Give 'em a Name

Writers,

Have you ever had a difficult time trying to find a reasonable name for your new characters? I mean, you don't want it to be cheesy or anything, and let's be honest, "Harry Potter" is already taken. So you have to be a little creative.

These people are practically your newborn children; you can't go giving them lame or dull names. You have to let their names speak for them.

A friend of mine passed this article along to me, and I thought it was super helpful: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-7-rules-of-picking-names-for-fictional-characters

Here are the main points, but go read the article for yourself:

1. Check root meanings.
2. Get your era right.
3. Speak them out loud.
4. Manage your crew appropriately.
5. Use alliterative initials.
6. Think it through appropriately.
7. Check ’em again.

For writers wanting to find accurate names for various nationalities, I would highly recommend http://www.behindthename.com This is an awesome website with thousands of names with origins, meanings and what have you. It's super awesome, especially if you're tired of using the same names or you think the ones you have just don't have enough "ummph" to them.

Once you find the right name, you'll know. Just say "yes" to the name.