Finding plausible names for your characters and settings can be tricky for fantasy and science fiction authors, but Alex Davis helps you get it on track
There’s no doubt that getting your names right is important for any kind of story – literary, western, romance, comedy – we’ve all been there, settling for any old thing at first before getting just the right moniker later on. The characters in any story can be defined by their names, especially in the mind of the author, and there is some sort of intangible quality that reassures us those names are right for the people inhabiting the story. On top of that, a great character name can help to make something truly iconic – literary history is riddled with names that are immediately recognisable. Would Harry Potter, Bridget Jones, Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein or Tarzan have enjoyed the same success with a different name? It’s hard to know, but sometimes that honorific can just help things stick.