Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
By Anne R. Allen
“Agnes Gooch,” “Mr. McCawber,” “Albus Dumbledore”: memorable names of memorable characters.
How can writers come up with character names that readers will never forget?
In his painfully funny 2006 book, Famous Writing School, a Novel, Stephen Carter’s writing teacher-protagonist advises his students to seek character names in the obituaries. But although Carter’s bumbling protagonist offers mostly dubious advice, that tip is a keeper.
Obits are full of great names. I keep a list of odd names in a little notebook. I haven’t yet written about Normal Peasley or Lamia Trowbridge, but they’re ready when I need them.
Another great name source is spam. If I happen to catch a good name before I hit “empty spam,” I write it in the notebook. I can always perk up a story by subjecting my heroine to a blind date with Zoticus Weatherwax or Hassan Snively.
My name notebook is…
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