Writer's Block-Have the Story, Not the Names

Writers' Corner
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[name]Hi[/name]! I’ve had this story in my head for quite a while, and the thing is, I’m having trouble thinking of names for the characters, which makes it rather difficult to write. It takes place in the American Midwest, present day, give or take five years.

Girl-I picture her with long blond hair and blue eyes. She’s very magnetic, and, a little bit promiscuous… I would like her to have a unique name. I was thinking of maybe [name]Noa[/name], [name]Ayla[/name], [name]Jemima[/name], or [name]Mora[/name]. Can’t quite decide.

Boy 1- the jock, handsome, but aggressive. I was thinking Hawkins…

Boy 2-The narrator. Sensitive and observant. Is [name]John[/name] to ordinary? [name]Ezra[/name] to stereotypical for the sensitive boy?

Boy 3-Charismatic, funny, trusting, overconfident. I was thinking of [name]Eric[/name], [name]Dylan[/name], [name]Ian[/name], or even [name]Alexis[/name], since it was a common name for boys in the nineties.

The most important thing to me is that they sound like realistic character names. It bugs me when I’m reading a book, and all the names of the characters are unpronounceable, or sound too similar or out there. I’m open to any suggestions, regarding first or last. Thank you!

2

Girl 1: I like [name]Ayla[/name]. Other suggestions would be [name]Lila[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], [name]Felicity[/name], [name]India[/name], [name]Honor[/name], [name]Lorelei[/name], [name]Luna[/name], [name]Seraphina[/name], [name]Lark[/name], [name]Ever[/name], [name]Mila[/name], [name]Gwen[/name], [name]Juliet[/name], [name]Sora[/name], [name]Skye[/name], [name]Marlowe[/name], [name]Margot[/name], [name]Arden[/name], [name]Calista[/name]…

Boy 1: To me Hawkins sounds like a nerds name. Some names that come to mind for your description are Teigue, [name]Dominic[/name], [name]Sawyer[/name], [name]Hunter[/name], [name]Wilder[/name], [name]Tristan[/name], [name]Carter[/name], [name]Jackson[/name], [name]Cain[/name], [name]Austin[/name], [name]Dylan[/name], [name]Connor[/name]…

Boy 2: I like [name]John[/name]. I actually think its kind of refreshing. [name]Ezra[/name] has always sounded harsh to me but maybe that’s just me. Other suggestions: [name]Noah[/name], [name]Seth[/name], [name]Johnathan[/name], [name]Nate[/name], [name]Benjamin[/name], [name]Sam[/name], [name]Elliott[/name], [name]Emmett[/name], [name]Asher[/name], [name]Liam[/name], [name]James[/name] all sound like nice guy names to me.

Boy 3: When I picture a funny guy I think of: [name]Alec[/name], [name]Finn[/name], [name]Jack[/name], [name]Michael[/name] “[name]Mike[/name]”, [name]Jamie[/name], [name]Lucas[/name], [name]Wyatt[/name], [name]Owen[/name], [name]Oliver[/name]

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Girl 1: I think [name]Aviva[/name] would work. I like violetgray’s suggestions of [name]Honor[/name], [name]Lorelei[/name] and [name]Seraphina[/name].

Boy 1: Could he go by his last name? Hawkins sounds like a cool football player’s last name. I also like just [name]Hawk[/name]. [name]How[/name] about [name]Asher[/name], [name]Anderson[/name], [name]Hunt[/name], or [name]Wyatt[/name]?

Boy 2: I like both [name]John[/name] and [name]Ezra[/name], [name]Ezra[/name] getting my vote. I like violetgray’s suggestions of [name]Seth[/name], [name]Elliott[/name] and [name]James[/name] and would add [name]Nathaniel[/name], [name]Nolan[/name] and [name]Xavier[/name].

Boy 3: I really like [name]Ian[/name]! I picture the “class clown” and they always seem to go by their last name…So how about [name]Murray[/name], [name]Stewart[/name]/[name]Stuart[/name] “Stewie/Stuie”, [name]Jackson[/name], [name]Spencer[/name], [name]Howard[/name] “[name]Howie[/name]”, or [name]Bryce[/name]?

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Thanks you for all the suggestions! I’ve always liked the idea of using surnames from previous generations as a first name, I think it just adds an element of history to the character, and, I think whether or not Boy 1’s first or last name is Hawkins, he will definitely be called [name]Hawk[/name]. For the girl, I also like [name]Felicity[/name], [name]Lark[/name] (definitely too much with [name]Hawk[/name] though), and [name]Sora[/name]. For the other boy 2, I like [name]Noah[/name], [name]Liam[/name], and [name]Nathaniel[/name], and for Boy 3 I like [name]Finn[/name], [name]Wyatt[/name], and Stewie.