How do fantasy authors find names for their characters and places. Feb 01, 2018 this week, for all you hardworking writers out there, ive created a master list of fantasy names. Before i started writing the waking fire, i wrote out a long list of names because i didnt want to come to a grinding halt in the midst of writing while trying to dream up a new character name. I may use their last name as a first for a character. We hope to make things easier by giving you the opportunity to craft an immense number of convincing potential characters with whom to populate your stories. Find inspiration as you outline your story, profile compelling characters, and plot story arcs and individual scenes. Think creepypasta and stories you may have heard or told your friends around a campfire or during a sleepover. Names for fantasy characters are always tricky, you have to produce.
I started this book 5 years ago, when i kept writing books just because i liked the name xd since then, i have helped multiple users and it has turned into something more than just a book names ideas book. I wish i was writting a magical story right now so that i could use one of those unusual names. Were providing that push in the form of this buzzle post. The easy way to name fantasyscifi characters samantha allaker. So the single best way to intrigue readers is to give them characters they cant forget. Dont write a fantasy novel before reading these 8 tips. Five books on writing fantasy, compared mythcreants. If youre writing a historical fiction novel, for example, make sure your characters names are appropriate for the time period in which your book is set. Writing the book might seem like the most difficult partand then you have to actually title the darn thing when it comes to writing a book, coming up with reasonable book title ideas is surprisingly one of the hardest parts to complete. Dec 16, 2018 naming your characters is equally as fun as it is frustrating especially for those of us writing fantasyscifi characters. Jun 09, 2017 what sort of fantasy world is your story set in.
Not only do they define a character, but they sound otherworldly and yet believable. From chinese to viking and from dragon to werewolf, i have a fantasy name generator for all your needs. How to create outofthisworld novels and short stories card, orson scott, athans, philip, lake, jay on. Sort using filters such as language, gender, and fantasy and even discover the meaning behind your favorites. Top 10 book ideas for a bestselling novel the write practice. Name inspiration writing inspiration character inspiration book writing tips writing prompts writing ideas story prompts writing help fantasy names rare and unusual girl names the black siblingscousinsaunt name meanings. You will add to the mental association in readers minds if your names echo the setting you want to convey. In conclusion, naming your books and chapters shouldnt be taken lightly.
Of course these lists are flexible names can often be used either way looking for more help with character development. I see a lot of people on social media asking about naming characters, fantasy characters in particular. Martin, james dashner, brandon sanderson, and many more of the brilliant authors who are redefining the genre. Fed up of staring at a blank page and trying to find the right name for a character. How to write a fantasy novel a research guide for students.
Character name generator the ultimate bank of 2,000,000. Think about the basic ideas of your fantasy world, and then imagine that people worked on making these ideas and harnessing the magical energies better for a couple of hundred years. And if you want more inspiration, please check out my book 5,000 writing prompts. Feel free to use or change any of these for any of your works. Many of these fiction writing prompts can be used for subgenres of fantasy, such as paranormal romance, urban fantasy. If youre ready to take the plunge and finally start writing a book like youve always talked about, we can help you get started. Could anyone give me some ideas for a fantasy novel. Here are some of our other favorite mentor name generators on the web. For example, you can talk about what the plants and animals in your fantasy world look like. Creating character names fantasy, scifi, dystopian. You can spend hours, days, weeks, or months developing character ideas.
The hardest thing sometimes for us to create, isnt great characters, plot ideas, or shocking twists. We have a series of different character name generators that produce personality descriptions and names from different countries. If youre like me, you dont just want to write a book. Reading this book by the tems who have between them won the world fantasy award, the british fantasy award, and the bram stoker award is like having a lingering lunch with two brilliant writers eager to help you get your own ideas onto the page. Jan 20, 2017 one of my favorite authors, patrick rothfuss, once said something that really resonated with me.
The genre of fantasy writing has so much scope to explore creative freedom and cultivate out of the box ideas. A counterfeiters coins or a forgers fake works of art have magical properties. Tolkien in the world or anyone who wants a more fantastical name. Great head to this post, which is all about naming a character. Markus zusaks popular 2005 novel the book thief, about the power of writing and reading under an oppressive regime. Could your fantasy world have unique technology instead of being stuck in its dark ages. Would you like tips for choosing character names for your story. How to create outofthisworld novels and short stories. Euna, the last large stronghold of the continents populace. It will likely not quite fit what you want to or a good at writing about as well.
Oct 05, 2019 how to create a unique magic system for your book. Read our interview with nicole peeler on fantasy writing. Get started writing your book today with these book ideas. Head to a baby name website and search for names by gender, popularity, and alphabet. For the second example, love is a fourletter word could be the title of the book, or maybe its a quote from a character, or the meaning revealed at the end of the book. You can use these story ideas and prompts for all types of creative works, whether it be a novel, screen play or other fictional short stories. See more questionnaires for writing character profiles. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. To write a credible fantasy story, try to be as descriptive as possible when youre writing about the setting of your story so it feels like a real world to your readers. When youre fresh out of good character writing ideas, try taking your characters out of the story altogether. Get access to the free course here my favorite book title generators.
Unique last name ideas for fictional characters of your book. If character names arent coming easily, try one of these tips to kickstart your. Especially when writing a novel or a series of stories, coming up with a fitting name for each member of your cast can be surprisingly difficult and time consuming. This name generator will give you 10 random book titles for one of 10 genres based on your choice. The names of protagonists and antagonists will feature heavily in your books so avoiding. Avoid the pitfalls of muddled fantasy book writing and plan ahead.
Jan 24, 2019 book ideas derived from historical events are everywhere. Com character chart for fiction writers by kira lerner and toni walker. Writers resources character name listsfind names for your characters. Of the many books on writing, almost all are for a mainstream audience. Plus, there are some special considerations in spec fic, such as power balance and. Learn how to write a book with a comprehensive suite of writing tools. If you want to write a fantasy story with norse gods, sentient robots, and telepathic dinosaurs, you can do just that. A master list of fantasy character names and places barely hare. May 20, 2019 to write a credible fantasy story, try to be as descriptive as possible when youre writing about the setting of your story so it feels like a real world to your readers.
Something to keep in mind is that creative writing is largely driven by voice, style, characters, and your plot. Coming up with a great name for your characters is one of the hardest tasks youll ever complete as a fiction writer. Might help when coming up with cute fairy or goblin names in fantasy writing. If youre also interested in writing scifi, check out the companion list of 50 plot ideas and writing prompts for science fiction. Sep 27, 2016 this feature is not available right now. That writers digest published the book was the major selling point for me, and they definitely didnt disappoint. The weight of that responsibility can often paralyze writers.
Many top fantasy novels were only able to convince readers because they had unique and creative ideas. Having trouble naming the characters in your fantasy or scifi novel. Jul 03, 2017 before i started writing the waking fire, i wrote out a long list of names because i didnt want to come to a grinding halt in the midst of writing while trying to dream up a new character name. I cant being to even calulate the aspects of fantasy writing that i. What are some cool names for a fantasy book character. Oh by the way, another name i thought you might like on your list. Dont write a fantasy novel before reading these 8 tips bookfox. What follows is a simple way to generate good quality ideas that work for you. Real historical events are fodder for more than a book idea. Choosing a character name for your novel is as pressurefilled as. Check out the video below to see my favorite book name generators in action and how i a nonfiction title generator can work surprisingly well as a novel title generator.
You want to write a really great book, hopefully a book that will be published and maybe even become a bestseller. One of the issues you have here is a lack of story ideas. Plenty of fantasy books have some sort of prophecy revolving around a reluctant hero who appears to be no one and their journey of saving the world. And if thats not enough, generate your own with the idea engine, or peruse these lists of scene ideas, flash fiction prompts, and writing prompts.
Big questions, but lets see what we can do to help. Readers and writers often sing the praises of characterdriven fiction. A fantasy name generator for every fantasy character. One approach for fantasy writers is to generate names using a foreign or ancient language root, e. This generator offers several different options for themebased character names for your fantasy book. Aug 28, 2012 in fantasy writing, the power of the name provides insights into the character and their civilization. If youd like to ascend into legend alongside characters like azazel, bilbo, and daenerys, this fantasy name generator is for you. The easy way to name fantasyscifi characters samantha. For the next few weeks, ill be delighted to share short story ideas with you, and you have my full permission and encouragement to use them as you will. If youre writing a fantasy novel with fairies, use this fairy name generator on your characters. Whenever i get new name ideas, i will incorporate them into the already existing list. Anthony ryan on naming fantasy charactersand making sure. Best books on writing and editing scifi, fantasy, paranormal, and dystopian fiction are you an author or editor of scifi, fantasy, paranormal, or dystopian fiction. Ever feel that books such as harry potter have taken all the good magic setups in books.
Name generator for fun with this one, you can choose from several categories, like villain names, rap names, superhero names, and more. In our search for the finest writing tips in the realm, we spoke to seven of the top fantasy editors on our marketplace. Fantasy name generator are you writing a fantasy novel and need some character name ideas. Brainstorm great story ideas and create full story outlines in your private dashboard. Aug 28, 2019 6 creative ways to name your fictional characters. The simple automated character name generator below will help in your search for interesting and unique character names, male or female. Writing a realist novel set in a familiar city is a challenge itself.
A couple of clicks, and you may come away with a completely new and interesting name. Its difficult because titles are essentially short hooks that advertise your book using the fewest words possible. In the great high fantasy novels, characters surprise not only each other but themselves too. The easy way to name fantasy scifi characters posted on december 16, 2018 leave a comment samanthaallaker naming your characters is equally as fun as it is frustrating especially for those of us writing fantasy scifi characters. Kira is the editor of the epiguide web entertainment community and writerproducer of about schuyler falls. See more ideas about fantasy names, names and names with meaning.
You want them to be unique, special and cool but still pronounceable. Have you struggled to imagine a suitable name for your story or novel character. You probably dont want to use a new, modern name if youre writing a novel that takes place in the year 1750. Writing advice writing resources writing help writing a book writing ideas book names kid names names. And how can you take your existing ideas and make them better. Like all of our writing prompts, these fantasy fiction prompts and plot ideas are varied on a number of different subjects that can fit into the fantasy genre. Please add your favorite resources that are specific to the craft of writing and editing these genres. For people who need names for characters in stories, books, and anything else. Some examples are aragorn the lord of the rings, harry potter harry potter, aidan the door within, eragon the inheritance cycle, and many, many others. We know theyre going to work for you, because the ideas come from you. Generator short story ideas writing contests writing exercises writing scholarships.
If you have any other names that you would like to add to the l. Horror these book titles were created with ghost stories in mind. Knowing how to write a fantasy novel requires you to explore creative ideas. What ive learned over the last eight years teaching writers is that the first step to writing a great book is to develop a really great book. When researching names for my current series, i researched ancient celtic names. My list of mythical creatures and beings might also be a good fantasy plot generator.
A master list of fantasy character names and places barely. Fantasy is a huge niche and one with plenty of fanatical fans. But when that fails, writers need a subtle creative push to find a name that actually fits the characters. Instead of stoking a fantasy writers enthusiasm, they can kill it with example after example featuring the humdrum lives of harry and sally. Writing a fantasy novel useful resources creative writing tips book writing tips writing process writing resources writing help writing checklist writing ideas writing fantasy fantasy fiction writing a fantasy novel means paying attention to common elements of the fantasy genre, worldbuilding and more. Writing a fantasy novel useful resources writing a. If you havent turned to a fantasy name generator to find a name for a major or secondary character in your work, then im not sure you can actually call yourself a fantasy. Jul 09, 2019 fantasy name generator are you writing a fantasy novel and need some character name ideas. In fantasy writing, the power of the name provides insights into the character and their civilization. Novice writers have a tendency to think of plot and character as two separate. Although researching what other authors have done right can help, the reason these books were successful is because they were innovative. Story ideas 100 story prompts to spark your imagination.
If we give you an idea then you have one and can write that. Despite the thousands of types of magic in books, its still possible to make a brand new magic. Long before books came into existence, men and women relied on their ancient. It has 100 more fantasy writing prompts in addition to the ones on this list, plus hundreds of other master plots by genre, dialogue and character prompts, and much more. Flipping through phone books is the easiest way to coin innovative and unique names for fictional characters.
These fantasy writing prompts and plot ideas can be used as inspiration to write your next epic tale. Writing a novel is not like taking a scantron test. Nov 15, 2018 but the stories that resonate most feature vivid, dynamic characters. How do novelists name characters, places, the book title, etc that makes it so attracting. Discover the right one with this ultimate name generator. Of course, the list of quirks is the easy part, because theyre just character ideas, and ideas are a dime a dozen. By doing that, i got loads of ideas for unusual names that didnt sound fake. This week, for all you hardworking writers out there, ive created a master list of fantasy names. Its hard to write a guide to a whole genre, especially one as vast and as intricate as fantasy, but as a zealot of all things fantastical, its something i want to tackle. Its a brilliant genre to write in and today, ben galley, fantasy author and selfpublishing expert, discusses the main aspects. Write down your storys themes and then head to a name generator. The whole point of writing a fantasy novel is to feed on creative energy, so never be afraid to explore something new. These online tools can do more than just randomly offer character names. This article will describe several different fantasy name generators to help in your fiction writing and gaming scenarios.
Or if you think that generators are fun and all but that youd rather create your own mentor name. Writing an epic high fantasy that sprawls across imaginary continents and peoples is a mammoth undertaking. If you want to actually finish writing your book idea, dont make the mistake of trying to do it all on your own. Literally, the full list is more than 10 times as big. These elements make the titles different from the adventure titles, but these 2 genres share quite a few other elements. Discover the right one with this ultimate random name generator. Some examples are aragorn the lord of the rings, harry potter harry potter, aidan the door within. Creating fantasy characters writing character profiles. Many of these fiction writing prompts can be used for subgenres of fantasy, such as paranormal romance, urban fantasy, magic realism and more. A neglected god or goddess attempts to reclaim his or her former glory.
Oct 21, 2019 about the writers character generator. Put yourself in your audiences shoes as they pick up your book for the first time. The names are separated into different categories, but theyre all pretty straight forward. Your character names need to fit into the fascinating, magical and mystifying world that you have created. Once a continent of magnificence, opulence, and adventure, a slow decay has taken root. They can create character names under a variety of different parameters. Fantasy these book titles have a lot of fantasy related elements, like fantasy creatures and magic. If writing a series or saga and the characters in following books show up in book one, you dont have to worry about coming up with the main characters names. The 7 rules of picking names for fictional characters. One of my favorite authors, patrick rothfuss, once said something that really resonated with me.
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