I’m in the planning stages of a novel at the moment. Whether it’ll ever become a reality is another question, but I’m putting a lot of groundwork in to make sure that I feel confident later down the line. Anyway…
I was looking to character names and found a good site for explaining the meaning of names, but I was really tickled by the random name generator. Almost every suggestion sounds incredibly cool and interesting. I bet that people could overcome writer’s block just by picking a random name then working out what kind of person would have it. Fantastic fun, and a great mental agility game to play when you’ve got a spare moment.
Who is Nicostratus Terrius? Or Wakefield Layton?
Ah, yes. But what if you use the generator to generate a name, Geoffrey Zarek (as I just did) and then you develop a character based upon that name. Who is the creator of the name: you or the author of the generator program? Could you be sued? Could you look at yourself in the mirror after some 16 year old kid has you sign his copy of your first novel … “your character Zarek was so awesome!”
I prefer the America game of porn star name: the first name is the name of your first pet and the last name is the name of the street you lived on at the time (George Layton does sound like a porn star). Or what about anagrams of your own name? –signed, Ian Lawlis-Moth