Comments on: What Not To Name Your Characters

By: 50 Procrastination Techniques for Aspiring Writers

50 Procrastination Techniques for Aspiring Writers — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:42:55 +0000

[...] the phone book flip-and-point technique to generate character names for your [...]

By: Suzannah

Suzannah — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:23:00 +0000

You’re right–in reality names don’t always fit with personality. But a good story is not like reality, either. In real life, we don’t have the perfect story structure, character arc, etc. Stories don’t just imitate life, they improve upon it. So, I still think (unless you’re trying to be deliberately ironic) that names should generally fit personalities in stories. Of course, you can always choose neutral sounding names that could fit with anything.

By: Alicesacco

Alicesacco — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:31:00 +0000

In the country where i live all names end with a vowel. For us is normal.
In reality names don’t fit with personality, so i don’t see why in stories they have to fit. I pay attention to avoid outlandish name. I don’t give an italian name on an english character.

By: Shirls

Shirls — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:16:20 +0000

I love that name Astrielle! However I learned the hard way when I was at school about making up a foreign name. In one of my French compositions I called the parlour maid “Miette”. I thought it sounded lovely. How was I to know it means “crumb”?

By: Last Minute Preparations for NaNoWriMo: A Checklist | Write It Sideways

Last Minute Preparations for NaNoWriMo: A Checklist | Write It Sideways — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:36:10 +0000

[...] you don’t outline, do you have a premise, your main characters, and at least some notion of where you want to [...]

By: Extreme Manuscript Makeover: Bare It All | Write It Sideways

Extreme Manuscript Makeover: Bare It All | Write It Sideways — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:25:12 +0000

[...] How you bring your characters to [...]

By: Suzannah

Suzannah — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:58:39 +0000

Hi Casey,
You're right, surnames are just as important as first names. I did note that all the same rules apply to both first and last names, but you make a good point about the way the two names fit together and their overall image.
Thanks for your comment!

By: Casey (NorthandClark

Casey (NorthandClark — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:34:26 +0000

I love this idea for a post. Names always make a great jumping of point for thinking about characters.

You might expand your discussion to talk a little about last names. I think last names are really important too. Douglas Coen doesn't Sound at all like Douglas Marciano or Douglas Steel.