By any other name

Setting out to find and name characters for your story can be like traveling on a bus and watching other passengers climb on board: They come with a coat or sweater, a light purse or luggage, heavy boots or flip-flops. Some chatter loudly, others are stone silent, and you have to listen for what’s in their hearts. If you’re lucky, they’ve got their ID on them and save you the trouble of finding a name. But more often, you’re left with the challenge. Let’s look at how you might approach it.

Finding and choosing and changing your mind

The go-to search method now is probably the internet. In the olden days, it worked to ask people to pick up name books when they were traveling to other countries. I ended up