Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

I recently asked my Twitter followers what sorts of posts they would like to read on this blog, and I was thrilled when one of them suggested the topic of character development. This post goes out to him and anyone else who’s interested in this—one of my favorite subjects.

As you well know, I think characters are the most exciting part of writing and reading alike. Today, I’m going to be diving headfirst into my character development process. This is likely to become lengthy, so I’ll be spreading it out over the rest of this month. If, after reading this series of posts, you have further questions, hit me up on Twitter @AquinnahBree or comment below, and I’ll see what I can do!

The Perfect Name

If words are powerful—and they are—names are especially so. It’s not always easy to choose the perfect name for each of your characters right off the bat, knowing very little of their individual stories. Because this is the case, some authors choose to use placeholder names, which they later convert into permanent ones that better fit their characters’ personalities. While I have used this process several times, I was less than thrilled with the outcome; I loved my permanent names, but I felt that I had to reconnect with my characters, as if changing their titles had somehow changed their stories. It took many hours of editing to make that feeling go away. It was an experience that I’m hesitant to repeat.

So, what’s the alternative?

It might be slightly overwhelming to note that naming your characters is basically like naming your children—they’re going to have to live with the choice you make. You’re going to have to write it down hundreds of times and listen to people say it over and over and over again. Because your readers are either going to love or love to hate this person that you’ve created. They’re going to tell people about this person.

You, of course, have to live with this person for a long, long time.

And, just like a baby, you can’t really know if the name you picked fits until you get to know her/him. Sometimes, name changes are unavoidable. “Noah” sounds nice until you put him in the middle of a tsunami. After that, it’s just a poorly executed and devastating joke via Genesis 6-9. I speak from experience.

So, here’s my suggestion (one of many because there’s no magic formula for this): Rather than trying to pick either a name or a personality type first (unless you have one already in mind; that’s usually a good sign that you’re listening to your characters), write down a bunch of names that you like. You might like the way they look/sound/smell/whatever. Pick three, and then look up their root meanings. Do any of these match the people who are frantically trying to crawl their way out of your fingertips and onto the page? You can even try alternate spellings to see if you like one of those better than the original. Or maybe, during your research, you’ll come across a totally different name that you like even more. Any way you slice it, root meanings are always extremely telling—of era, of uniqueness, of geographical significance, etc.

Ultimately, your character names should speak to you. You’ll know that you’ve found the right one when you can’t picture your character with any other title. Have fun with this because, in the end, it’s a whole lot easier to change the name of one of your characters than it is to change the name of one of your children. The perfect name does exist—even if you have to dig it out of your imagination.

Recap

That was a lot to take in, so here’s the quick recap:

• Names are powerful.
• Placeholder names are a good option if you want to write now and worry about precision later.
• Naming your characters is like naming your children… only it’s way easier to change character names.
• Sometimes, name changes are unavoidable. Don’t sweat it.
• Start somewhere: write down a bunch of names that you like.
• Pick three names that you like and look up their root meanings to see if any of them fit the characters in your mind.
• If you get bored, try alternate spellings.
• Scroll those baby name websites!
• You’ll know when you’ve found the right name.

Coming soon: “Character Development: Top 20 Traits”