Renaming some old characters

Writers' Corner
1

[name]Story[/name] 1:

Main girl: About sixteen. Average height, a bit curvy. Heart-shaped face with a small chin. Big dark blue eyes, and dark brown, ridiculously curly hair to her shoulders. The angry, petulant type, she’s resistant to making friends due to some trust issues. Intelligent, but tends to overlook things and jump to conclusions. Refuses to rely on anyone.
Current name: [name]Artemis[/name], shortened to [name]Missie[/name].

Main boy: Seventeen or eighteen. Tall, broad shouldered. Thin and sickly looking, with dirty blond hair. Smokes. Extremely independent, not very motivated scholastically but when he wants something he pursues it. Sarcastic, sardonic; always smirking. Mildly protective in some ways, and not at all in others.
Current name: [name]Brandon[/name], no nickname.

[name]Story[/name] 2:

Main girl: Eighteen. Tall, slim, elegant. [name]Long[/name], straight brown hair, light blue eyes. Somewhat stereotypical, a bit oblivious to the realities of the world, but only because she’s sheltered and spoiled. Sympathetic to others, nice, but stubborn.
Current name: [name]Rebecca[/name], ALWAYS shortened to [name]Becca[/name].

Main guy: Age unknown, but about nineteen. Grew up on the streets/in foster homes, didn’t know his parents. Tall and awkward, gangly. [name]Red[/name]/orange hair, freckled, bright green eyes. [name]Street[/name] smart, inconsistent public education. Confident and solidly good at heart; strict code of morals, with some odd exceptions (casual theft). Dedicated and at times thoughtless of consequences. [name]One[/name] track mind.
Current name: [name]Peter[/name], rarely nicknamed [name]Petey[/name].

Ideas? And my apologies for the super obvious romance plot lines. I was in middle school, what can I say?

2

Well, [name]Artemis[/name] is nice, but it’s very unique. I think you’d have to explain how she got her name in order for it to make sense (mother was a history prof, father studied abroad in college, etc.). [name]Missie[/name] seems to be a very soft name choice for someone who’s angry, petulant, and has trust issues–because it seems like a childhood nn that would have been used by whoever she no longer trusts.

I would go with a tougher nn from a more common first. Like [name]Madeline[/name] nn [name]Del[/name] or [name]Sarah[/name] nn [name]Sadie[/name] or [name]Shannon[/name] nn [name]Shan[/name].

[name]Brandon[/name] is fine. Not super exciting, but the character sounds interesting. He seems like he has 2 very distinct sides, so I’d use something that’s maybe a bit vintage–like it could be an old guy or it could be a young guy, it could be a dorky guy or it could be a super cool guy. Maybe something like [name]Russell[/name] ([name]Russ[/name]) or [name]Nathaniel[/name] ([name]Nat[/name], [name]Nate[/name], [name]Ned[/name], [name]Thane[/name])

I actually like [name]Rebecca[/name] for your second girl. You could always go with something a bit more sweet, like [name]Rosemary[/name] (nn [name]Rosie[/name]) or [name]Bethany[/name] ([name]Beth[/name])

I like [name]Peter[/name] for the second guy as well. Seems like the sort of simple straightforward name that would be chosen by an orphanage/CPS. Maybe [name]Patrick[/name] in a nod to his red hair? nn Trick would be fun, but [name]Rick[/name] would also work

3

[name]Artemis[/name] is nice, and I quite like the nickname [name]Missie[/name], it sounds like something that a close guy friend would give to her teasingly.

[name]Brandon[/name] is kind of boring, but that might be because I know a lot of Brandons. Due to the inconsistant personality and kind of skinny sickly description you gave, I would give him a name like [name]Cole[/name], something short and one syllable, because it sounds kind of mysterious when you give them short names, maybe [name]Dante[/name] or [name]Zander[/name]?

For your somewhat ditsy sounding girl, I would pick something more popular but no annoying, like maybe [name]Rachel[/name] or [name]Madison[/name] or [name]Gemma[/name] or maybe something prissy and girly sounding like [name]Genevieve[/name] or [name]Annabelle[/name] or [name]Camilla[/name].

I think [name]Peter[/name] is fine for the last guy, but if you really want to change it up, I would again recommend something short like [name]Jack[/name] or [name]Sam[/name] or something, because I think a troubled guy should have a masculine, uncomplicated name.

Good luck!

4

I agree with kala_way, [name]Artemis[/name] needs a back story about her name but I adore the nn [name]Missie[/name] because it contrasts with her personality and can be used teasingly.

[name]Brandon[/name] is a little boring. What about [name]Ryland[/name]? [name]Declan[/name]?

I like [name]Camille[/name] or maybe [name]Robin[/name] or [name]Robyn[/name]

I like [name]Sam[/name] for the last guy. Or [name]James[/name] with nn [name]Jem[/name] which makes it different.

5

Odd, I’ve never seen [name]Artemis[/name] as a ‘soft’ name. In mythology she’s the goddess of hunting, and all other characters I’ve encountered named [name]Artemis[/name] have been total badasses (pardon the language). She doesn’t really have a backstory (or a story, ha) right now, but I could definitely figure something out for her name. None of the suggestions really strike me the way her current name does, so I think I’ll just keep [name]Artemis[/name]. Unless someone comes up with something fantastic.

I really like [name]Nathaniel[/name]/[name]Nat[/name] for [name]Brandon[/name]. It fits him.

[name]Robin[/name] is good! It has a bit of the toughness that I’m looking for, and [name]Robbie[/name] would be a good nickname.

I like [name]Sam[/name], but I’m not really loving it. Any other suggestions?

6

Oh, [name]Artemis[/name] is definitely not a soft name! [name]Missie[/name], however, is. I agree with mutualweirdness that it could be used in a contrasting way. I just can’t imagine a tough, angry girl wanting to be called [name]Missie[/name]–but maybe she has hidden depths.

The reason the name would need a story is because the name is so unusual. If you meet someone named [name]Mary[/name] you don’t think “Wow, how weird, where did you get THAT name?” However, if you were introduced to someone and they said their name was [name]Aphrodite[/name] that probably would be your reaction, “Really? Were your parents really into mythology or what?” Unless you’re writing a book like [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] where everybody has a pretty weird name, you’ll have to explain uncommon choices for readers to swallow it.

7

[name]Artemis[/name] is nice, but Artem feels more modern(it’s a Slavic name though).
[name]Brandon[/name] is a bit boring and very 90-s, if you want something with same feel, I suggest [name]Ashton[/name], [name]Weston[/name], [name]Holden[/name], Rheese, [name]Alexander[/name] nn [name]Xander[/name].
Spoiled name for me are [name]Beatrice[/name] nn [name]Bea[/name], [name]Lorelei[/name]/[name]Lorraine[/name] nn [name]Lora[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name] nn [name]Viv[/name], [name]Georgina[/name] nn [name]Gina[/name], [name]Raina[/name], [name]Stella[/name]. [name]Becca[/name] is more good girl [name]IMO[/name].
[name]Peter[/name] is fine for the last guy, similar ideas : [name]Bruno[/name], [name]Robert[/name] nn [name]Rob[/name], [name]Ryan[/name], [name]Dylan[/name].
GL!

8

See, but even [name]Missie[/name] to me isn’t really soft. I dunno, I have an odd opinion of most names. I think of [name]Lucy[/name] as soft and [name]Hazel[/name] as not, and I’ve been told that it’s the other way around.

And [name]Brandon[/name] is pretty nineties. But he’s kinda from the nineties. I tend to set all my realistic stories in the nineties (in my head) to avoid the complications that would naturally come with the internet and widespread use of cell phones by my characters. So anything popular now ([name]Ashton[/name], Rheese, [name]Xander[/name]) would seem off. Sorry, I overthink things… [name]Holden[/name] is cool, but too soft sounding–like the way it rolls off the tongue, it doesn’t have any of the sharp edges I see for the character.

I like [name]Bruno[/name]! And [name]Dylan[/name]. This is an odd character, because of his inconsistency and the fact that his parents didn’t name him. Maybe a name that means something? Like lost, or found, or maybe a personality trait. I’d look myself right now, but I’m late for school, ha. :slight_smile: