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Because I'm not a writer, usually the story and names are given to me. My only task is to transpose it to paper and ink. At times the names become so redundant instead of inspiring I seek to add my own flavor to the story which doesn't seem to antagonize those, whoever they are where the tales come from. Doing name searches on the net when a foreign name is needed helps. If it's a U.S. name I make a pass through the cemeteries taking note of the names and dates on headstones. It's unique as the names change from the older parts to the latest additions. Some of the names are timeless, some are part of a short part of history. Mabel and Abner would be period names. Edward and Sarah are some of those lasting through time. Starlie and Neely, male names, are among the unique ones.
Take a little time to visit a cemetery even if you don't need to search for names. Those people are a part of our past no matter who you are or what surname you were given. I'm blessed as a Hinze 57 mongrel, no matter what nationality or race, English, German, Irish, Scottish, French, American Indian, etc. I'm carrying some of their DNA. Have I done all I could to make the world a little better for those who follow as so many of them who passed before me? Disliking or hating all those who aren't like me, think like I do, or believe as I believe would be a momentous task, since I'm carrying everyone's DNA. Who would that be?
This big blue spaceship we call earth hurling through time and space is the only home any of us mortals have. Hating anyone is a black abyss in one's soul. Dislike or not agree all one wishes but don't let it grow into hate. It eats away and destroys the good inside that person the same way revenge does. Time will come when everyone hates and turns on everyone else. No one has to be a part of that yet.
Hugs People
Life is a gift, don't waste it.
Barb
Comments
Name Search
You could walk through cemeteries -- but that might cloud your mind to the point that you believe that it is inevitable that everyone "hates and turns on everyone else." Gosh . . . "hate" gets such a bad rap. "Hate' means to passionately dislike a person. I hate Donald Trump. I hate all bullies who inflict pain without remorse. I hate liars. Yet - I believe that love conquers all.
Now . . . rather than walk in cemeteries I use https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
Using a name for my character, that was uniquely popular for babies -- born about the same time -- is a marker.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
The trap
that some authors fall into is to use names that don't fit the familial background, let alone age/period of the character. For example, after the Beckham's of Spice Girl/kickball fame named their eldest Romeo there were quite a lot of copycat namings butalmost exclusively, amongst the lower income households for whom the parents were/are hero's. Middle income families usually stick to fairly traditional names/family names whilst 'old money' will either be very conservative or obscure in equal measure!
There are similar divisions in regard to 'foreign' or 'immigrant' names, an Italian named Adolf, whilst not impossible, would be very unusual much like a latino called Sven! Names in fiction help the reader form a picture of the character, would Darth Vader have been so imposing if he'd been Simon Smith?
Of course some names transcend such class/cultural/geographical divides, John (or its equivalent) is pretty much panglobal whereas Hamish would point pretty hard to rural Scotland or at least to familial origins thereabouts. And then there's the use of nicknames, contractions, diminutives etc - you need to arm yourself with the full arsenal for each of your characters, they may be referred to by different names by different other characters, my friends daughter is Zoe (sZow-ee) but even that gets shortened within the family to Zo (sZow)! More obtuse variants can be confusing if alternated, Henry/Hal or Alexander/Sandy for example. Don't forget that older characters are less likely to use contractions, Dee might be fine at thirty but will often have returned to Denise by fifty!
Yep, names can be a minefield, i've used name gazzeteers, friends/family and, yes maybe, even the odd headstone, hopefully i've not made too many name foobars!
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Writing rabbit holes...
If you want as a writer to really drive yourself crazy, try finding names whose meanings apply to the characters. Name etymology is fascinating (at least to me!) and I have probably wasted many hours trying to find the 'right' names scouring name lists out on the internet...
Meaningful Names
I sometimes recall that as a youth, I disliked meaningful names, foreshadowing, juxtaposed contrasts, and other artistic tactics -- and it reminds me that they really aren't good. They introduce surreal or supernatural elements into a supposedly realistic story -- magic realism, perhaps.
Offhand, I can only remember one story where I used a meaningful name: the little brother in "The Family Council" was such a "Dick". I really dislike that name, and I've changed it in the story I'm currently stalled on surrounding that scene.
I deliberately averted the "meaningful name" with Bruce in "A Bikini Beach Summer." He's a nice kid, a bit more serious than his BB female self, Becky. (He decided to let loose as Becky for the summer.)
-- Daphne Xu
Depends on the story
If the story is more fantasy-based where myth and the 'reality' are blended, then those supernatural elements are present as part of the story-verse. I agree that going big on name etymology for non-fantastical tales could be heavy handed, but if myths are directly manifesting and fate is over there giggling with glee as ancient machinations are underway, these kinds of details can be fun if not practically a requirement...
Cute Ponies
A story is written about a little girls' cartoon series about cute ponies, with bright pastel colors and diabetic levels of sweetness, aimed at girls up to age seven. The series is a sensational hit with teenage boys and adult men, to the point that they even use the language and terms of the show -- "everypony" and "anypony" for example, and someone might live in "Fillydelphia". Someone refers to one pony, Pinkie Pie, with a straight face, and is momentarily surprised when someone giggles and echos, "Pinkie Pie?"
Then we discover that the producer, the person behind the show, is named, "Lauren Faust". This blatantly reveals how she got her runaway success with the show.
The story should never give that character such an obvious name. Instead, other hints should be inserted to suggest how the producer got so wildly successful.
-- Daphne Xu
Pinkie Pie is my spirit animal
I've learned many important life lessons from that inimitable equine.
Way more than from the well-meaning but overly pedantic Twilight Sparkle.
And I just couldn't imagine her going by any other name.
Except maybe Noodlenoggin, but that's a boy's name...
~ Yippieeeee- ZOINK! Wacka-wacka; Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
Many of Keith Laumer's alien
Many of Keith Laumer's alien names are basically just insults or obscenities disguised with various accents.
Don't feel too restricted - I mean, really, even if you're setting your story in ancient Greece, if you write the names in the Greek alphabet, even the modern one, people _will_ throw rocks.
BW
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Naming strategies
I mix it up. I change my naming strategies from story to story. Sometimes I want the names I use to be plain and simple and congruent to the setting and characters. Unusual names can make a character memorable, though, and that is useful. Since it is common for names to be changed in story in TG fiction, there's that as an added wrinkle.
I like to know the origin and history of the names I use. I often have a hidden them to how I choose names for characters in a story. One story, all the main characters have last names for first names, while in another, all have first names for last names. :)
You have to kind of sneak this sort of thing in because you don't want to pull the reader out of the story to admire your cleverness with names.
In comedy, it can work though. LIke in Starstruck! the villainous bullies all have sexually suggestive names like Dick, Peter, Rod and Willie--just before they get turned into women with names like Carlotta and Dizzy. Not to mention aliens named Twirt, Gooma and Neener in that one. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Are you gonna finish that one?
Need more blue stuff?
I'd like to
No promises.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.