I was writing a short fictional story this morning and noticed I had difficulty choosing the names of the main characters. They names sounded made up (I mean they were, of course) and non-believable and then I wondered if this happened when Tom Clancy came up with the character “Jack Ryan” or when J.K. Rowling wrote the name “Ron Weasley” on a notebook.

I soon realized that every popular character probably started the same way with completely unfamiliar made up names that made no sense at first but soon became alive in the pages of their books.

We don’t choose the names of the people we meet, but we adapt to them quickly and associate their name with a face and their story.

My point is that it doesn’t matter if the names sound strange at first, the more the characters are developed, the more we know about them so their name gets meaning. It is important to overcome obstacles like these in the creative process, specially when we lack experience. Leave judgement aside and let your ideas flow, you’ll have time to review them later.