I pull names that seem "right" for the characters and I'm not sure I can say more than that. Sometimes, I'll start off calling a character something (e.g "Chris") and partway through (or even during editing), I'll go "He's no 'Chris'", hit CTRL-H (Global Replace in most Windows programs) and change it to "Elliott" or something. Often though, the name just comes to me and seems right so it sticks (e.g. "Ross" and "April" in my April stories).
i try give good names to my characters, sometimes it falls short of the mark and sometime they are perfect.
i understand where you are coming from .
I find names from real life magazines or my favourite shows. That is how I name my Sims characters.
Good Question!!!
(I've NEVER thought about that!!!)
Generally, the names I use just ARRIVE as I write. I think, in the funniest way, that the characters WILL TELL YOU what their names are? Mine do!!! The exception to this is that sometimes I'll use my own name in a desperate effort at wish fulfillment! LAUGHS! I sometimes also use friend's names just to be flirtatious. (Never works!)
I DID once in 'Zero Visibility' call my characters DIRK and TIFFANY for reasons that ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ESCAPE me now!!! (No IDEA what I was thinking!!!)
xx SF
i just usually call all mine Nicola and Stephanie.
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
I usually will check a name checker on the internet and just pick random names.
Sometimes, I will use a lush friend in my stories.
I never use my name or my spouses name.
xo
Usually I'll just use the first that comes to mind or a name that I particularly like. Sometimes though I will look up the names meaning just out of curiosity.
I pretty much use the same name for my male character. As for the female names, I use only first names and they are either the names of women I have known in the past who my character reminds me of, or the name of the person I fantasized about to come up with the story.
I try to pick new names for my characters, though a few times I've had a repeater. Sometimes I pick a name with symbolism connected to the story, other times I just Google baby names until I find one I really like.
No, you're totally OCD! lol
Actually, it depends on the story. For the historical competition, I researched medieval names that were likely to be in common usage in Ninth Century Wales, but my boyfriend wanted to be in one of my stories, so I took his name and added a Welsh suffix, and he became my Knight Errant. I used the name Chrisor for a story because it's the name of one of my friends, and I love her name. Usually, their names just come to me, but I love unusual names, so I sometimes just make them up. I'll never have any kids of my own to name, so I use my imagination for character names instead. Be sure to tell me if you think any of my characters don't fit their names!
I make them up as I go. No second guessing my choice, either. Afterall,it is a story and the world is full of different names. Who am I to choose?
I have three famous stories, 2 recommended reads and have come in the top ten in two competitions~ Come in and make yourself at home.
I put a bit of thought into it to make sure the names are realistic and match the personality to some extent. I don't like highly sexualised stripper names, even for strippers and prostitutes. I agree that names should be ethnically appropriate too. But at the end of the day, the name is just a brand that will end up being associated with that character regardless.
So as long as there's no Candi - with an "I" - or Japanese villager called Sharon, it doesn't matter too much.
My latest story is a racy little piece about what happens when someone cute from work invites you over to watch Netflix and Chill. Sometimes the name comes first. It just comes and I play around with it in my mind. Most of the time it is unintentional, an escape when I get bored--which is frequently. Then, the story forms around the name.
Then sometimes, I'm thinking of this story and I'm visualizing the characters, their personalities and their backstories. The name just comes. With this particular series I'm working on now, I looked over some early cultural Norse names and chose names that embodied my characters. I also had to think about pronunciation because I wanted the fluidity of how the name falls off the tongue to assist in the understanding of the character (if that makes any sense). I didn't want it to visually or phonetically interrupt the story.
Okay, you guys can go back to what you were doing...?
I have no set process for naming a character, other than letting my imagination suggest names until I find one that "feels" right for the character. Occasionally, I use online name generators to kick start the process. I try to avoid reusing names from story to story.
