What's Your Name Again?

Good evening, reader! It's Moon. Today's topic is going to be on naming your characters, but first let me start with the weekly Word of the Day (which I guess should be the "Word of the Week," huh?) This one is thaumaturgy, which is a noun referring to the performance of miracles, usually magic. (This makes me think of Harry Potter, tee hee. <3) It comes from a Greek word meaning "miracle working." There's also "thaumaturge" and "thaumaturgist," (nouns, meaning a both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," ) and the adjective "thaumaturgic," (meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy." Like most writers I know, I always want my characters to be detailed and 3-D. Sometimes I went on a baby naming site and looked up meanings to certain names. Though, then I realized that people in real life usually don't match their name, and that it's more important to be time-appropriate than personality-appropriate. After all, the parents didn't know what you would be like when they had you. I mean, "Penelope" is Greek and means "With a web over her face." That means nothing to me. Here are the main things to keep in mind when naming your characters (keep in mind that I embarrassed myself by breaking all of these to help share with you what I've learned):

1. Cultural and story context: A name usually reflects the culture and life of the character, sometimes the genre of the book as well. Aeon Daggercult would be great for a fantasy novel, but not for realistic fiction. People in the 1800s named their kids Martha and Hulda, but you wouldn't see someone with those names in present day. If a character has a Native American background that goes to a high school in New Jersey, his name won't be "Misty Rain" or "Big Bear." They've assimilated. His name might be John. His last name could be an Americanized last name too, but it could also be something from his culture.

* Just a quick note: If you're naming your character from another culture, be sure to do your research. Just because a name sounds like fun doesn't mean you should just name your character that off the bat. Look it up. It could be a boy's name instead of a girl's name. It could mean something completely offensive (You wouldn't name your kid Ass would you?) and the character wouldn't be taken seriously in his culture.

2. Keep the names to a minimum: I know some people have two middle names or five names, but just leave your characters alone. Even if you have a fantasy novel, your reader will just get confused or overwhelmed or just not take the character seriously if her name is "Misty Jessica Clefairy Winefred Humbleton." Not gonna happen. Keep it to two or three names, unless you really feel it's necessary to expand. And keep nicknames to a minimum too: you don't want to confuse your reader. If your character's name is Joseph, keep it to Joe or Joey (but if you have a more creative nickname, use that one, but don't use ALL of them).

3. Avoid stereotypes: This one should be obvious, guys. Seriously. If you have a story based around stellar, celestial things, please don't name your character Luna Moon. Please, I beg of you. You'll get laughed at. I, personally, will laugh at you. You don't want that; I have a very loud, obnoxious laugh.

4. Keep pronunciation in mind: So you don't want a bland name, that's fine. We all want names that our readers will remember and associate with our characters. However, out of desperation, don't name your character Fwejfoievnujsri, because even though that LOOKS awesome on the page of your fantasy/sci-fi novel, your reader will rip out the page in their anger and damn their tongues for all eternity.

5. Don't freak out: In all seriousness, a name is a name. If your character has an awesome, perfect name and a terrible, 2-D personality, you're character will still be unsatisfactory. Name, although important, shouldn't be at the top of your list. Work on learning about your character. You may even change his or her name after getting to know the character more. You can even refer to the character as "Girl" or "Boy" or "Awesome Guy" until you find a name you like. It's not the biggest deal in the world.

That's all for today, guys! Have a good night! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: How do you go about naming your characters?