[stylist] Naming characters

[Shelley Alongi]

The way I name the characters is to start with one name usually just picked out of the air and then if I don't think that name works I will change it by the time the story in. Sometimes I use a persons name but generally if that gets changed by the time I am finished writing the story. I don't really put any kind of thematically presentation into choosing names. I have names that I do like so if I can't think of one off hand I may start by choosing one of my stock names and sometimes those names stick to the characters. My message is not really method is not very complicated.

Shelley, Queen of bells out! 
Trespasser my first published novel 2015
Http://www.lulu.com/Queenofbells712

> On Jan 3, 2017, at 6:59 PM, Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I've used people as inspirations for characters. Never have I used a real
> person and took their exact personality and mannerisms, but I've definitely
> based a character off of real people, borrowing certain personality traits
> and such. There have been times when I use the first letter of a real name
> for a character, but usually I just come up with a name like any other
> character.
> 
> Bridgit
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas
> Vasiliauskas via stylist
> Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2017 2:44 PM
> To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Naming characters
> 
> Tessa,
> What have you or anyone else done about a character whom you want to base on
> someone you know in real life? Do you usually have that character start with
> the same letter as the person you know?
> Vejas
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tessa via stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Tue, 03 Jan 2017 14:47:08 -0500
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Naming characters
> 
> Thanks, yes that's about the way I do it, names come and they're usually
> appropriate, but I tend to spend a lot of quality time in my head with my
> characters before they get on the computer.
> Kenyan apparently spends time and research on character names but she also
> has quotes in her book from writer's who don't.
> I often pick up names from books, or from just listening to stuff locally,
> we have a large Finnish population so we get names like Toivo and Helgi,
> male and Aija saija and kaija female the j is pronounced like a y.  Of
> course parents are also being very creative and inventing names I remember
> reading something that said the name Wendy hadn't been used before until jm
> barrie used it in peter pan.
> I've read where an author will go through the phone book picking out
> appropriate names or name ideas, not necessarily practical for us but now
> many of the baby naming books are being made available in alternate formats.
> Oddly enough one of my characters is named Martin, he's an assassin among
> other things, Martin is not a name I would have considered for that
> particular life style, but it's stuck for some reason and it works.
> Names are definitely interesting.
> Tessa
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via stylist  <stylist at nfbnet.org
> To: his'Writers' Division Mailing List'"  <stylist at nfbnet.org
> Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 12:43 pm
> Subject: [stylist] Naming characters
> 
> 
> 
> Tessa,
> 
> First, happy New Year.
> 
> Second, I really like the name Tessa, grin.
> 
> Third, I usually use whatever name pops in my head when writing.  
> Of course,
> I mostly write nonfiction, so that's a horse of another color, smile, but
> when I do write fiction, which I did just start a new story, I do a lot of
> thinking in my head before I even begin writing anything down, and often
> names will just come.  Usually the first name I come up with is what sticks.
> 
> Not a lot of thought goes into the naming of my characters, smile.
> 
> Bridgit
> 
> 
> 
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