Have you hever been stumped when it came to naming your characters? Well I hope I can help you with that problem.  

• Search for a Name based on the traits of characters. You will want to find out what different names mean. This is not always easy since some sources are not all that accurate. I will sometimes go to several of the baby name websites to cross reference names to see if they both say the same thing. Here are a few of those websites.
  • http://www.parents.com/babynames
  • http://www.babynames.com/
  • http://www.babynamesworld.com/
  • http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
  • http://www.babyhold.com/
  • http://www.thinkbabynames.com/
  • There are so Many More. Go to Google.com and search for “baby names”

• Random Character Names is a great way to find a name. Sometimes (probably most of the time) it really doesn’t matter what the name means because the person does not always reflect that meaning. Have you ever met a person named Joy who is not all that joyful? There are several ways to find a random name for your character.
• • Of course I am going to plug my random name book first. This book is made so you can open to any random page, and then place your finger anywhere on the page and find a name. You can’t miss. There are thousands of first and last names in this book. Please order the book if you would like to support this website.
  • Try the Phone Book. Pick a random page and choose a random name
  • Check your Spam eMail. There are so many great names that come in through your spam. What would be even funnier is if you make that character your first victim. Let your monster tear that spammer limb from limb in the most painful and gruesome manner.
  • You could also use a Random Name Generator. There are many to choose from online:
    • http://www.behindthename.com/random/
    • http://www.xtra-rant.com/gennames/ - This one is my favorite
    • http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/ - Fantasy
    • http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm

• Use a Temporary Name ‘til you figure out the permanent one.
  • Use something Unique, this way you can come back later and change it with the find/replace tool on MS Word (or whatever word processor you may be using).
  • Samples of a unique name would be
    • ABCDE – Easy enough to remember, but sends you all over the keyboard
    • ZXCVB – The bottom 5 letters on the left side of the keyboard. Really simple to remember and to type. This Temporary name should not slow you down.

See More Writing Tips.

If you have other ideas on how to find story ideas, write a comment. I would love to hear how you are inspired.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Writing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.