Lars Elling (Norwegian, 1966), Study for Lifeguard, 2011. Oil and egg tempera on canvas, 60 x 60 cm.
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Liberation Day, tempera et huile sur toile, 170×170 cm, 2014 © Lars Elling
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Do you have any nicknames? Not stereotypical ones like “honey, sweetie”, but ones that maybe a character won’t like at first but grows to love??
Charcter Nickname Ideas
Hmmm this is actually a tricky one to answer.
Each character will have their own set of cultural backgrounds, quirks, strengths, weaknesses and relationship dynamics, which can all contribute to a nickname.
Here are some common things writers do for nicknames:
Shorten their given name. Mireya becomes Rey. Christopher becomes Chris.
Alter their given name. If you add a “y” sound, it implies the person using the nickname thinks of the character as young or childlike. So Alexa becomes Lexie. William becomes Billy.
Base their nickname on a physical trait. This can be straightforward or ironic. The large man is Tiny. The pretty girl named Honor is Bell/Beauty.
Pick a personality trait. School kids might call your main character Sassy Cassy. The con man might be called Prince Charming because of his smooth-talking skills.
Base their nickname on their profession or an accomplishment. So many characters are called Doc, Prof, or Chairman.
Base it on Monsters: ie. Balrog, Loch, Golen, Orthros, Baal, etc.
Base it on Mythology. Lots of authors have used names from Greek/Roman mythology, and readers have loved it!
Here are two personal examples:
Use initials. My name is Junhui Lee, and those who aren't familar with Asian names struggle to pronoun it correctly. So I just go by "JH"
In Korean culture, (1) people's names are usually three chracters: ie. Jun+hui+Lee and (2) We put surnames in front, not at the back of our names: ie. Lee Junhui, not Junhui Lee. Close friends would address each other as "surname + first character of the given name". So my friends would call me Lee Jun.
A character not liking their nickname
Doesn't necessary mean it has to be a funny nickname. They can dislike it because they somehow feel like only their parents/siblings call them that, or they feel childish, or the tone in which the other person says it is too teasing.
Depends on the origin and meaning behind the nickname. Was it made up by bullies in primary school and its just happened to stick? Was it given to them by their late grandparents? The anme
That said, here are some examples!
Vivienne: Vivvy, Vienne, Viv, Vee
Niamh: Nia, Neeve, Iya
Athena: Ath, Thea
Hazel: Haze, Zelly, Elle
Bloom: Bee, Bloomy, Blommer, Bloo
Coral: Cora, Coralie, Cori, Coral-B
Alaric: Larry, Lars
Ulysses: Ollie, Ulie
Adin: Ade, Ad, Bin, Dinny
Nicolas: Nick, Nico, Nicky
Daniel: Dan, Danny, Dannyboy, Niel
Adreil: Ad, Adri, Riel, El
Louisa: Lulu
+ this list because I've been trying to come up with nicknames for my bloothirsty character...
Steelshot
Crank
Rigs
Skinner
Skull Crusher
Wardon
Zero
Ironclad
Iron Heart
Billy the Butcher
Mr. Blonde
K-6
Hell-Raiser
Harbinger
Finisher
I hope this helps :)
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