I am a bit excited about this post.
It's been my goal for several years now to create Blondie Marie into more than just a blog for my book reviews and writing. I want to become a media company -- an all-encompassing resource for writers and self-publishers in all stages, from outlining to marketing a final book. Part of how I'm doing that is to follow my own journey in writing. As I'm currently working on my first novel, my writing-focused posts are largely going to be about the early stages of writing.
I'm fascinated by the stages of writing. And, as part of that, I always find it interesting how authors come up with names for their characters. Do you know what I hear most often as the place authors go to find their characters' names? Baby name guides. It makes sense, definitely. And I've done the same thing. But is it the most effective? Not all characters have traditional "baby" names. Think fantasy and science fiction novels, or characters that go by nicknames. You're not going to find these on babynames.com, and yet in many cases a nickname or non-traditional name may be the best fit.
Over the course of 2017, as I kept track of the books I read I also kept track of the names of the characters in the novels. I compiled them all into a large list. And at the end of the year I put everything together into a completely free ebook.
So if you're totally fine with babynames.com and you don't foresee ever needing anything else, no worries. You found what works for you. Keep doing you. But, if you could possibly see branching out, if for no other reason than to see what other authors have used as character names, then give this a try. It may have just the right inspiration to give "Main Character A" a name and bring your first draft a little closer to finished.
It's been my goal for several years now to create Blondie Marie into more than just a blog for my book reviews and writing. I want to become a media company -- an all-encompassing resource for writers and self-publishers in all stages, from outlining to marketing a final book. Part of how I'm doing that is to follow my own journey in writing. As I'm currently working on my first novel, my writing-focused posts are largely going to be about the early stages of writing.
I'm fascinated by the stages of writing. And, as part of that, I always find it interesting how authors come up with names for their characters. Do you know what I hear most often as the place authors go to find their characters' names? Baby name guides. It makes sense, definitely. And I've done the same thing. But is it the most effective? Not all characters have traditional "baby" names. Think fantasy and science fiction novels, or characters that go by nicknames. You're not going to find these on babynames.com, and yet in many cases a nickname or non-traditional name may be the best fit.
Over the course of 2017, as I kept track of the books I read I also kept track of the names of the characters in the novels. I compiled them all into a large list. And at the end of the year I put everything together into a completely free ebook.
So if you're totally fine with babynames.com and you don't foresee ever needing anything else, no worries. You found what works for you. Keep doing you. But, if you could possibly see branching out, if for no other reason than to see what other authors have used as character names, then give this a try. It may have just the right inspiration to give "Main Character A" a name and bring your first draft a little closer to finished.
