A noob asking for advice...

[MrEcko]

I'm in the middle of trying to write a story. I'm still in the planning stage and haven't actually written anything yet. Also, this will be the first book I've ever written so I'm quite new at this. The main problem I'm facing is naming the characters. Or rather one character. The protagonist. Long story short I've been able to find names for each of the other main plot characters but the methods I used to choose the names for them won't work when it comes to the main protagonist. I need suggestions on how I can figure out a good name to use for my protagonist.

In case it helps the setting is going to be a medieval fantasy world and the protagonist is a well respected soldier in the army.

[James_Wilde]

Sorry, MrEcko, can't help you here as I write contemporary novels. Yes, naming your characters is very important, and I understand your problem. Wait for one of our medieval fantasy authors to come and advise. KC?

Just wanted to comment in order to say welcome to MR and good luck with your writing. Just tell your partner what you're planning, cos writing should carry a government health warning. It's addictive.

And BTW, if you're writing, Scrivener is your tool. It's a Mac product, but they've now made it available for Windows, and the word is that it runs under Wine if you're on linux.

[adityadubey]

Does it work for you to name him as say X (or something else which will be easier to find and replace) and start writing, until you figure out something which feels right?

[ASparrow]

Names are a very important and sensitive issue, and I happen to be terrible at naming so I don't know why I'm chiming in.

I've been accused in reviews of choosing very trite, overdone and/or cliched names for my fantasy characters, but from some of the specific comments I receive, I suspect that the names I choose are not sufficiently Anglo-Saxon for people to relate to. There is a segment of readership out there that is turned off by names that sound too alien.

I happen to have a high tolerance for odd-sounding names because I've traveled to Ethiopia and Thailand where names can get pretty exotic. I can easily picture the same people who criticize my current character names, making fun of some of my actual Ethiopian friends' names (Eshesha, Yi-Ebiyo, Yihenew, Saba, Tefera, etc.). I won't even get into how weird names from Thailand can sound to a Western ear.

My tact was to choose names that had some sort of resonance to me, no matter how cryptic to the reader. So what I did, on one hand, was to modify place names for in the world that are important to me.

Another tact I've employed was to make anagrams of the names of some special people in my life as well as people in popular culture whom I either admire or detest. This helps make these characters resonate with me in a way that might not happen so easily if I named them more randomly.

[kcmay]

You don't need to decide the name right now. The important thing is to get the story written. You can name him Joe or whatever, then do a search/replace when the right name comes to you.

P.S. Between writing sessions, play around with a name generator, like http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/ - it might not hand you the perfect name, but it might pique your imagination just enough that the right name comes to you.

[mandahill]

Originally Posted by kcmay

You don't need to decide the name right now. The important thing is to get the story written. You can name him Joe or whatever, then do a search/replace when the right name comes to you.

Though I did hear a story about an author who changed the name of her main character that way and ended up with a reference in the book to Michelangelo's 'Kevin'.

But I suspect that isn't a true story. ;-)

Amanda

[MrEcko]

It seems from the general reaction that I'd be best off just putting in a temporary placement name and changing it after I write the book. I'm kind of facing the same problem ASparrow has. I'm trying to make my main protagonist have a somewhat none-alien sounding name while still retaining a name that's appropriate for setting.

[adityadubey]

Originally Posted by mandahill

Though I did hear a story about an author who changed the name of her main character that way and ended up with a reference in the book to Michelangelo's 'Kevin'.

[Just4kix]

What does your character look like? What is his personality? Is he a hero or a villain? Choose a name that reflects his character (and that is easy to pronounce). Research medieval names.
I would suggest settling on a name before beginning the story. You need to know all about your character before you can begin writing about him, even though you won't use all the information in your story. What is his star sign (characterisation of a particular star sign can be useful), what does he like to eat, what is his temperament,(calm or easily roused) etc. You will find it easier to begin writing your story once you have a clear picture of your MC and his goals, and a theme for the story.

[jaxx6166]

When I wrote The Phoenix Rising, I was way too into names. Like, I spent a good three weeks researching names and their meanings and all this other stuff. While I can see where it's a very powerful, very intense need for a writer to have the perfect name, things can always be changed later.

For those wondering, my main character was Sam Reibert, the bad guy was Graham Lazario, and the support main became Constance Verdad or something similar. You can go through name books, the bible, baby books, and everything else, but I think that would be more of a distraction (IE/doing anything but writing, which is what I'm doing now)

When I did Beyond the Black, my main character's name was "QQ" for about 20k words until I finally decided to call him Sarge.

The closest thing I've come to a "fantasy world" name was "Basil Thime"

If you're doing a medieval fantasy and you're firmly set into the culture and times of medieval England, choose a name that would be common to that timeframe. If you can't figure one out, go look in the european history books and take whatever comes to mind

But, in the mean time, QQ makes an excellent character name. Now go back to writing

[MrEcko]

Thanks for the advice everybody. I actually decided on the name for my protagonist so my troubles are over. You've all been of very great help to me.

[James_Wilde]

So, do we get to know what (s)he's called??? We've put in a lot of effort on this.

[MrEcko]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

So, do we get to know what (s)he's called??? We've put in a lot of effort on this.

Haha. Yeah sorry. I decided to name him Desmond.

[jaxx6166]

Ohh I like

[Steven Lake]

The simplest suggestion I can offer you is this. Design your character names around the personality and nature of each character. I know that's not much help, but given that you're still in the design stage, you probably haven't solidified the personalities of your characters yet. Hence why you're having so many naming problems. I learned early on in my writing career that unless you truly know your characters, you can't name them properly.

The best way to prepare to write any story, especially if it's in a completely new and unfamiliar world, or contains new characters, is to literally live in the world until it's so familiar to you that you can see the story with a minimum of difficulty. If you can't see the story, and you don't know your characters intimately, you're just fighting a losing battle that'll eventually lead to you creating a substandard book.

Live your world until its second nature. Get to know your characters until you can express their every flaw and feature. Then once you've done that, share their story with the world. Hope that helps.