Thinking of Character Names Part 2...

Hello again :) Another tip for thinking of character names for you. :) Translators are another good way to go:

2. Use a Translator:

 

  Whilst not the best for long passages for French essays, just think of a trait for your character or part of their history and translate it to think of an unusual first name or unique last name. Like if a character is a copycat of everyone without their own thoughts, then translate something like 'Clone' into another language such as Italian or Danish.

   Take Professor Lupin from J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter'. Many of you may already know that 'Lupin' is derived from 'Lupus', the latin for wolf. This indicates his darker side on a full moon. Also, Voldemort literally translates to 'Flight of Death' in French and this murderous character lives up to his name. J.K. Rowling thinks up so many amazing names that fit her characters perfectly as well as creating the most wonderful, magical world of all time! (Can you tell I'm a Potterhead ;) )


   Another fun way I use a translator for is to create a hidden message behind the character through their full name.

   For example, take the main character from my story 'Everto'. Her name is 'Ena
Intenebris'. I used a name meaning website to find 'Ena', which means 'bright and shining', and then a translator to combine 'in ténebris', which means 'in the dark', to create 'Ena Intenebris' - 'Bright and shining in the dark.' This leads on to different possibilities in the rest of the plot and the all important prophecy. Most people might not notice this but it's fun to add a little back story to a name that only you know.

   However, with this way you run the risk of translating wrong, but it's not much of a problem if you gain an interesting name from it :) 

  Another part in this series of tips up and running :) I hope they've been useful but there's three more to come if you're looking for something else :)

~White Ravens~