I finally stopped using the same five character names after a beta reader said they all sounded like 'generic fantasy RPG shopkeepers'

Now I pull random names from a local phone book I found at a thrift store, and it adds a weirdly real texture. Anyone else have a weird trick for naming characters that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_roberts5d ago

Phone book method is genius, honestly. My old trick was using the credits from 80s movies, but that just got me a lot of guys named Skip and Chip.

veramiller5d ago

Yeah @joseph_roberts, the phone book thing is solid. I used to pull names from old yearbooks, but then I'd end up with a bunch of characters named like, Biff or Muffy. Not exactly subtle.