent it to someone to read and the first thing he noticed, and commented on even before he had finished reading, was the male characters name. "Lance? He's gay."

"He is not gay!" I protested. "I mean, the whole story is practically about how he wants to get home to his GIRLfriend!"

"He's gay."

And so, I thought about it, and while I'm sure there are men named Lance who are not homosexual, I had to admit that my friend had a point. The name Lance just SOUNDS like a homosexual, or a soap opera character. And the character in my story is neither.

Next I realized that the name of the female character, Ashley, was also inappropriate. The name conjures up images of a snooty, cheerleader. Again, not the image I'm going for.

Back to the drawing... err, writing board. I scoured for the right names for HOURS on baby name sites on the internet and I still wasn't able to come up with anything I wanted.

Now, a week later, I finally think I have come up with the names for my characters, and I think they will work. Liam and Janet.

So how do the rest of you pick the names of your characters and when you are reading a story, are you ever bothered by the names of the characters?

K

P.S. No offence if your name is either Lance or Ashley.

 

[Guest]

Sometimes I look through the books I've got and mix up the names of the authors or characters. Other times I try to add something that makes the name stand out and sound unusual - I used to write for a Scottish music magazine under the names: Roger Sound, Silvija Day Glasgow, Uncle Thurston and Debbie Creole, for example. (Haha - I've been masquerading as a woman long before Rachel Picabia was even a glint in Literotica's eye.) I try to avoid names that sound like they're from a John Hughes movie. Lance is one of those names. I'll NEVER have a character called Blayne.

 

[R Nitelight]

I name all my characters after foods or food companies.
Examples:
Nabisco Jones.
Earl Chicken-Cutlet.
Hamburger Provolone.


I've found it adds a quirky quality to your characters and makes them stand out from the crowd,

 

[Guest]

That's exactly how I came up with the name of my most popular character, the go-go dancing supersleuth: Letuce Double-Whopper.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I usually assign a character a generic name until the personality is a bit more developed. Mike or Jason or Jan. They happen to be my best friends in chat. I think Mike and Jason are gonna get pissed... I'm writing a story with bisexual guys in it, I may not change the names. I can be evil that way.

Sometimes, I take the name from a romance novel. Some of the names are good, some aren't. I have a baby name book thats my biggest resource. I casually browse until a name leaps up at me. I also have a phone book from a large city we used to live in. I pick a first name from one page and a last name from another.

Because the stories I write are usually short, I generally don't bother with a last name. Last names take a certain intimate feel from the writing. "Berthildagard Oglethorpe entered the room with a stately dignity and grasped Bob Spankenheimer's hand. 'How do you do?'" as opposed to "Berthy entered the room with a stately dignity and grasped Bob's hand. 'How do you do?'"

Anyway, a baby name book is an invaluable resource, as it usually has the meanings of the names and a nice assortment divided by sex. I just ripped the cover off. The picture of the baby and the stuff I write don't mix.

 

[Shintani]

Glad to see that you're still writing K! I've based character names on real people that I know, their nicknames, Hell, I used a couple of people's Confirmation names too! When that's exhausted, real people's middle names. Beyond that, a few times I've just taken a list of names an picked one out at random.

 

[SpecialK]

I'm glad I'm still writing too Shintani! I took a break from it for awhile (started a new job and didn't seem to have time for anything, let alone writing.) It felt absolutely wonderful to write something again. I dunno, to me the rush I get from writing is probably similar to the rush others would get from bungee jumping or skydiving (never done, nor would I do, either).

As for character names, I end up not using names of people I know. Maybe that's why I have such difficulty? There are so many names that remind me too much of the real life people they are attached to. And I'd feel weird about using the name of someone who might at some point read one of my stories. What if they thought I was writing about them? Maybe I only feel that way because I connect names with the people they belong to more than others. Am I making any sense here? (It's after 6:30 am and I have yet to sleep.)

K

 

[Samuari]

Geographical names can work, like Dakota, Denver, Taos, Missouri, Brekenridge, etc. There are some marvelous names in scripture in those long who begat who sequences. The obit collums can be interesting too.

 

[Tawny T]

I like short names - Sue, Sam, Peg, etc. When I run out of three letter names, I go to four letter names - Jean, Joan, John. Lazy fingers?

When I run out of names altogether, I go to the newspaper, and look in the bridal section and get a name I like! It helps if the women are Beautiful and the men Handsome. I steal their names. How they gunna know?

One of the best places, is to buy a child naming book, "What to Name That Large Kicking Lump You Have Been Carrying Around for Eight and a Three Quarters Months."

I'm too damn cheap to buy that one!