NAMING YOUR FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Donna J. Warner, Crime Thriller Author

I participated in the International Thriller Writers’ (ITW) Round Table Discussions (July 24-30, 2017) on the above topic. Excerpts from select discussions appear below in addition to some new ones I’ve added. To view comments from participating authors: D.P. Lyle, Peter James, Donna Warner, Patrick Oster, Jonathan F. Putnam, Richard Billingsley, Billy Lyons and Meredith Anthony, see ITW’s web page: http://www.thebigthrill.org/2017/07/july-24-30-do-names-reflect-the-character-of-the-character/#more-42832%27

A first name can date an individual. Do your character names reflect the character of the character?

Peter James

·         Characters names that are difficult to pronounce may frustrate readers;

·         Pick names that are distinct and different;

·         Take the name of your first pet as the first name and the street you first lived on as a child as the second and bingo, you’ll have a character’s name to consider;

·         I like to associate a name with a face, and that naturally works best by drawing from people I know.

Donna J. Warner

·           Select character names with varying lengths and avoid assigning names that start with the same letter;

·            Don’t name every character who has a minor role in your story. E.g., referring to “the butcher next door” eliminates readers having to remember too many character names;

·           Choose character names carefully, especially important if you write a series. The name of your protagonist will be stuck in your head for years;

·           For Death’s Footprint, I searched the FBI’s Most Wanted List for a face that matched the profile of the nasty character I was building and revised the felon’s name;

·           I recently read a novel with a character called a car part…”Axell”;

·           Some name generating URLs are: http://www.behindthename.com/names/translate;

·           Names should fit the geographic location and ethnic culture of certain characters.

D.P. Lyle

·           Live with your characters; get to know them; and the name that fits will come;

·           This name generator gives a ranking of baby names by decade—so you can better match a character’s name with their age:  https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/;

·           Have only one name per character. E.g., let’s say Admiral Adam Jones, Commander of the Pacific Fleet appears in your story. If you call him Adam, Jones, Admiral Jones, the Admiral, the Fleet Commander, etc., you risk confusing readers.  

Patrick Oster

·         Have strong names for your heroes. People react to names, so don’t just use some throwaway name like John Smith;

·         For your important characters, especially those who represent good, use first names, male or female, to establish an intimacy and rapport — or even fear — with readers;

·         I try not to use a first name that sounds too positive or likable;

·         Regarding name association, if you use the first names of friends or neighbors for minor characters, they may buy your book. 

_

Donna J. Warner's Crime Thriller Book Buy Links
Targeted (Book #1)
Death's Footprint (Book #2)