The first is a thirteen and a half year old girl. She has long blonde wavey hair, with dark eyebrows and eyelashes. Her eyes are dark blue.
She is quiet but confident and content with herself. She is very gentle and caring, intuative and creative. She would rather hang out with her close girl friends than go to parties with boys. This is a point of tension with her friends- who are increasingly interested in boys.
The second is a twelve year old girl. She has straight almost black hair and pale blue eyes. She is very shy and prefers to be with family and her few close friends. She is quite inward and difficult to get through to. She is very mysterious and intriguing. Although she is exreemly shy, she attracts the interest of others. She is quite athletic and loves to dance.
What names first come to you when reading these descriptions? I can provide more information about the characters if needed.
Thanks heaps!!
Personally, as I writer, I tend to choose names which fit the setting (year of birth, country of residence, parents’ personalities) rather than the characteristics. I feel like it makes more sense, as no one knows how their kids are going to turn out when they choose a name!
I’d go for [name]Emma[/name] / [name]Elizabeth[/name] for the fitst girl, [name]Erin[/name] / [name]Sierra[/name] for the second.
The older girl I automatically thought of the name [name]Robin[/name]. It just seems to fit for me.
For the younger girl I thought of [name]Alexa[/name] and [name]Sabrina[/name]. But although I like the name [name]Sabrina[/name] better I think [name]Alexa[/name] fits her best.
Who are the parents? Where do they live? What year are they born? What socioeconomic status are they? What birth order are they? What siblings do they have (or don’t have)? [name]Do[/name] the mothers work?
The most important part of naming the character is maintaining the reader’s belief in your story. So all the above questions are important, primarily the ones about the parents (who presumably named the child, not you) and the geographic location. Names for preteens/young teens in Connecticut are completely different from names for the same age group here in Pensacola. And economic status makes a huge difference.
Figure out who their families are first. The characters’ names will then become apparent.
For the oldest, I can’t help but think of [name]Lizbeth[/name]. [name]Don[/name]'t ask me why. For the younger, I like [name]Kylie[/name], or maybe [name]Macy[/name]. I also like…
Older girl:
[name]Alana[/name]
[name]Cassidy[/name]
[name]Kaylyn[/name]
[name]Amber[/name]
Hmm. Blonde girl: [name]Olive[/name], [name]Julia[/name], [name]Magdalen[/name] (this clicks well for me, but would probably be too steeped in symbolism), [name]Mia[/name]. [name]Brunette[/name]: [name]Claire[/name], [name]Dasha[/name]