Behind the Scenes: Naming Characters

One of the funnest parts of writing is picking your characters' names! As a memoir writer I'm somewhat limited in this because my stories are true. However, you're allowed to change the occasional name, so I've had a little freedom with it. Or I sometimes use descriptive nicknames, like Sage-Femme Bitchface.

BookDaily.com recently featured an article of mine about naming characters. Be sure to check out the full piece (with all my insightful explanations, ha), but here are some highlights:

1. Vary your characters' names so they don't confuse your readers.

2. Take your characters' ethnicity into account.

3. Factor in your genre.

4. If writing a memoir, you might want to change some names to protect the (not-so) innocent.

What tips do you have for naming characters? What are your favorite characters' names? And has anyone named their child after one of your characters? I may not have invented Khaleesi or Arya, but I'm pretty sure we'll see Sage-Femme Bitchface topping the baby name charts any day now...

My Other Book Daily Articles:

Hot Dogs vs. Caviar
4 Steps to a Charismatic Author Photo
Disrupting the Space and Time Continuum

Want more? Subscribe to receive an email when I post a new article, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.