What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet; ~ Juliet in Act II, Scene II in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Choosing character names should be fun, not stressful. Follow these suggestions for interesting names that will enhance your narrative:
* Avoid names that sound alike or start with the same letter
* Avoid hard to pronounce or overly long names
* Use names that fit the time period or age of the character
* Avoid names that end in ‘s’ because they’re awkward when writing them in the possessive form
* Creative names are fine as long as they’re easy to sound out and they’re limited
* Use names with meanings that enhance the character or story line. Try these links to research names:
http://www.babynames.com/
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning-search.html
Yes, all good points. The one that annoys me the most if when an author has two characters with similar names, and it takes awhile to distinguish them (and even then, a reader gets mixed up…)
I agree! I just finished a book with two characters named Henrietta and Harriet. I’ve also read a book where two characters had the same first name, but different last names. Very confusing! Thanks for stopping by!