Changed my mind about using a random name generator for characters

I had to name a detective for a short story and was stuck between picking a name from a list of common ones or making something up myself. I went with the generator and got 'Baxter Finch', which just felt silly and wrong for a gritty noir piece. After two days of trying to write with that name, I scrapped it and named him 'Leo Marsh' instead, which fit way better. Has anyone else had a character name that just killed the vibe until you changed it?

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3 Comments

amy4836mo ago

Killed the vibe" is a bit much, right? It's just a name, how much can it really mess up your writing?

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dylanmurray6mo ago

My last book had a character named Kevin who was a serious lawyer.

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the_patricia6mo ago

Seriously, a name can't wreck a whole book. If the writing is good, the character works no matter what you call him. People are overthinking this.

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