|
In the past, I have named my characters using consecutive letters in the alphabet, to make sure there are no clusters of similar names: Arthur Bell, Clare Dawson, Ed Franks, etc. (I don't think I got to X, Y and Z, thankfully.) I failed to have a similar system last time out, and ended up with several characters whose surnames began with F (using my other method of picking a letter by staring at a keyboard.)
For foreign names, I tend to use sportsmen. Usually I'll mix and match a first name and surname from two people of the same nationality, but I do need to change the name of a Finnish character in my current book because he has exactly the same name as a rally driver.
Made-up languages are harder, and often end up sounding stupid of cliched. I feel it's best to have some sort of model in mind of a real language, to get a consistent feel. Quite a lot of fantasy seems to work like that.
|