Getting The Right Name

When you look at African American books, do you think about the names that you're reading? One thing that any casual reader will completely disregard are names. They may stop for a moment and comment to themselves over how they like this name or that, but they don't tend to think about how a name relates to a character. The truth is that names are extremely important. Misnaming your character means that they fall immediately in someone's mind into the wrong category, which is why authors can spend hours just trying to get the right name to fit their character.

How can a name be very detrimental for your characters when you're writing African American Kindle books? Let's say you're writing a tale about a great hero. This hero is someone who is more likely to get out his gun and to start blazing away than to be someone who gets on a computer to research things. You then decide that you're going to name your hero Simon. A hero by the name of Simon? When you think of the name Simon, most people will pull up an image of a nerdy man in their heads, not someone who generally grabs a gun and starts shooting at their enemy. If you name the character something like Jackson, however, they're much more likely to think of the hero as being manly and everything that a hero should be.

Getting the Name

You're working on your African American Kindle books and you're trying to think of names, but you're stumped. How do you get great names for your characters? The first thing you need to know is what type of character you're working with. Write an outline of his or her traits. Write what's very important to them, and what type of thing they'd do if they were to go out on a date with someone else. None of this stuff may come up in your story, but it's vital to help you to get the right name. Then, once you've got a list of things, start thinking of people that you know that fit that personality type. Or, if you'd rather not use friends names in your African American books, you can head to one of the many websites online that list babies names. Peruse through them and you'll find one that fits your character to a tee.

By: shirlee23sh

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Conrad Washington is a seasoned writer and reads all types of African American books. When he is ready for his next novel he turns to African American Kindle books.