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Post by Julie on Jul 20, 2007 0:10:09 GMT -6
Random writer topic...
How do you come up with names for your characters? (Especially the main ones). Do names just "come" to you? Do you scour baby name sites for days, making lists and trying to narrow them down? Do you just name them after friends/people you know (or yourself)? Is it important that the names have meanings which fit the character, or do you just go with random names that sound good?
I was just thinking about my character names for some reason and wondered.
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 0:23:00 GMT -6
I make a point to NOT name my characters after anyone. Actually, truth be told, I make a point to not name my characters a name if I've EVER known anyone with that name, because it just reminds me of that person, lol.
I've actually got a long list of names that I made awhile back just for this reason, so every time I need a new name, I go to the list, lol.
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Post by Rose on Jul 20, 2007 0:26:04 GMT -6
I've based characters off of people, and sometimes their names come from nicknames I have for them. Or names similar. Like...Sebastian from Just Another Day, is my best friend who is nicknamed Sebastian off the movie Cruel Intentions (which is like "our" movie lol)
I have a thing for unique names though, so typically I go to baby name sites. Demon names/Sci-fi names I'll see a name and twist it into something demon-y or future-y. Normal stories though, yeah all about the baby sites lol. Sometimes my names have meanings too, but most of the time don't.
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Post by Julie on Jul 20, 2007 1:21:32 GMT -6
I'm not big on the meanings either. In reality, no parent knows what their kid is going to be like when they name them, so to me, it's almost too perfect if it's all planned out so that the character fits the meaning of his/her name.
I just go for something that sounds good and fits the character in other ways. Like with Claire, I remember I wanted something simple... simple and not too "out there," but not quite everyday either. The name Claire isn't really a favorite of mine, but I liked it for her because it's really simple, not cutesy, and at least for people my age, not too common - it's more of an old-fashioned name, although it seems to be coming back in style. Anyway, that's how I wanted her character to be too - kinda cool and easygoing, different from the other women in Nick's life without being an extreme Mary Sue or anti-Sue LOL.
I name minor/supporting characters for people sometimes, either cameos for readers or people I know in real life. For the "cameos" that aren't such a compliment, I usually change the names somehow. Leah Gaylers (Broken) is a scrambled name LOL.
But I always make up my main characters' names. I usually just go with names I really like or names that jump out at me. One time I was riding home from school on the bus, and I thought of the name "Addison Burke" out of the blue, and I really LIKED that name for some reason, thought it flowed nicely and everything, so I decided that the next story I started where I needed a girl's name, I would use that. Next story I started ended up being Code Blue, so that's where Addie's name came from. She's one of the only made-up characters in that story, actually, cause most of them came from a contest we did to choose the cast.
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Post by Rose on Jul 20, 2007 3:34:49 GMT -6
*nods* Yeah it's too perfect if the meaning fits. Unless it's like someone from a demon world or one who was known at birth to be destined to fill some prophecy, then it's okay cause that can be planned lol.
Most of the time I can figure something out, and others I surf name sites forever.
Cally, actually was hard to name. I wanted a name very unique cause what she is is this ordinary nothing too out there girl. Special in her own way, but a plain wrapper type. But her name I wanted to be in contrast yet can be shortened to something cute and far more normal. I heard Calypso mentioned in a totally nothing like the story scene in the movie "A Night's Tale" and figured it'd be a cute name.
Or Kitana (aka Pearl) in 00Carter...the name is from a character on Mortal Combat that I love playing lol. Sometimes there's a reason for the name, others it's just cause I like them.
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 12:13:00 GMT -6
The way I've come up with the names on my list is... some of them are just names that I've liked for years, others are scrambled names like you do Julie (except I usually mix a few names together, lol).
But yeah, I think that names sort of just cometo me sometimes, thought I DO have times where I struggle to think of a good name.
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Post by lokinickfan8467 on Jul 20, 2007 13:00:27 GMT -6
im bad at coming up with names so i tend to use my own even if they arent based on me or friends
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Post by kristy on Jul 20, 2007 15:25:15 GMT -6
Random writer topic... How do you come up with names for your characters? (Especially the main ones). Do names just "come" to you? Do you scour baby name sites for days, making lists and trying to narrow them down? Do you just name them after friends/people you know (or yourself)? Is it important that the names have meanings which fit the character, or do you just go with random names that sound good? I was just thinking about my character names for some reason and wondered. A lot of the times they do just come to me, then sometimes I do use the names of my friends. Sometimes I go to like lists of the most popular names on the computer, or sometimes I just think and think until my head hurts. LOL I also try not to use the name more than once, I try to have all different characters in all my stories, and sometimes that's hard cause I write so many. Except for Nick, of course! LOL
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 15:44:30 GMT -6
^ Don't you just hate it when you have to think for hours on end?! lol.
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Post by kristy on Jul 20, 2007 15:47:41 GMT -6
Yeah, and sometimes I spend that much time thinking of just what direction one chapter is going to go.
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 15:50:37 GMT -6
^ yeah... (did you get my e-mail already?).
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Post by kristy on Jul 20, 2007 15:55:57 GMT -6
I haven't checked my e-mail today.
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 15:56:33 GMT -6
Okay...
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Post by kristy on Jul 20, 2007 15:59:37 GMT -6
I going to as soon as I get off here. It goes too slow to have two windows open at the same time.
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Post by A-RokzStalker on Jul 20, 2007 16:02:03 GMT -6
Yep, I understand, lol. My mom used to get annoyed with me when we used to have dial up, because I would have a page loading for my homework and while I was waiting for it to load, I would open another one, lol.
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