Is it just me or do you have trouble finding good resources online for us regular folks? I mean if I walked around with a puzzled confused look on my face and thought it was a great idea to name my daughter Apple or my son Tarragon I might look for names online. Of course maybe they just got their baby name list and grocery needs mixed up and that is how that happened, I’m not quite sure. But if I am looking for names for a particular character in a story I’m writing and he is a middle age guy who doesn’t sound like a Rabi or Priest even though he might have a penchant for giving advise. Again I am thinking these pregnant ladies have gotten their lists confused.
Where does one look?
Luckily, I have some very old name books from the old days when people named their kids regular ol’ names instead of sitting under a tree waiting for a piece of fruit to give them inspiration. Yes, I know how old fashioned it is to actually turn pages in a book for knowledge but what is a person to do when most everything on line seems geared to the younger generation some of which have obviously taken leave of their senses?
If I were writing a fantasy novel it would be no problem because there are tons of fantastical sounding names that are in my opinion out of this world. Some people go to cemeteries for inspiration but that seems so depressing to me. You could recall names of some of your relatives but my family were kind of creative at times and I am pretty sure some of those names were made up. Perhaps that is a trend that goes in cycles every few decades or so. They tire of the plain ol’ Tom, Dick and Harry and decide on Justice, Peace and Tranquility. While those are fine attributes to strive for I don’t think they are a good choice for junior.
The reason for my dilemma is that I had a dream for a good novel and have decided to do NaNo again this year. Maybe this time I can actually finish. I realize I can’t start now but need to write up a synopsis while it is still fresh in my mind. I wanted to go ahead and give my characters names just so I can tell them apart even though it may change later. I’m kind of fickle that way. The first year I was successful but last year I became stuck and after starting two different story ideas, neither time did I come close to the required word count.
Monday morning I woke at four a.m. with this idea and could not go back to sleep. If it keeps me awake maybe it will do the same for a reader. One can only hope.
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