******STAY TUNED TILL THE END FOR BOTH A LIST OF COMMON AND A LIST OF UNIQUE NAMES. ALSO FOR A LINK TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE, GROUP, AND A SUBSCRIBE LINK (Just enter your email) TO GET AN UPDATE EVERY TIME I POST A NEW BLOG ARTICLE******
A Name…Everyone has a name right? So why shouldn’t your characters? But I’ve noticed that a lot of Writers struggle to come up with names at times. However, a name is just a name until you create a character for it.
Sometimes writers tend to try to come up with the names before the character themselves. It can be helpful though to come up with what they look like, wear, personality and what role they play in your novel first. Then take the time to figure out a name.
Personally I hate when I read a book and there is a name that is so hard to pronounce. One that the Author made so over complicated that I get stuck on it, unable to concentrate on the story line rather than the name. There are some cases where you need a mythical name, something that stands out and isn’t over used. Which is to be expected but I go by a certain rule I set for myself.
It can be unique as long as readers can pronounce it.
What I mean is they have to be able to sound it out in their head. Then get comfortable with it. As I am aware that names are complicated in general. You won’t be able to please everyone. Names are a beautiful thing. If you do plan to use a name that’s difficult to understand than set the scene. Make a scene somewhere that explains how to pronounce it for example…
Freja waited in the long line to finally purchase her drivers license. When the woman behind the desk finally called her number she rushed over. Freja gave the woman her information and waited for the usual correction she would have to make. Ok freeja I just need you to take this eye test. Maybe it was the fact that she always had to correct people or maybe it was the events that brought her here. Whatever the case, she corrected the woman between clenched teeth, “It’s Freja, pronounced Fray-Ya.” She said it slowly so the woman would hopefully say it right the next time.
Again just an example but it helps your readers to understand the spelling and it makes it a smoother read. Then again readers can just look up the name but there can be many ways to pronounce one name. It may be something that is more important if you write more than one novel in the series it still improves the reading experience.
Titles for your work can be an even bigger task so try to make the names an easier project for yourself. There are many wonderful names out there and here is a short list of common names if your looking for something simple…
- Mary
- Jennifer
- John
- Jane
- Bobby
- Rose
- Brittany
- Marie
- Peter
- Henry
- Tiffany
- Jack
- Rachel
- Samantha
- Edward
- Stephanie
Then here is a list of very unique names for those of you looking for something different…
- Zebulon
- Xerxes
- Zaire
- Aviana
- Adalius
- Brinley
- Brixton
- Cosima
- Caius
- Farren
- Garrick
- Maurizio
- Nye
- Paloma
- Rowen
- Syden
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope my lists help you with your work and finding the right names for your characters. Please follow the links below to my Facebook author page as well as my group page. Also if you are interested in recieving an email everytime a post a new blog article to stay up to date on what I’m writing please enter your email below and subscribe.
Until next time…JUST KEEP WRITING
Tiffany’s Writing Journey 