In case you were wondering, the tattoo is healing nicely. I'm finally starting to get some work done, and I have some of my energy back. I've also recently found a place where I can sit down and write, and my back won't be sore. At least, it works for about an hour. Then I have to move.
But while I have an hour...
I love the question of how to name a non-human character. I don't like to say alien in this case, because sometimes they're not actually aliens. They could be animals. Or creatures that are common to earth within a specific story. Therefore, they wouldn't be aliens.
And they always have the craziest names, don't they?
When it comes to naming my characters, I like to cheat. I don't really name them. At least, I don't name them at first.
Here's an example:
When I was writing "Coetir: The People of the Woods" © I didn't name the male lead until a few chapters in. I couldn't decide on a good name for him. I was calling him Bob for almost a week. Of course, I knew that name could never last.
Then it hit me. I was watching "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", and one of the Cardassian characters revealed his name (finally). If you watch the show, you'll know who I'm talking about. Elim.
Thing is, I loved the name. It was perfect. It seemed to fit my character all around.
So I stole it.
That's how a lot of writers come up with names for their characters. We steal them. Or we Google "baby names" and come up with something at random that starts with the letter we're thinking of.
Truth is, it's not so difficult anymore to come up with a good name.
I don't like to use the same name twice, so I keep a running list of all the names I've used so I won't reuse them.
But that wasn't really the question, was it?
The question was how do we name a character that isn't human.
That's a little more difficult.
Here are my two favorite ways to do it:
1. Steal it.
Yes, I know, I said this already. But if you watch enough science fiction movies and read enough science fictions books, you'll have a wealth of names stored up in your brain. Nobody copyright's the names: they only copyright their unique story. So go ahead: steal the name you're looking for.
Tolkien stole a lot of his character names from mythology, specifically Norse. That's an option, too. I've used that a few times, and simply tweaked a few spellings so it was harder to tell.
(Maybe we should call it borrowing, so it doesn't sound so terrible...)
2. (my favorite option) Button Mashing.
I said it. And I know we've all done it. Slam your fingers down on the keyboard in any random order, and wait until something useful comes up.
In all honesty, I've come up with several simply perfect names this way (simple examples would be Tzeira and Fari, who you'll meet in a few years when the Druid series is complete).
It sounds a little silly, but trust me, it works. And it helps relieve some stress along the way.
Leave me a comment and let me know what creative ways you've come up with character names!
{Rani D.}
p.s. My favorite non-name is, of course, The Doctor. Cheap shot, BBC. Cheap shot. Although, it's also a clever way to not come up with an actual name for your character...
(yes, David Tennant is my favorite Doctor)
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