Naming Characters
If you're like me, your characters go one of two ways: they either come with a name, or you spend hours or sometimes days trying to find them names. A name is--usually--only one or two words, but sometimes it can be the hardest one or two words you'll ever right. Names come with enormous pressure: you have to pick something pronounceable, something that's culturally appropriate, and something that suits your character. Since I've struggled with this many times myself--and am currently trying to select a name for the main male character in my Nano 2012--today I decided to share some methods for finding names. The first thing you should try is a basic mindmap. Put "names" in the center and brainstorm as many names that are phonetically similar to the…