How do we come up with strong memorable character names for our stories? That’s the dilemma I was facing. Of course, I went to Google. My goal was to come up with a cute sheep name for my children’s book. Finding the right name, not easy.
My first searches were BORING. I pulled up names like “Billy Goat,” already used, “Andy,” not my idea of a cute little sheep name. Wooly, already taken. This wasn’t good. I wasn’t getting anywhere except frustrated, but I couldn’t give up.
I kept scrolling down the search page and a miracle happened. I found a site called, “Fantasy Name Generators.” Now, we were in business. I typed in sheep names. The names this site generated were different, comical, and certainly memorable.
My happiness factor went from zero to over 200. However, as I read the name choices a different direction to my story would start to form in my mind. For example, see the name “Thunder,” I imagined my book taking a whole new direction with that name. My little “Thunder” sheep would be in a storm with an earthquake.
NO, NO, NO – I told myself, stick with the original story, THAT was not the right name, but I liked the strength in “Thunder.” Back to generating a new set of names. I clicked “Get male names,” and “Coffee, Smokey, Rowdy, Rock and Walnut” came up. Super funny. I would NEVER have imagined names like this on my own.
I scrolled down by accident and found this “Pet / Companion Name Generators” section. NOW WHAT, do I add a pet companion for my little sheep? Again, I am a writer, my mind was all over the place (a bat, a cricket, a goat?). NO, NO, NO… I reminded myself, stick with the original story. No pet companion this time, maybe in the future.
Great site. If you need a character name, give it a try! It’s also good for generating story ideas. I’m still thinking about the name “Thunder,” there has to be a story there.
When I was in College and we needed to pull an “all nighter,” students took a pill called, “NoDoz.” The packaging for NoDoz says it is an “Alertness Aid.”
Back to the caffeine in a stick. Have you heard of this product called, “pureLYFT™?” As seen in photo, it is a stick. When you add the stick to liquid of any kind, it releases a powder of un-roasted green coffee beans, vitamins A and B complex, and a tiny bit of Stevia. You stir and drink. It’s meant to give you energy similar to a cup of coffee.
I learned this weekend that the mind is very powerful.
I have had three books on my nightstand, none of them held my attention. Every night I picked one up, read a few sentences, closed the book, sighed and turned off the light.
We’ve all been there… we go to sleep feeling perfectly fine. However, we wake up in the morning with the worst shoulder pain imaginable. Now, I ask you, how in the heck does that happen?
Well, one of the teachings was to NEVER kill an ant. To this day, I see any little bug and I think of the Buddha book and hesitate. If possible, I try to shoo the bug out the window!
Inspiration to exercise comes in many ways. For example, it’s summer, I love walking outside. I went to the store to find a new workout shirt. Something light colored to wear, I tend to have a lot of black workout clothes.
The weather has warmed up in Chicago, so I decided to eat my lunch outside. As I was opening my lunch this beautiful black bird flew to my table. You can see from the expression on his face that he was not there for friendly chitter-chatter.
I went to buy some stamps at the Post Office. When I got to the counter, the clerk asked me what type of stamp I would like. I asked what she had. She opened her binder display and said, “Flowers, American flag, DRAGONS…”
