I was wondering how much effort and thought writers put into selecting names of characters in their stories.Do you agonize over it?Pick names of people you like or dislike?Or just go with the first name that pops into your head? Just curious.

 

Where on earth did you find your own name? Is it real or was it inspired by someone else's name?

I generally select non-specific names which are unlikely to lead to complaints by others who have the same name. I do however use the names of people I know will never see them on this site.

Bill

PS Your writing is getting better by the day. Keep up the good work!

 

Good question!

I must admit I do take some time and thought regarding the names of my characters - I try to match the name to the personality of the character I have envisaged.

I try to avoid using the names of people I know closely in Real Life however, as that would get too confusing for me as I visualise the characters.

 

Sometimes my men's names come from people I know. Sometimes I need to research names for a specific ethnicity. My women's names come from the physical being I visualize. I have a person in my head and I try to name them according to the way they look.

 

In all honesty, it depends on what the story is about. If I am doing something set during a specific time or country, I research popular names of that place and time. If it is something set in today's time, i.e. a story that could happen anywhere, I pick names that I like. When I wrote Vindictus, I named the demon king for his personality. As for the novel The Red Fang, I had a whole little story that told how the vampires got their over-the-top names. I think a lot of writers approach naming their characters in much the same way; it often depends on what the story is about, the time and place of the storyline, and individual preferences as to what the names end up being.

 

Where did I get my name?Hmmm I wonder

 

I did try to pen a couple of names in Scaler and Waller, I have not heard there names being called out by mothers yet though. Perhaps if they had not been jailed for rape and murder their names would now be popularised.

I did have a super stud character so a fitting name for him was essential, I think I found it in Albert Higginbottom.

 

Coming up with character names

Choosing character names is probably one of the hardest things for me. Some just pop into my head, but typically I struggle to name the character. I've resorted to making a list of first names and last names in my story notes to choose from when I need to. For instance, I'll be watching teevee and may start jotting down the last names from the credits of a program. For first names, I go search through an online book of baby names, for either male or female as the case may be.

Sometimes a lot of thought and effort goes into giving a character a name... not that it's that important, just that I'm so bad a picking and choosing something quickly or easily. Going to a baby names book or a long list of names that I've written down helps, but I still have a hell of a time choosing.

That's just me.

In fact, it didn't even hit me until a reader asked me in an email if the brother and sister in my Zoo Mom series - Bobby and Sissy - were named after the dancers on the Lawrence Welk show. They weren't. They were just random names I picked on the spur of the moment as I started writing the story. But then again, maybe my subconscious did the choosing and I didn't consciously recognize it. <grin>

le

 

Hehe I have found that I have to pick names for the sake of characters because if I have a two person story... don't need no names... if its like.... say Plane Crash... or Say Man of the house or even My sisters freinds.... I find myself running out of names and I have to be very creative to keep them straight. And it maybe that I will have to use last names to keep things straight... Which is probably why I stop writing because a week away from the story I lose track of everything and I just have to go through and figure out what is where and who is what and what their motives are and what they are doing and who's pregnant and who's doing the family dog and how smart is this character and is this character up to being this devious. Its enough to make your head hurt... One day really I promise I'll write something better and complete.

 

There are no names in my CAW6 story. Not a single one. As I think CJ says above, sometimes the story does not require names.

But when names are necessary, there are several rules of thumb. Most of them are common-sense. One of the biggest common-sense gaffes in modern literature: Saruman and Sauron. Okay, so here are some ways to avoid that sort of thing:


1. Never use the same first letter twice, if you can help it.

2. Avoid matching rhymes, false rhymes, interior rhymes, and alliteration.

(Saruman and Sauron are awful, because they break both of the above rules.)

3. Names should be ethnically and culturally appropriate. (This rule does not matter if your character is "a tall dark middle school teacher with with a nine inch uncircumsized schlong." But it does matter if you plan on doing some character development.)

4. Watch out for nicknames. Variants on names should also obey the rules. You don't want girls named Cheryl, Jennifer, and Katharine, because you will inevitably shorten them to Cheri, Jenny, and Katie, which sound too similar (since they all rhyme).

5. Cameos can be fun. In the books that I am posting here, I sometimes name minor characters after the protagonists and antagonists in my favorite novels. But don't expect anyone to get that sort of humor. It is a secret "inside joke" known only by you, and cannot be part of the characterization.

 

Bump one more post toward 100

 

I use variations of people that I have met throughout my life. I usally can't remember them when I see them, but I can see them in my mind.

 

I use real names, etc.

 

All good.

Another to consider is if you are writing about real people in history, and plan on using other people from that time period, do your research. When I wrote my JFK piece, I researched the names of the secretaries, etc. so that I got them right. It might not be critical, but, it is a good practice to get into, so that you don't get burned by someone at some point. Accuracy is rarely a bad thing.

 

I use short names, makes it easier when writing. And I never use names that start with the same letter in the same story.

 

Oh God, I HATE naming characters. If I'm lucky, a name will just pop into my head along with the story idea. When it doesn't, I agonize over choosing a name. Any commonplace name that I choose simply as a placeholder because I can't think of a name never feels right to me. It's a silly hangup, but it drives me nuts.

Very often I'll grift names from whatever I happen to be reading. For example, I once went nuts trying to come up with a last name for a character, after spending months calling her "Joan Peterson" and never, ever feeling like it fit. Then I happened on the name "Lanier" in a book, and somehow "Joan Lanier" felt perfect. Similarly, the main character in the story I'm writing now is named Christine simply because I'm reading "The Phantom of the Opera".

I would have trouble explaining why that helps, but it does. Really, anything so that it doesn't feel like I just picked a name out of a hat, because that makes things feel very artificial to me, which is the kiss of death for the prospects of finishing any story.

 

More guidelines that come to mind:

6. Avoid names of family members and close friends, if possible.

7. Someone above advises to be careful with real people. Absolutely. To me, this should go without saying, especially on a porn site, where you are posting filth. In places such as this, avoid direct references to anyone alive. But even if you aspire to the mainstream trades, be mindful of libel challenges. Avoid biographical accounts, and try to stick to the public persona of the character. For instance, if your narrative calls for Donald Trump strutting through a room, it is okay to portray him as an ostentatious egomaniac, but don't write about his wife and children.

8. If you must refer to real people, whether to praise or lampoon them, do it by metaphor or allegory. Do not use names. Present and past Presidents, as well as present and past industrialists, appear in Beauty. But not by name.

9. Sometimes it is effective to break rules for effect. For example, my two main characters are Jessica Elizabeth and Greta Elisabeta. The similarity of the names is intentional, insofar as they accentuate the parallels between them (the characters are antitheses of each other; the first is ascending to heaven, and the second is descending to hell). This sort of thing should be used sparingly, if at all.

10. Think about how your story's other characters will use the names - to shorten them, to praise, to mock, to express endearments. Jessica's name is shortened to Jessi and Jess, both of which she hates. Greta's name is not conducive to shortening, but she has other nicknames, all of which have significance in the narrative: G-Spot, Baby-G, Goldi, Goldilocks, Goldi Locksley, and Angelcake. (That is a lot of nicknames, but Beauty is a lonnggggg book.)

 

Sorry Clarise but I probably break most of your rules. Oh well, rules are meant to be broken.

For me names are mostly a device to shorten my writing, a quick tag is better than a long description repeated endlessly through the story.

I frequently use a derivative of a real persons name, this is especially useful when the basis of the story is a real life experience, but I want to avoid the direct reference just in case the real person found, read, and realized they were in my story. An example of this is I used a character named Sandy, derived from Cindy. It probably wasn't necessary to use a derivative, but I did. The down side is at one point in the story I used Cindy instead of Sandy, not only did I let the cat out of the bag, but readers were confused and pointed out my error. I hate to be wrong about anything.

The reason for using real names (or derivatives) is because my characters are almost always derived from a real person, so the name is applied to help me write/develop their character and track action through the story.

My CAW5 story has a lot of basis in real life, the character Sheri is real, some of her character is real (some is developed to enhance the story). Most importantly my love for her is very real, hopefully it came across that way in the story.

horny?

 

Some of what I write is based on truth.

Now don't expect me to verify which of my works are real.

 

Isn't this a nice thread,perfect for the passover/easter season. Many of the forum regulars stopped by and give their opinion on an interesting subject.
There was no feuding or tantrums or thread derailments. Everyone getting along in a civil manner
Wouldn't it be nice if it was always like this. Who am I kidding. Those other types of threads are very entertaining, at least for those of us watching
Well a quick group hug and a chorus of kumbiya and everyone can return to normal.:evil: