Time’s gotten away from me today, squiders, so we get November’s blog prompt instead of what I had planned, and hopefully we’ll get there next week.
Nano is still going well! I do feel a little wander-y, here, and not sure I like this plotting method I’m trying. We’ll have to see if it solidifies as we get farther into the plot.
But without further ado:
Names: How do you come up with character names? Do you find it hard to come up with the perfect name?
Ah, names.
I am a firm believer that the right name makes the character, and that if you don’t have the right one, they’re not going to turn out how you like. A lot of times if a character doesn’t seem to be properly inhabiting their story, a name change can be the solution.
That being said, my naming conventions are wide and varied. In some cases, like when I’m working with mythology, the characters come with their names and there’s not a lot to be done there (though nicknames are a thing). In others, a character shows up with their name, which is most convenient, because hey, less work for me.
Most of the time I troll about on Behind the Name, which is my favorite naming website, because you can search by meaning. In the case of a main character, I might go through until I have five or so potential names, and then see what feels right. Side characters I tend to match to the main characters (so, for example, in my Nano, I had a few characters end up with Swedish names, so now I troll those first when I need a new name).
Bonus:
What is your favorite character name that you have come up with?
That’s hard. I’m very fond of most of my characters, and by extensions, their names.
Cass, I suppose, is a favorite. I think I’ve got three different characters in different stories with the name. And I’m always pleased when I pick a name and it ends up matching a character’s personality meaning-wise.
And I will admit to be more than a little too pleased with myself whenever I come up with a good nickname. This is probably just me, but I am very fond of nicknames, and I am fond of calling people I like nicknames. So I am also fond of the convention where what you call someone denotes how close you are to them.
I am also fond of short names.
Hm. A favorite name? That’s hard.
I will say that I am quite pleased with the names I have in my Nano, which are a mixture of my favorite tropes (nicknames, related names, personality-matching names). My favorite is probably Eadwine (an Anglo-Saxon form of Edwin, which means “rich friend”).
Anyway! I could talk names forever, and you guys probably don’t need or want the story behind every one. So I shall spare you.
Have a good weekend, squiders!
