#amwritingfantasy

Listen up fellow writers! aggressively slides into your dashboard with chai in hand Let's talk about one of the most CHAOTIC yet FUN parts of writing - naming your precious book babies!

👀 First things first - throw out everything you know about "normal" naming conventions because honey, we're going WILD today!

Here's the tea: Your character's name is literally their FIRST impression on the page. It's their brand™️, their essence, their whole vibe condensed into a few syllables. And in fantasy? The rules? We don't know her.

🔮 Non-Basic Methods for Name Creation:

The Vibes-Based Approach

Close your eyes and picture your character

What color are they giving off?

What texture?

Now translate that into sounds

Example: A character who feels like liquid silver might be named Sylthra or Mercurine

2. The Meaning Mashup Method

Take 2-3 words that represent your character

Break them apart

Frankenstein them back together

Example: Brave (Fortis) + Storm (Tempest) = Fortempest

3. The Aesthetic Alchemy Instead of just picking random syllables, think about:

How does the name look on the page?

Does it have strong consonants or flowing vowels?

Would it look good written in blood on a magical contract? (IMPORTANT)

🌙 Pro Tips That Nobody Talks About:

Test Drive Your Names

Write them in different fonts

Yell them dramatically

Whisper them mysterously

If you can't dramatically whisper "Lord Xylophone the Terrible" without giggling, maybe reconsider

2. The Name Evolution Game Your character's name should have:

A formal version

A nickname

What their enemies call them

What their mom yells when they're in trouble Example: Theodora → Thea → The Midnight Witch → THEODORA BLACKTHORN GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT

3. Cultural Consideration (but make it fantasy)

Create naming patterns for different regions/species

Maybe elves use lots of 'ae' and 'th' sounds

Perhaps dragon-folk names always start with a hiss

Desert dwellers might have names that sound like wind through sand

🔥 Advanced Name-Crafting Techniques:

The Emotional Echo Method

Write down the key emotion of your character

Find its opposite

Create a name that somehow bridges both Example: A character who's both gentle and fierce → Lysander (means "liberator" but sounds soft)

The Musical Approach

Names have rhythm

They have melody

Try singing your character names

If it sounds like a spell, EVEN BETTER

💫 Remember:

Names can be weapons (looking at you, True Name magic systems)

They can be prophecies

They can be curses

They can be LIES

🚫 What to Avoid (but like, in a non-basic way):

Names that look like you headbutted your keyboard

Names so complex your readers need a pronunciation guide every 2 pages

Names that are just regular names with random 'y's thrown in (looking at you, Kathryn → Kathyryn → Kathyyryn)

✨ Final Thoughts: Your character's name is a spell you're casting on your readers. Make it memorable. Make it meaningful. Make it YOURS.

And remember, if all else fails, you can always name them after what they had for breakfast. (Looking at you, Toast the Dragonslayer 👀)

sips chai aggressively

That's all for today's chaotic naming advice! Drop a 🌟 if you're gonna rename all your characters now! - Rin T.

[Note: Feel free to reblog and add your own chaotic naming methods! Let's build this resource together!]

…but when you read it later, something just feels off?

Sometimes it’s not a big problem. Just a line that needs softening, a reaction that feels a bit too quick, or a moment that needs more space.

Most writers go through this.

Here, the stories lean dark — but the fire never really goes out. We walk the edge of old forests and ruined halls with muddy boots, where the air tastes of rain on stone, ritual herbs, and candle smoke.

I write character-driven dark fantasy — worlds where magic hums low in the bones, leaves scars, and changes the people who carry it. Where history weighs heavy, and survival often comes at a cost.

I build worlds from fragments — burnt letters, old crests, whispered threats in the dark. Sometimes those worlds become short stories for my original characters I cosplay, the stories of my D&D characters told in prose.

You’ll find quiet rebellions and desperate bargains, blades drawn in silence, and moments of warmth lit against the cold.

You ever finish writing, close your doc… then open it again a few minutes later?

And suddenly you’re not reading it the same way anymore.

A line that felt strong now feels off. The emotion doesn’t hit like it did before. A character’s reaction feels slightly wrong… and you can’t ignore it.

That shift? That’s where your mistakes start showing themselves.

Every writer has that moment. The difference is who admits it.

If this happened to you today, don’t scroll past this.

Five days until the big reveal! Here's a little preview of what's cooking. We got swords, we got lesbians, we got dragons! And that's just the beginning.

"There will be chaos when the sleeping dragon wakes… Its slumber is already faltering because of her bond to it. If she is my wife, and we go together to see its first moments… much can be learned about its purpose," Xiaolu speculates. "Do you suppose she will try something crueler, if I were to say no?" "I cannot chart the course of a bolt of lightning," Unfurling Blossoms tells her. "That, I believe, is the expertise it would take to predict what the Summer sect's leader will do next. But if there is chaos to come—and there is, my rider, make no mistake—there is no one better suited to weather it with you than Areyu of Summer. And perhaps," the dragon's voice turns sly, "she will accomplish all that, and then be polite enough to die, so you may select a suitor more to your liking."

I'm continuing my little experiment and my heroine's story.

The next update will probably be this Sunday. After that, there will be a chapter every week or two.

🌸Thank you for your attention!🌸

Want to read The Bishop of Black, but not sure where to start? Check out our handy reading guide.