: Re: Thinking About Fantasy Names One of my favorite parts of writing is naming my people/places/systems. I look up synonyms of common words and add prefixes, or base things off of Latin roots, or

@Correia211

Vote Up Vote Down

I've had to do some research into this myself - especially for the fantasy/sci-fi genre it's easy to want to create the most unique names possible. But it's also easy to fall into the trap of creating names TOO unique or confusing to follow. In my opinion, it's a great idea. And can be a powerful tool if used in the right way. But in naming characters, be it modern names, unique variants, or new words entirely, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Simplicity. The name has to be easy enough the remember, and straightforward enough to read without too much strain on the the reader. Nobody likes fighting to understand the book they are reading, so something simple is all you need. Take 'Ender' from "Ender's Game": it's simple, unique (even though I'm fairly sure it's a nickname) and easy enough to remember.
Meaning. Name your characters with purpose - "Harry Potter" was named deliberately with two fairly common names at the time, this was deliberate as the entire point of the story was a 'common' boy being put through uncommon circumstances. But it went even deeper than that (see www.wizardingworld.com/features/etymology-behind-harry-potter-character-names).

To add more on to the purpose point: either the character can be who they are because/inspite of their name, or they have their name because/inspite of who they are.

Hope this helps!

(0)

Login to post a comment!