Ok, this issue really applies
mainly to fantasy and sci-fi authors. It is an important issue and can be quite
a challenge. From a reader’s perspective, there’s nothing more off-putting by
names that don’t quite roll off the tongue, as it were. For example -- Gragle,
Rambalin, Dfrolph are names off the top of my head Surely the reader expects and
deserves a little bit more than this. Some names (the latter one) are
impossible to pronounce or even imagine, so what does make a good name? I think
it’s some sense of familiarity, but not too familiar to be in a fiction novel.
Odds are if you liek teh sound of a name, it should work. (I actually quite
like Graggle. Hmmm, perhaps another time).
For a great name, I am reminded
of a Dragon Lance book which opened with Flint Fireforge. He’s a dwarf of
course, but the name is brilliant. It immediately conjures up a character
without actually writing much else. Of course it’s great to have a description,
but get a name right and that’s half the battle. This reflects the power in a
name.
So where did I get my inspiration
for names. Initially it was easy, but then later as the character list grew I had
to resort to a few tricks. These tricks may or may not suit you, but the way I
went about this may inspire other thoughts so bear with me.
I used several different
approaches. I wanted names that were familiar to us, but different. The
following methods formed the backbone of my naming convention:
- Changing names I was already aware of.
- Making an anagram of someone’s name
- Looking at maps and other sources for names for
ones I liked.
- Shortening a common name.
Changing a name is easy and that
immediately sounds familiar. Steven can become Stefan. Jonathan became
Chanathan. The familiarity of the name made them acceptable in my view. If the
name is still too familiar then try the next suggestions.
I needed the name for a witch in
book 2 of my trilogy. My mother-in-law is called Moira and so I used the
letters of her name to make up another. It wasn’t quite an anagram, but it was
close. I came up with Ariome. This name and character has grown on me over the
years and, like many of my characters, I cannot now see her named anything
else. My worst mistake though was mentioning her to my mother-in-law. A lot of
creeping on my part and I am just about forgiven.
The third suggestion on the list
proved interesting. I looked at a map and then settled on names I just liked
the sound of. Dalamere was one and Dalamere the third just seemed to leap from the
page. He became a historical figure who caused another figure great angst.
Dalamere had an ability to detach his spirit from his body and he used this
ability to spy on people and then to blackmail them. Again, Dalamere is another
character that I couldn’t imagine being called anything else. A purist could
point out that a mere is a small mountain lake and some folk may even know
of the place, but again familiarity
makes it immediately acceptable, in my view.
Another name I liked was
Chanteal, and I used that as a mountain range, which I think it was on the map.
Chanteal is probably not a well known name and I am relying on that unfamiliarity
to help me gain an acceptable name in a book.
For the last suggestion on the
list I liked Nathanial as a name (I have several great grandparents and great
great grandpa etc called that) so I shortened it to Nate. It’s a familiar
sounding name, but not too common so could easily feature ins a fictional
novel. This character was a simple soldier and helped me to give the
perspective of my land from a low born person. Nate is a simple name and seemed
to work, in my mind.
I also used some naming
conventions. In Scotland
mountains are called Bens (Ben Nevis for
example) so I used Kin for forests (KinAnor, KinKassack) and Ban for mountains.
(BanKildor). I admire authors who take the time to make names of different
races similar. For example in Poland
everyone seems to have ...ol at the end of their name. For Russian it seems to
be ...ov. Adopting a naming convention may help to make your characters sound
as though they are regional. I think that would be incredibly difficult to do.
I didn’t, so please treat this suggestion with caution.
A pet hate is when people start a
book with a string of names and place names. For example Gragle, Rambalin,
Dfrolph were travelling to Front, a city at the heart of Kronk Empire.
It’s very difficult for a reader
to pick up several new names in one go, especially when they are unfamiliar.
Making the names more familiar would help, but don’t throw them at a reader
like a handful of grit cast so carelessly aside. You need to nurture the name
and the character in the reader’s mind. Introduce them singly and get the
reader familiar with them before introducing more characters.
Further sources of names that you
could play with are historical names. You could use these immediately as they
are familiar in some sense, but again not too familiar. Have a look at
Appendix:English_surnames_from_Old_English
I liked Buckley which immediately sprang out. Then you can start playing with
that name, Bruckley, Brackley...etc, Then there’s variations on an anagram
theme e.g. Rubley. I am not suggesting these names are good, but I am showing a
process of how to generate names.
A tip someone else gave me was to
make each character memorable. Bruckley may have an eye patch, so when you
describe him several pages on you can remind the reader which character you are
referring to by mentioning, Buckley
adjusted his eye patch, a habit more than anything else... Finally, keep a
character list with their mannerisms, dress sense, hair and eye colour etc as
you may need to refer back to this several times. Don’t skimp and a page per
character is probably sensible.
The important thing is that you
are the author. Have fun and play around with names. If you like the sound then
it is likely your readers will as well. Good luck.
