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5 Ways to Find Inspiration for Character Names

January 23, 2022 No Comments

Character names are sometimes a point of contention from my readers. And also a subject that gives rise to a number of questions. Not least: where do they come from?

I often get picked up on my character names. Even before The Berylford Scandals were a thing and the 10-year-old me was writing stories about French vampires… And much as I have visited this subject in a previous post long ago, I thought it worth another look. Especially as people often ask me where I get these, often unusual and ‘complicated’, character names from. This post explores some of the places I’ve found inspiration, and where you can find it too.

FAMILY NAMES

This really ought to be a goes-without-saying go-to for all aspiring writers. I often think that an interest in one’s own family history and the stories there associated is an invaluable asset to authors. If you deal in stories set in real-life settings, and in the past, as I do, then having a knowledge of your roots and what your ancestors got up to can provide a wealth of inspiration. Not least in giving your characters realistic but no less memorable names. Some of the fan favourites (the loves and the love-to-hates) were named after ancestors of mine. The Whitlockes and the Warwicks, just to name a couple.

PLACES

I took a leaf out of the book of everyone’s (or… well… still some people’s) favourite witchcraft and wizardry writer for this one. J.K. Rowling borrowed a number of place names to assign as surnames for her characters in Harry Potter. Snape, Flitwick and Dursley are examples. And you don’t have to use the place name in its exact form either; just use it as a base from which to manipulate. The Lancashire town of Urmston got modified slightly when it came to creating Mrs Urmstone in the Berylford books; the same goes for Hathersage in the Peak District, which was reworked a bit to become Haffisidge.

As a side-piece of advice: don’t just look to villages and towns and other such locations. Even something as simple as road names is just as valuable for inspiration.

MANIPULATING OTHER NAMES

Off the back of that previous point, a number of names that I created had relatively commonplace, or at least less flavourful origins. Take Lady Vyrrington, my chief Berylford anti-heroine, for example. She began literary life with a name at which I can barely write without cringing — Lady Selina Goodsby — before I decided that was hardly becoming of such a character. It needed gravitas and memorability. I settled on the final surname far quicker, beginning with Barrington, a fairly commonplace “posh” surname. It just took a bit of letter play. Barrington became Berrington, then Berrington to Verrington, and finally Verrington to Vyrrington. It’s original, memorable, and, if people actually take the time to read it properly, not actually difficult to pronounce.

RESEARCHING REAL-LIFE FIGURES

The former three suggestions work perfectly fine when you’re writing a story set in your home country. There’s no language or culture barrier to fight against; you know that these names will belong with such characters. So, when it comes to my current work-in-progress, You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic, set in Germany, I have no such luxury. I have had to do a bit more research to ensure the correct style and flavour get captured. Where better to find genuine German names? By looking into real-life German people from the period. Names such as Upfauer (manipulated from Hupfauer), Verschuer, and Seyß came to me this way.

BE OBSERVANT

As should be the case with everything you do as a writer: pay attention to things and people around you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a full-time author or working an office job for 40 hours a week — inspiration for characters, events, stories… it’s everywhere. I keep a list of interesting and/or unusual names that I intend to use for future stories. For instance, just the other day at work, I came upon the name Argyrides. Something that I would never have dreamt up myself. But already I can envision it belonging to some antagonist… of Greek extraction… for a new story that may come to pass. And now that I have it, I’m damn well keeping it!

FINAL NOTES ON CHARACTER NAMES

Just a last bit of passing advice when it comes to naming your characters. Be mindful of period, style, flavour, and setting. This is where your all-important research skills will come in useful. Reading other works set in that time, with that setting, will give you more knowledge in terms of what names were fashionable at the time. Or the naming conventions observed by certain cultures. For example, you couldn’t have a story set in 19th Century Russia wherein the main character’s name was Alice. Alice becomes Alisa in Russian. Furthermore, the Russians observe a patronymic naming system, and so, at least at points during your story, for increased authenticity if nothing else, you or your characters would refer to Alisa as Alisa Mikhailovna (or whatever you choose to designate).

Like a lot of writing, it isn’t a simple matter of chucking any old shit on the page and thinking it works. There is so much more to it than that.

Got any other ideas? Let me know in the comments section. For more author news and views, my Facebook and Instagram pages are here. And drop a subscription to my YouTube channel to remain informed of the latest, plus some exclusives. Furthermore, my fortnightly podcast, The Dale Hurst Writing Show, is available to listen to here on Spotify.

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Reading time: 4 min
Written by: Dale Hurst
Blog Writer

Fantasy Writing: 5 Mythological Figures to Inspire Your Characters

August 5, 2021 No Comments

Our inaugural podcast episode explores ways to keep fantasy writing fresh. And one of the things we explored is drawing inspiration from ancient myths and legends. Here are a few that are a bit outside-the-box…

The first episode of The Dale Hurst Writing Show deals with keeping fantasy writing freshI once dabbled in a bit of fantasy writing. Never really got the knack for it, though. For one thing, I expect I was too young to understand the greater process of world building. The amount of history that goes into these things, as you see in Tolkien’s Middle Earth legendarium, or the world of George R. R. Martin… in short, it’s no small feat crafting a successful fantasy world.

As discussed in the first episode of The Dale Hurst Writing Show, when writing fantasy, we sometimes look to comparable works such as those of Tolkien and Martin, as well as maybe those of C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), and Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher). Other times, we draw from what we grow up learning about ancient cultures – gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters. In other words, figures featuring in myths and legends. 

I was a bit obsessed with this sort of thing when I was younger. And while, of course, I would read about the feats of Zeus, Poseidon, Odin, Thor, and Loki, I also remember some of the more obscure mythological figures I read about. So, when it comes to creating your own fantasy story, maybe you’d like to take inspiration from some of these characters, rather than the usual go-tos…

LOUHI (Finnish mythology)

The Witch of the North in Finnish folklore, and already an antagonist in some pre-existing fantasy series. All the same, Louhi, or a character inspired by her, could be quite a harrowing villainess. Some portrayals have her taking the full guise of an eagle or some other monstrous bird. Meanwhile others, including the first depiction I saw of her, showed a frightening-looking woman (white eyes, fanged teeth) with handmade wings and talons, the latter made from farmers’ scythes. If I were to head back into the realms of fantasy writing, Louhi would have to be in there in one form or another.

RAVANA (Hindu legend)

The Ramayana is possibly one of the earliest legends I ever remember hearing. We were taught about it in school when I was either five or six years-old. It’s the tale of Rama and Sita, but it also features one of the most memorable villains ever, in the form of Ravana. A demon king with ten heads and 20 arms. Hindu tradition already regards him as a symbol of evil, so why not inject a bit of him into your next dark lord?

BABA YAGA (Russian mythology)

One of my main guilty pleasures is the film Anastasia; in part for its music, in part on account of my obsession with Russian imperial history. This film produced a direct-to-video spin-off called Bartok the Magnificent, an antagonist of which was Baba Yaga, who is actually a prominent figure in Russian folklore. A child-snatching witch who lives in a house mounted on chicken’s legs, and who travels the Russian skies in a flying mortar and pestle. In Bartok, her portrayal was relatively light-hearted compared to what it could have been. Maybe you could push her to the other extreme in your fantasy villainess.

ACALA (Buddhism, particularly Japanese Buddhism)

You could include a character based of Acala based on his depictions alone. This is one scary and angry looking guy. Bulging white eyes, fanged teeth, a sword in one hand and a noose in the other. Acala is what is described as a wrathful deity; in some cases, he is the wrathful manifestation of the buddha Vairocana. Either way, he gives plenty with which to inspire up-and-coming fantasy writers.

ANANSI (African mythology)

The trickster spider Anansi gets a passing mention in the podcast episode. He is a god in African and Caribbean mythology, who knows all the stories in the world. As such, he is attached to a great many myths, stories and parables. He is the only entry on this list that does not specifically fill an antagonistic role. Anansi typically uses cunning and creativity to outsmart his opponents. With that in mind, he could always serve in a similar capacity to the MCU’s Loki. Or a would-be fantasy author might push Anansi one step further and make him 100% evil, who plays tricks purely out of sadism.

Any more weird and wonderful mythical or legendary figures you think would inspire decent characters, whether hero or villain? Why not let me know in the comments? For more author news and views, my Facebook and Instagram pages are here.

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Written by: Dale Hurst
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The Berylford Scandals (1. Lust & Liberty, 2. Sin & Secrecy) 📚
Podcaster | The Dale Hurst Writing Show🎙️

Dale Hurst | Author
While it's too drizzly to enjoy a Sunday on the Bo While it's too drizzly to enjoy a Sunday on the Boulevard down here in Bournemouth at the moment, I've instead reflected on my most recently published piece 'Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster' and chucked it all in a new post on my website. Have a read if you want to find out more about what inspired this bizarre little tale (#linkincomments)🦞🚬🏖️📖📚✍️🖊️
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And with that, he was 30... 🥳 I was going to do And with that, he was 30... 🥳
I was going to do a huge carousel post with some of my favourite photos taken across my 20s. But having done two degrees, practised and retired from journalism, independently published two novels, hosted two podcasts, and met countless amazing people in that time... to sum that all up in 10 photos would be impossible 😆 so... more of the same in the next 10 years? Why not? 🤣😱🧐 In the meantime me and my MVPs right here 
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2022 was a funny old year... new job, new home, pu 2022 was a funny old year... new job, new home, published something new, lost someone dear, and saw two of my oldest and best friends get married... Not sure about you but I'm a bit knackered 😆 anyway, Happy New Year everyone 😘🧐
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The listener favourites of Season 2 of #thedalehur The listener favourites of Season 2 of #thedalehurstwritingshow have been totalled up. The following episodes are evidently NOT to be missed!
▪️The most-listened episode of Season 2 was our spooky special Episode 17, featuring author @alex_colvin_ 
▪️Second-most was Episode 12, featuring crime novelist @jasonrvowles 
▪️Third was Episode 19, which featured actor and playwright @conor_jquinn and director @tazy_hm 
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2022 has been eventful to say the least... I won't 2022 has been eventful to say the least... I won't go into the personal stuff, but my latest blog post - link in comments - sums up my professional updates for the year (in case you missed them 😉) 📚
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To all friends and family, personal and profession To all friends and family, personal and professional, domestic and international, I wish a wondrous Christmas 🎄🥰🎄 
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I'll say thank you again to everyone who guested a I'll say thank you again to everyone who guested and listened to Season 2 of The Dale Hurst Writing Show. If you haven't caught it yet, it's on Spotify and Google Podcasts. Swipe 👈👈👈 for a snippet of each episode 😉😉😉 📚🎙️
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Get your 2023 reads started the right way - with t Get your 2023 reads started the right way - with tales of deceit, betrayal, secrets and forbidden love... Not in your personal lives of course (unless that's what you're into), but with my Berylford Scandals books. Both available on Amazon now at slashed prices! Order via my DMs and I might sign them too 📚📝📘📙
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Dale Hurst

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Recent Posts

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