On the other hand, sometimes stories come from a place much closer to home. Each of us has our own stories throughout our lives, moments that have shaped us into the person that we are today. Although not every author is interested in writing a memoir or autobiography, examining the important moments in our own lives and the ways that they’ve formed us is a great way to help create that connection between events and character in your own novel.

For example, take a particularly embarrassing moment that you had in middle school where you spilled milk all over the front of your pants in the middle of the cafeteria. How did that moment, and the feelings that it elicited, change your behavior, how you acted, and your perception of yourself and the world as a whole?

There are also the good important moments, like when you got your first job out of school or met your partner or when you and a family member had a really heartfelt moment together. How did those moments change or shape your life? How did your perspective or character change based on that moment?

Writing Prompt: Make a list of the most important character-shaping moments throughout your own life and why those instances changed you. Choose one and write a scene from that moment. As you’re writing the scene, make sure both you and your readers can see the connection between the event and character development.

Make sure that your readers can see a difference in the character (you) before and after this important event or moment. And, if you want to keep it more anonymous, feel free to change up the character names or even embellish the event if there are portions you can’t completely remember. Being good at embellishing is another important writing skill, right?

The post Writing Prompt: Based on a True Story appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) Check root meanings & origins

When brainstorming a character name, it may be helpful to choose a name with a root meaning that describes the character in question. It’s a clever way to give the reader a hint about your character’s nature, without being too obvious and cliché about it (ex. Giving a character the last name Goodman). One place to start may be looking up the meanings of a chosen word in different languages to see if inspiration strikes.

However, just as importantly, make sure you’re checking the root meaning and origins of names even if you chose the name first. You need to make sure that the names have the correct origins for the nationality of your character and that the name doesn’t mean something wildly different from or contradictory to your character’s personality. Otherwise, you run the risk of confusing the more perceptive readers who will do their research.

2) Keep in mind era, location, and genre

Characters from different time periods and locations will have vastly different names from one another. Names that were popular in England in the 1920’s aren’t aligned with the popular names in the present day. Your names either need to align with the time and place or you’ll need to show why they don’t. Maybe this character’s parents had a fascination with this era for some reason. You’ll just need to make sense of it; otherwise, you’ll leave your readers wondering why there is a 20-year-old girl in present-day America named Doris.

Genre is equally important when it comes to choosing character names. Fantasy names will sound mythical while Sci-Fi named will have harsher and shorter sounds while historical fiction names will be more simple and classic. Your reader will be left scratching their head if they’re reading a fantasy novel and they come across a character named Blake. If you’re struggling with this, there are a lot of name generators online for specific genres that may be a helpful jumping-off point.

3) Differentiate between characters

By the end of your book, your readers will know your characters like they are members of their own family. However, during character introductions at the beginning of your book, it can be difficult to differentiate between everyone. To make it easier, we recommend starting each name of the core group of characters with different letters. This makes it easier for your reader to tell them apart in the initial stages as they’re getting to know them. For that same reason, it’s best not to have two character’s names that rhyme or sound similar as well. However, if you ever want to call special attention to a specific character, use alliterative initials (ex. Severus Snape).

4) Speak it aloud & be consistent

You’re allowed to include names in your book that are difficult to pronounce- just make sure you know how to pronounce them. When your book gets published, your readers will inevitably ask you about the pronunciation of specific names so you want to make sure you can say it easily and clearly out loud. In addition, make sure you’re always remaining consistent on what your character is called throughout your book. It will be confusing for your readers if characters go back and forth between called John and Jonathan- unless it’s for formality purposes.

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The post What’s in a Name: Choosing Character Names appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.