Today's adventure is all about - names.
Naming your characters is an important thing. Think of all the books you've read and which characters have stayed with you all these years. Characters development is important and will get to that in another post but today I want to address names.
The name you give your character is not always an easy thing. There are characters I write and I know right away what their name will be other times I struggle to give a character a name. The name you choose for your characters should be appropriate and it should fit them.
If you are writing a period piece and you have a name you wish to give a character, do research to make sure that particular name existed during that time period. The reverse can be said if you are writing a modern piece.
Your assignment is to write down a list of names you like. Watch the credits of your favorite TV show to see if a name jumps out at you, whether it's the first or last name. Look through a book of baby names, magazines, movies, names are all around so write down the ones you like.
If you come up with a name that is unique or a variation of one, put it in its own column. What I mean by that is for instance, in my recent book, my main character Azlyn, her name is a variation of the name Aslan which I saw as someones last name. I saw this name in the credits of a TV show I watch. Azlyn is an unusual name and so I set it aside so I wouldn't forget it.
Always have a list of names you like and keep adding to it. Don't dismiss a name thinking it can only be used as a first name or a last name. I wrote a story once using the name Jepson which was someones last name but I found it to be a very suitable first name.
Go forth and have fun my friends. Today's musical treat is Seth MacFarlane.
Rock on!
~Maynard
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