Charlie Holmberg
YAY! You can check out the list of prizes HERE and then email Denise at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com
Now, back to the madness. A quick bit of musing over that ever elusive piece of perfection—naming your characters. I have written mostly historical fiction, so I often research popular names of the era in which I am writing to keep it authentic. There also has to be a certain rhythm and sense to the name. It must carry a kind of affective quality that elicits the right emotion or sense of connection.I don't go the Charles Dickens route and choose names that literally sound like some quality of the character—Mr. Bounderby from Hard Times comes to mind—but I do look for that little something that reflects the overall reaction I would like my readers to have. You know, that gut reaction that leaves a certain taste in your mouth, especially when it comes to the antagonist. I recently tweeted a question for my writing tweeps and got some great feedback on a potential nickname for a character in my current book. I shared some description of the character and his interests and got some excellent suggestions...so, thanks all of those who offered some help!
My question for all you wipsters today is, how do you choose your character names?
By the way..."Marty is a nice name!"
Lol, Mary Ann...you must've been typing my name at super-duper speed! There's a hint of Candilynn + Fite up there. :)) Please feel free (everyone) to just call me Candi. It's so much easier. :D Candilynn is a combo of first and middle names for my pen name. I'm so very glad I could be of assistance to you w/ nick-naming your character! It was fun!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of names, when Mary Ann first put the question up on Twitter, my first thought was what's his personality? For me, personality is the key to naming characters. Next would come time / era, and then, how the character looks.
I love baby name websites, two of my favs are Yeahbaby.com and Nameberry.com (on this one, I go to the list tab and search from there). With most of the sites you can get very specific on your searches. They can be sort of addictive. *O* Often times, I'll come across several names I LOVE, and I jot them down for later uses.
Have a fabulous day, Wipsters!!
LMAO! Yes, I was flying on Spring Break Brain and can hardly put two words together this morning! Sorry about that... Great links!
DeleteFunny how this post is about names, too...leave it to me!
DeleteI kind of liked it!! Candi Flyte, it's gotta ring to it. ;)
DeleteThat could be your pen name!!
DeleteI usually look at baby naming sites until something strikes my fancy. Or I'll be watching TV and hear a name and start making up backstory for a character that's just popped into my head.
ReplyDeleteHa! I have done the same thing, Jennifer. Hear a name and start imagining a whole story around it. Some names just seem to tell a whole story, don't they? :-)
DeleteI use baby naming books and websites, and also jot down names that interest me whenever I come across them. Sometimes it's a grocery store clerk's name, or a waitress. Certain names just speak to me.
ReplyDeleteReally close to getting my nonfiction revision done and sent in! I'm so excited to get back to fiction, I can't even tell you!
YAY! Go, Denise, go!
DeleteFor Sing to The Wind - I looked around my school and said which is one of the most popular names for this area. Amber.
ReplyDeleteFor Popsicle - Claire means light. Asa means healer. That was what fit.
For the new one - Maddie is my main character because she told me that was right.
Oh, they will let you know when they don't like their names, won't they?! ;-) I sometimes look at meanings as well. It kind of depends on the effect I am going for—sometimes it's sound; sometimes it sense...
DeleteCongrats, Charlie.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes come up with names the same way I come up with story ideas or dialogue snippets. Out of thin air then straight into the 'Reference/Brainstorming' File. Other times, I begin with a 'what if?' scenario, draft a bit about the MC of that scene and the name emerges from there. For my MG Urban Fantasy last year, as it happens, the 10-year old protag is named Marty and yes, he's inspired by one Marty McFly.
My upcoming fairy-tale mash up came about differently with regards to the names.
THE CURSE OF BRIAR ROSE - I had the name Adria on my mind for a while and decided to use it here.
HAMELIN - I did a search for names with musical origins. Aaralyn is what I found for my female protag (character inspired by the Pied Piper).
Aside from online name origin websites, I also look at Twitter handles and Commenter names. There are so many to choose from. If it calls out to me for a story idea and I can do a variation of the name, I give it a test drive. Heck, I've written chapters with FIRST NAME LAST NAME in place of character names when I'm stumped on their name. Other times, the name comes right away and I build the character that way.
March is winding down, but the writing continues, planning for the monstrous writing month of April and beyond, and I'm super excited.
Camp NaNoWriMo
Savvy Authors April Boot Camp
Blogging A to Z Challange
And other writing projects on the side. All around the keysmashing, attention-grabbing tots. Sweet.
Okay. Deep, cleansing breaths.
Cheers,
Tonette
You're a wild woman! Go, go, go! I also have an idea file and a name list file. I'll even create a folder in Scrivener just for appropriate names so I have a list to go to as I'm writing.
DeleteOh, Scrivener! You old so and so! Thanks for the reminder. I need to tinker with that before Monday. Since I wrote in scenes back in November, my word counts never added up properly. One night, it reset because I didn't change the settings for daylight savings! haha
DeleteI'm always on the lookout for interesting names that spark my imagination.
ReplyDeleteI'm in coping mode. This week is emotional recovery week.
Carry on, Wipsters! Best wishes for meeting all those shiny goals by Sunday. Or if not, there's April. ^_^
((HUGS)) and more ((HUGS))
Deleteand more (((HUGS)))
Delete\\{^_^}//
DeleteErm, that's supposed to be me giving you a hug. But it kinda looks like my niece asking me to pick her up--for a hug. Or stretching. I'm not savvy with the emoticons. Hugs, anyway.
I've used names that were on my 90s classroom lists. I was a bilingual teacher during this time and most teens now were born during that time. Also I've used names that were symbolic like Lupe-Guadalupe in EARRINGS and in my revision Esperanza which means 'hope' in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteYay, almost there!
As a teacher, I have come across a lot of interesting names. Sadly, however, some of them were interesting simply because their parents didn't know how to spell!
DeleteIf a character doesn't arrive already named, I keep my eyes and ears open when in public or, as mentioned by others, I hit the baby naming websites, perhaps focusing in on a particular time period.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me think of that old Christmas special and how Santa Claus gets his secret name!
ReplyDeleteSometimes my characters arrive with names, but most times I search the baby name sites for names with particular meanings. I rarely pick a name just because I like the sound of it--the meaning is key for me. (But then I end up liking it because it feels just right!)
ReplyDeleteI pick names the same as most people have already said: baby name sites, personal favourites and the characters themselves give me hints. Or they just act all wooden and puppet-like until I figure out what their blasted name is... *grumble* I have a short story that I've been writing on and off for two years and I STILL don't know what his name is! Needless to say, it's down at the bottom of the heap and languishing there until he wises up and just friggin' tells me! Maybe it's Peter-- I haven't tried that one yet.
ReplyDeleteOh wait... I'm supposed to be checking in on March Madness. I annihilated a few more adverbs today and have about 40 pages left in this revision. Spent much of my afternoon tweeting and bouncing in my chair, watching PitchMadness. And no, I didn't enter this time. Just excited for everyone else. I will be joining in the #pitmad tomorrow though. Good luck to everyone who is entering!
Perfect timing for this post! I have all the names down for the characters in my new WIP... except for the MC's :/ I keep coming across new names and trying them out, but none seem to fit...
ReplyDeleteUsually I use internet searches like you mentioned. Look for names from a certain year or, if I have a specific letter I want it to start with/certain sound, I'll search that. Sometimes names of people I know from real life work too.