Anonymous asked:
I have a big question. I write stories and the villain of my story doesn’t have a very good name. I thought it would be cool to look up synonyms for evil and misspell one. Turns out that is kinda lame, poorly thought out, and kinda lazy. Violet, I bet you met some real dangerous people in the on edge world of advice distribution. What do you think a good villain name would be?
Violet responded:
I don’t think the dangerous people that I meet when giving advice have the greatest villain names…the majority of the time the people I meet that are dangerous tend to have regular names…
A name doesn’t really make the villain any scarier, unless you’re going for a Bond Villain type name, or something really scary for a fantasy novel. I tend to watch a lot of anime and movies where the villains are the people you don’t expect, so they have normal names.
I find that sometimes writing out a description of your villain helps when creating the name. Is the villain flashy and haughty, or are they the type that sneaks in from the shadows? Depending on how your villain is, you should base their name on their personality. Instead of thinking of the most evil sounding name, think of a name that mostly fits their personality. If it doesn’t fit, don’t be afraid to try again.
My personal picks for the two types of villains are:
Varadale Stormcloak (for flashy villains)
and Thomas (for non-flashy villains)
Those names are up for grabs, but if you’re gonna use them then I expect a credit somewhere in your story 😛
Have your own question for Violet? Head on over to eyesofviolet13.tumblr.com and ask your own question!
I find time with a baby name dictionary (there are a few on the web) useful when generating names. I try to imagine what sort of name their parents would want to give that character.
By thinking about their parents’ characteristics I have a way into that character: Are reacting against their parents or do they agree? Either way their upbringing is going to leave a mark on them.