Sparkler lemondropofdoom brings up a problem we all face, but rarely discuss: what to name those pesky characters in our fiction projects. Enjoy! —SparkNotes editors
Maybe you’re an aspiring young writer aiming to pen an award-winning novel amazing enough for Dan Bergstein to write a positive blog about it. More likely, Coach is going to drop you from the team if you don’t pass English, and your teacher has assigned a fictional narrative for you to write.
Fiction writing requires a lot of thought and creativity. You have to pick the setting, create the events, and make believable characters. For many people, the innovative process of fiction writing is a fun experience, but for others, the creative freedom makes their blood run cold. Picking names is one of the millions of tasks would-be authors must face. "What do I name my characters? I like the name Jezebel. But doesn’t that mean something…bad? What if I name my main character something bad or lame, thinking it’s really cool, and everyone makes fun of me?" As a survivor of these panic attacks, I offer you my condolences, and a few tips that might help you pick a decent name:
1. To make your characters more memorable, avoid using extremely common names.
The Britneys, Jessicas, and Ashleys have had their day—why not give a little love to some names you don’t hear as often?
2. Make sure your names fit the setting.
It’s safe to say that in the 17th century, there were no men named Zane or Daytona. It’s equally safe to say that there aren’t many people named Hezekiah in present-day America. So do a little research before you commit to a name that doesn’t fit.
3. Choose a name your reader can pronounce.
Exotic names are great. Names that sound like sneezes aren’t. Your character’s name shouldn’t look like you just got frustrated and smacked your head against the keyboard (I’m look at you, sci-fi writers). Also, if you’re creating a name from scratch, please be reasonable with your vowel-to-consonant ratio. A better idea would be to dip into Greek and Roman mythology and borrow and/or tweak the names you find in your favorite stories. These names are exotic, but usually pronounceable, and the stories are pretty interesting, too. Take a hint from JK Rowling: Hermione, Remus, Narcissa, Sirius, Regulus, and several other characters all have names from Greek and Roman mythology.
4. Explore baby name websites!
They have more names than you ever knew existed (to keep up with the rapidly procreating world, I suppose) and can tell you the origin and meaning of them all. You can give your characters names that have a meaning significant to their personality or their role in the story, thanks to these handy websites. It’s like an inside joke, but better, because when someone discovers the connection, you will look like a writing genius! (Which you are. Totally.)
5. If all else fails, crack open the Bible.
You don’t have to believe in God to know that a book that long is going to have a lot of names in it. While some of them are a bit out of date and obscure, (Mattithia, anyone?) a lot of them have carried on as very popular names. Stephenie Meyer herself picked a lot of names out of the Bible. In fact, most of the werewolves and the nomadic vampires have Biblical names. (Just read the story of Jacob, Genesis 28:10-36:43, in which Jacob marries Leah, and then Rachel. Any twi-hard can appreciate the irony in that!)
I hope this guide helps—but remember, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so don’t stress out! Just have fun with it!
Do you have any favorite names for characters you've written? Share them in the comments!
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Related Post: It's Time to Play...Name that Baby!
By: Contributor
Topics: Guides
Tags: sparkler posts, names, writing, fiction
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