Discussion: What's Your Name?

Hello, there. I've just finished doing like a gazillion writing assignments (well, two, but still) and studying for CLEP exam and stressing. I stress a lot about school.

I also have a headache. Ews.

But I have come. More specifically, I've come to hit you with a few things you should definitely never ever have in your character names and then go to collapse in bed and nurse my wounds.

Note: 1. SQUEE. Minho. 2. I had to verify that I in fact wasn't
hallucinating and this was Minho with my sister. I'm tired.
I also have a headache (refer to above GIF). I am justified.

*drumroll* Behold my fabulous knowing.

my list of 5 things to never dishonor your character's name with

1. Last names are not a thing. I'm already bad at remembering names. In no situation do I also want to have to remember last names, especially if they're necessary to identifying the person. It is frustrating. And honestly, it's as frustrating reading such a long name as it is saying it out loud. If you must put your main character's last name in, that's okay. That's totally fine. But no more. *scary condemning face*

2. Please no long names with unpronounceable-ness. As I said, person who has no ability to remember names right here. I can forget the name of someone I just met in like five seconds. That has to be a record (an embarrassing one but still). Long names with Russian letter combinations or German or basically just long names with confusing letter combinations. If I can't pronounce them in my head, it's more likely that I'll forget their name as soon as I finish your book. I bet you want me to remember your character's name dontcha. *wiggles eyebrows*

3. Multiple characters whose names start with the same sound or letter. So, who do we have? James, John, and Jared. Let me crawl over to my corner and scream. This is so confusing to my poor brain. How do I process this? I won't, I'll get the names confused, and I'll never find out who actually did the thing that matters in the book. Bummer.

4. Weird nicknames. Personally, I love weird and fantastical names. So why is this on my list? Because no one should be nicknamed Pink or Shaggy or you know. I'm actually making all these up because I'm blanking out on all real-life book examples. But I know I've read some really weird, out-there ones.

5. Be adventurous with your name choices. Everybody has read about a Samantha, an Ellie, or a Jessica. You want your character to stand out and be memorable. As long as you don't violate rules #1 and #2, that's something you should aim for.


Hope you liked my little discussion! Are there any things you can't stand in character names? Or are you chill with everything? (Come on now, you're lying.) Comment away. :D