First and foremost, a name is important as it gives your character an identity, do they use their real name or be called by their surname? If one of your characters is mysterious then perhaps think about not even naming them? Either leave it as 'the man' or 'she' or maybe even give them a quirky nickname such as the 'know-it-all'. Please realise that picking the simple names can in some cases do no favours. Don't pick a name because it's your favourite actress or something, think carefully. Use your friends' and family's names or maybe even people you know to help decide names for these characters. For example, I have a friend named Elle-Leigh, and one of my characters in a story of mine is named Elleigh, but she prefers to be called Lee.
Do you see how this works?
But what if your character is of a different nationality? Then that's great but it needs a lot of research. For example, a French character will need a French name which is pretty straight forward, for example: 'Laurent Levesque'. It's simple and French, fitting perfectly but be careful: some nationalities have name laws. Such as the Russians, who take their father's forename to be a part of their middle name or in this case, a patronymic name. Say if I was half Russian due to my dad, and say he was called Marc, then my name could be Chloe Marcovna Tolstaia.
You can learn about Russian names and how they work at the following website: http://lisahayden.com/lch/Russian%20Names.pdf
Names could also give away a bit about their personality? For example, Mrs Green could be envious because Green symbolises envy. Or John Smith could be simple as his name represents simplicity. The names of your characters are just as important as the development of them.
Next part: Characters - Appearance (Pt. 2)
– Chloe. xo
