So you've got your plot outlined, a title lined up and the research is done. You're ready to start writing your novel. But wait. Now comes the fun part: creating names for your characters. One of the best things about being a writerbesides the innate ability to create imaginary worldsis giving birth to a character and then bestowing a name upon him or her. True, you didn't carry the character in your womb for nine months (especially if you're male). But he or she could've been in your head for nine monthsor nine years. So choosing a name for your characters seems almost as important as the one you would give your own child.

The name you decide on will dictate the reader's perception of that character, so select wisely. If your character is an agoraphobic scientist, he or she should not be named Brittany or Rick. Does this bunch of hoo-hah sound familiar to you? Raise your hand now, don't be shy. I thought so. Now let me remove the rose-colored sunglasses so you all can see the harsh light of reality. The reality being that having a common name conjures up a stereotypical image. What picture forms in your head when you hear the name Tiffany? Pretty, popular, blonde-haired cheerleader? What about the name Melvin? Skinny guy with glasses and a pocket protector? Now what comes to mind when you hear something unique like Lyric? Or Dax?

We as writers have been blessed with a wonderful gift. We are a rare species unto ourselves in such a way that we can build alternate realities for the public to enter. We are storytellers that pull ideas out of our bu-that is-minds, invent our own language even, and the only names we can come up with for our characters are Johns, Susans, Kathleens, and Sams? Unacceptable. These are perfectly good names, don't get me wrong, but they're safe names.

I used to be in an online critique group and someone said that if your main character has an unusual name, the secondary characters should have more common names; that way, it won't be so confusing to the reader. My initial response wasn't printable, but I can tell you that it sort of went a little like this: "Who died and made you Ruler of the Writing World? Heaven forbid we throw our readers a curve ball every once in a while."

It's called variety, folks. In the Dictionary, this word is defined as "the quality or condition of being various or varied; diversity." If you don't step outside your comfort zone and offer your readers some different flavors, you're not going to

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