What’s in a name

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    vivian chen

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    A while back, a friend told me about a podcast, Couch to 80K, which is a free 8-week fiction writing course. Each episode consists of a 10-minute exercise that you complete while listening to the podcast itself. I stashed it away for future me, but today I was stuck (again) on what to write about, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

    The first exercise is to create a list of as many made-up names as you can in just 10 minutes. I found it incredibly challenging–that insecurity about my writing rearing its ugly head again. Thoughts I had to fight against: that sounds dumb, why do all your names sound European, so cliché.

    After 10 excruciatingly long minutes, this is what I’ve got.

    10 responses to “What’s in a name”

    1. rdicarne Avatar
      rdicarne

      This would be a fun writing warm-up for my 7th-graders and me! My favorite name you created is Rose Waterford. I started to imagine what kind of story they would each be found.

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    2. Terje Avatar
      Terje

      Sky Moon – I wonder how her name influences her personality. Sometimes names direct the choice of a job. Wouldn’t it be great if she were an astronaut?

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    3. jodimahoney Avatar
      jodimahoney

      This is a fun way to brainstorm about characters starting with a name and going from there. I love the idea that the name can inform these imaginary personalities, quirks and stories.

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    4. juliemckelly4 Avatar
      juliemckelly4

      Your handwriting is beautiful. Thank you for sharing the podcast. For my next challenge…

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    5. arjeha Avatar
      arjeha

      A great way to come up with character names for a novel. Love Manfred Mumford. I can almost picture what he would look like.

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    6. bullets and blanks Avatar
      bullets and blanks

      when I used to come up with “class rosters” of my fake students to teach in my parents’ study, I would flip pages of the staff directory and pick first names and then do the same to match them with last names. And I always made twins in my class. Always. What a funny exercise but so important in making a memorable character!

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    7. Radutti Avatar
      Radutti

      This rules. Keno Gridlock and Taylor Kwan have most certainly just branched out on a mission to capture known heist architect Theodore Kingsworth III, who until recently lived a hermit-like existence under the pseudonym Al Mangione. I can’t wait to see if they’ll catch him.

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      1. vivian chen Avatar
        vivian chen

        Love these ideas! I’ll have to try them out.

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        1. Radutti Avatar
          Radutti

          I mean, they’re pretty contrived and schlocky (is that even a word?) but your awesome names definitely inspired me. ;0

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        2. Radutti Avatar
          Radutti

          * The ideas for a story, not your names. Those are cool.

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