This is the story of Danny and his sister, Rachel. Their mum Daniela and their dad, Robert. They have a cute dog named Rover and a goldfish named Dotty. Danny has met a girl named Rebecca and loves her like mad because she reminds him of his sister. Rachel wants to marry her fiance, Damien because he reminds her of her dad. They all live in the same house and spend lots of time together. You should hear their dinner conversations when they use pet names.
Sounds like a great story, huh? Wait until you start reading it. All the character's names either begin with a "D" or an "R". How soon will you have to start adding a cast of characters in the beginning of the book.
Oh, and I have a question: how many of you have not liked a main character because they were named after someone you hate?
How can we choose good character names?
- Let the Names Reflect the Characters - Don't name your male hero - Betty. Please. Or Ralphy-boy. Or Carmen. Or Satan... unless it is Satan, in which I guess that's appropriate.
- Make Sure the Name Doesn't Belong to Someone Famous - Just because she looks like Angelina Jolie to you, doesn't mean you should call her that. However, you can name your hero Brad Pitt. I give you permission. ;)
- Avoid Names That End in S - Possessive forms of the name Russ is Russ' and to me, it looks silly. (Russell is fine.)
- Use Names That Fit the Period - Do your research. Some names were not used during some times. Beevis and Butthead included.
- Avoid Overly Weird Names and Cute Spellings - Chesapeake, Ariadne, Ishihara, Xochitl. Can you think of others?
- Avoid Names That Sound the Same - Ever watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Remember this scene? Don't do it!
- Avoid Names That Could Fit Both Men and Women - Two words: "It's Pat"
Trivia question: What was the main (female) character's name in the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier? ( Sorry, you win nothing but my respect...)
Source: Name that Character
Ha ha u are too right, I once named a character a weird name I could not make the story work for me. I also do a list of names I like, names i would have named my kids if I had like 20 of em and now I just work from that list cos am already attached to those names and that makes it easy to for me like them
ReplyDeleteThis is great, Clarissa. :D
ReplyDeleteI like to abbreviate names by using only the first letter when I'm brainstorming (or writing emails to family members, for that matter), so my characters usually have different starting letters.
And I love the Social Security administrations most popular names web site for finding period names (for the U.S., at any rate).
I had to change a leads name because i had too many names beginning with S and I know theres another one appearing in book two.. Getting creative here :)
ReplyDeleteOther bloggy question - how do you find the html for someone's blog button. how did you find mine? I'm trying to set up your clever spinning blog thingee but people often just have a pic ..?
http://damselinadirtydress.blogspot.com
I love this question, how many of you diliked a character because they had the same name of someone you hated...
ReplyDeleteI refuse to read anything who's MC's name is Ashley. And I can't tell you why, but suffice it to say, she is not my favorite person.
Joanna, I have a horrible time with names. I get my husband to list names and I pick from there.
ReplyDeleteAlison, thanks for letting us know about the SS website. I'm sure it will come in handy for many writers out there.
Nicole, I'll come over and help you out.
Piedmont Writer, oh boy, I've got Ashleys in all my books! Nah, joking.
CD
I realized I did that with my first novel and gave certain characters slightly revised names.
ReplyDeleteOkay, think I'm good to go with the names of my two main characters. And even though it's science fiction, I tried to keep all the names short and simple. Nothing worse than stumbling over a name you can't pronounce.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! What do you think about giving the MC a *slightly* weird name? A friend and I were just debating this.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for posting that scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It's one of my favorites.
Jeffrey, yeah, I've had to make changes as well.
ReplyDeleteAlex, you obviously have no problems with names.
CD
Oh, Clarissa, you have no idea what kind of headaches we translators get when we have to transcribe the weird names of book characters ... The names I don't even know how to pronounce sometimes and I have to transcribe them because some languages (like my own Serbian) are phonetic which means everything has to be written as it is pronounced which means I really don't know how I would transcribe "Xochitl" :)
ReplyDeleteXochitl?
ReplyDeleteEek. Is that REALLY a name? Being a rather uncultured Brit who lives close to London, I'd pronounce that one Kso-shit-el... Not the prettiest of attempts so I'd be afraid everyone would do similar :0o
One of my main characters is called Bob.
You can see my level, can't you?!
Great post, as ever.
Hi, everyone. I actually knew a girl named Xochitl an it's pronounced
ReplyDeleteSO-CHI-EL
I pick different letters and also vary the syllables in the names. One MC however, insisted his name was Travis and I had the whole Travis's problem. Never again. I will stand firm against my MC in the future!
ReplyDeleteComing up with character names is so much fun! I always try to make them different from each other, as in, I don't want too many first names that start with S. And names that sound the same? No thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love that scene in the film! Nic/Nick for guys and Nicki for the gals! LOL!!
ReplyDeletetake care
x
Another thing about names that has bothered me, though I don't know if it's an issue for someone else... When the main character has a very similar name to the author. I'm sorry, but it bothers me.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I never read Rebecca, but if it's what I'm thinking about, I heard the MC doesn't have a name? Unless I'm thinking about something else...
Good thoughts on character names. Will definitely keep it in mind! I try not to have two names start with the same letter mostly because then I can't use ridiculous shorthand when texting myself (D said to J that E looked terrible) but also because I think it's lame not to use more letters of the aplphabet. Good thoughts! (And this comment was much longer than I had intended...)
Laura yeah! That's telling them. Half the time, they don't listen to me either.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I'm so happy you find it easy because I find it so difficult.
Old Kitty, isn't it classic!?
AchingHope, yah! You're right about my trivia question. Congrats.
CD
I named my hero Rocky McToughnut and the bad guy Schmedly Nerdlinger. Seriously, I look at authors on books near me and take a first name here and a last name there. Sometimes its that simple.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
UGH I hate cute names for character, like a hippy chick named Harmony. URGH!!! Stop being cutesy.
ReplyDeleteGreat list
I am thinking of new names just because of posts like yours! It is hard to let them go though 'cause I think they are Cute!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Clarissa. Choosing the "right" name is very important.
ReplyDeleteI read Daphne Du Maurier many years ago. I loved her books and short stories. I read everything I could get my hands on. The MC, played by Joan Fontaine, doesn't have a name. She's the wife of DeWinter, played by the incomparable Lawrence Olivier. I love the movie. It's a fantastic in black and white. Thanks for resurrecting my memory of it.
Ann
I hate names I can't pronounce. It throws me off everytime I read them, and I feel like I've been booted out of the story.
ReplyDeleteUnless I am mistaken, she is never named, is she? She is only referred to as Mrs. de Winter, if she allows anyone to notice her at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd so true about names- I personally like all the MCs to have names spread out through the alphabet, so it is easier to keep them apart.
Random question for you- I found out only yesterday that you share your name with one of Dame Christie's middle names- was it deliberate?
GREAT post! I have left books on the shelf at the bookstore because the MC was named after someone I despised. You made some great points.
ReplyDeleteI love that clip from Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Oh good, I am not the only one. I don't know what it is, but my tendency is to start all of my characters' names with the same letter. Of course I go back and change them, but weird, huh? I guess it would be weirder if they all started with x.
ReplyDeleteI'm that person who's had trouble liking actually people because of characters I hated with the same name :)
ReplyDeleteFor me you can have fun with names: You can give a boy a girlie name if he's going to get teased about it, or hate it or go by a nickname. Same for famous names. I think weird names work in fantasy, so long as they're pronounceable. At first I had a lot of trouble with "Hermione" but it works now :)
I'm always tempted to name two characters the same thing, and have them go by nicknames. We all know two Peters or two Lisas or 47 Nicks.
Hi, just found your blog and suitably impressed! Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteRegarding "don't give two characters names which sound the same": when teaching English "as a foreign language" I came across a text book whose two main characters were called John and Joan! Not particularly easy for new learners to differentiate thier pronunciation! To cap it all, in Catalonia (where I work), Joan is a man's name!
I have character whose name ends in s - James.
ReplyDeleteBut I really went out of my way to vary the names as much as possible. Two brothers are Matt and Mark, but I felt that fit.
HAHAHAHAHAHA! I SO have to rename characters because I do this. J, L and M. My abused name starters of choice. Other hints I've seen that I've tried to take into account:
ReplyDeletemix up the number of syllables. (too many one syllable names and you sound like Dick and Jane, too many long names and it sounds like fantasy, no matter the genre.
Hard to say names are a bad idea. (How many people said Hermione wrong until the movie came out?)
Grat advice, Clarissa!
omg, Clarissa! names are the hardest part for me. Names and titles. And then my children can rattle off amazing names for their dolls and stuffed animals, and I just sit in awe of them...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, though! :o)
I just realized that all the last names in my latest MS start with the same letter. Ugh. Pretty annoying. Also tried to go with that time period and have to remember to do that all the time.
ReplyDeleteTrick question! I sat here for a few seconds trying to remember the name of the MC in Rebecca, because I knew it wasn't Rebecca. Made me think twice. Mrs. de Winter. :)
ReplyDeleteI try not to have names that start with the same letter anywhere in the MS. Unfortunately, I do have one that ends with an S. It took creative writing in some scenarios to compensate.
That's a good tip, easily forgotten though. It's not that often that you remember which letters your character's names start with:) I usually have a list of names I like that I choose from. And of course they're periodically correct!
ReplyDeleteStephen, wow, those are insane names, but I love them.
ReplyDeleteErinn, hey, Harmony's my real name. WHat do you have against it? Joking!
Lynn, maybe cute fits the genre of book you're writing. If it does, keep it.
Ann, I love the movie as well. And you're right about the name.
Stina, yup, it's like a private joke. Not funny.
Rayna, I didn't do that deliberately but it's nice to know I do.
Jennie, yeah. I've not read books because someone it is named after an ex.
Missed Periods, yeah, don't start them with an x. Are there even enough names that begin with that letter?
Claire Dawn, it's really okay if you do that as long as your readers don't get confused.
Brian, that's a great reason why! Thanks for that.
L. Diane, but as long as you readers remember who it is, that's fine.
Hart, glad you liked it. I'll be over to your blog soon.
LTM, that's funny because I'm bad at it too.
CD
This advice is so important!
ReplyDeleteRecently I added a character called Jesmona to my WIP (not because she is sweet, but because it is some kind of British confectionery like most of the other characters), and as her name was just so perfect, I had to change Jemima into something else.
I know that my names are horrible in other ways, though, e.g. Tuxford Wensleydale and Alexander Mars-Wrigley, but I think some things are okay in a cosy caper which wouldn´t do in a serious crime novel. (My readers may sue me, though, because they put on an awful lot of weight due to all the sweet temptations).
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ReplyDeleteI LOVE "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding". Love it. It reminds me a little of my Italian side of the family. It's one of those movies I must stop and watch if it's on cable.
ReplyDeleteLTM linked to this post, and I'm so glad! I still remember "It's Pat." So funny.
ReplyDelete