Names (From IG)

What's in a name? You can name a character for many different reasons. The author of the James Bonds' stories said he chose a friend's name because he thought it was the most ordinary name he could think of. It was a non-agent type name.

And now when you think of it, it's what you think of first lol. I read that somewhere, can't remember where but it stuck with me. When we write our stories, I think coming up with a name can be one of the hardest things. But when you do come up with that right name, it stays with you forever and can become quite famous, like James Bond did. Having a household brand like that is awesome, and I hope you as a writer gets that chance!

When I came up with names in the beginning, I would use names from people I knew or knew of. Emily was a friend. Her sister (Tabetha) came from Bewitched. Same with Emily's daughter (Samantha). I loved that show lol. As I got older and better with my writing, I began to come up with different ways to find names. I looked up baby names that would fit the character's age and personality. For some names, I made them up. I have a book called Creating Characters from Readers Digest (each chapter is written by a different author). It has one section devoted just to names, which I found helpful. It was after reading that section when I came up with the last name Guilnet for one of my main characters in the World Bureau Legacy series. The man was not guilty so I used "not guilty" as his name. It sounds French to me and I love it lol.

Sometimes, we want a name that doesn't fit the character at all--like James Bond. At least in the author's mind, it doesn't fit. It may come to fit later on. After all, aren't we named before our parents get to know who we are?

So, if you happened to stumble across this blog post before seeing it on Instagram, I am searching for six names. I thought I'd give this concept a try before coming up with the name on my own. It's a way of getting my readers involved, something I do enjoy doing. I have six suspects. I know a little about them but not their names. Four of the suspects are men, one is a lesbian (she's manly like a butch), and one is a female transgender. I will be writing and publishing this book in 2025 but have been gathering information all this year. The outline will be coming soon, but I won't share that lol. Having all the details first will help me plant the clues throughout the story for my little detectives, one of the victims. Yes, I said that correctly. She's a ghost. Hence the name of the series. The other "detective" is her best friend who has the ability to see ghosts. She'll have a cute catch-phrase in the story. I have it, but not ready to share it yet lol.

So, what names do you suggest? Thank you!!

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