LOLOL I'M HOSHI TWILA HIKARU III.

Today we will talk about naming your characters.

Here's the rule: Use REAL NAMES.
Damn.

I’m especially looking at you, anime community! I’m tired of your Hoshis and Sakuras and Soras and Sakuras.
I know I said Sakura twice. I just see it THAT MUCH.
Those names are lame-ass. Would you go naming your character Star? Cherry Blossom? Sky?
… well, actually, you probably would. BECAUSE I SEE LOTS OF THAT TOO.
God, I’m sick of it.

Furthermore, stop with the Japanese names altogether. The exception to this, of course, is for anime fanfiction, since obviously there’s a good chance that your story will take place in Japan. But I’m sick of seeing Sakuras in Invader Zim, or Hoshis in Danny Phantom. It’s so out of place I can’t even… ugh… guys why do I even have to tell you this?!
And names like “Twila” and “Star” and shit like that is stupid too.
Like I said before. Use real names.

You don’t have to use boring everyday names, but please use real names. You want the name to mean something, fine. Go to Google. Type in “Baby name lists” or something to that effect. There are lots of sites out there to help potential mothers name their babies.
Your characters are your brain babies, so guess what? Baby name websites are your best friend.
With them, you can look up names by meaning, language of origin, initial letter, what have you! There are thousands of names to choose from, names from all over the world. Take the time to find some nice-sounding, meaningful names. Write down a list of names you like. Think about it for a while. Come up with something that not only suits your character, but sounds like a name that a mother might reasonably name their child.

I assure you, a good name will make your character not only more believable, but also more memorable to your readers. So please put a little more thought into it.



(A bit unrelated, but still has to do with names: if you’re going to follow the Invader Zim three-letter-name pattern and you see another character with the same name as yours, don’t accuse the author of name theft. There are only so many pronounceable three-letter combinations out there and coincidences do happen.)