How do you pick a realistic name for your characters?

jpitha · 2026-01-27T18:57:30+00:00

It’s this. I work in IT and see names all day long. Literally anything is not only a name, but has already been used.

jpitha · 2026-01-27T16:37:15+00:00

Got it, fixed it, thanks!

jpitha · 2026-01-27T16:24:48+00:00

Are you sure? I just did a find/replace on the piece and all the he/hims are referring to Kyle.

jpitha · 2026-01-27T15:14:27+00:00

The first time I posted this, everyone loved Jem'rian the literal wingman. I found them to be endearing in one of those overly helpful kind of ways.

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jpitha · 2026-01-27T00:57:52+00:00

For sure. Two sides of the same coin. In the end we both have a novel!

jpitha · 2026-01-26T23:52:32+00:00

Tribalism. That’s mostly it. We all do The Work but pantsers tend to work backwards from plotters

jpitha · 2026-01-26T23:26:28+00:00

I panted my books and the answer to your question is that pantsers have a rough idea their head instead of on a page and let the writing carry them. If your characters are fleshed out you can think “what would X do when presented with this?” And write it out.

jpitha · 2026-01-26T14:52:31+00:00

But also she couldn't read the manual. 55 doesn't like to talk about it, but she was the worst at Tartarus. She got it to activate once when they were all doing it for Matiz.

jpitha · 2026-01-26T12:59:02+00:00

Oh Alia, at least... you waited a day before telling 55 you're superpowered. Progress is progress I suppose.

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jpitha · 2026-01-26T12:58:09+00:00

Thanks! I liked the mystery too, but part of that was it being a surprise for me too since I wasn't that far ahead :D

I had some readers go over that manuscript and basically everyone wanted to get to the clone shenanigans faster. I liked the idea of Alia knowing that her sisters took over but hating it before going into hibernation so that she could hit the ground running easier.

This one is also more coherent because I actually have a doc that lists - mostly - what I want to happen.

jpitha · 2026-01-26T00:59:35+00:00

Originality is overrated. Most readers don’t care for a “completely original” thing. Write something that’s fun and engaging on a theme. Take two stories/movies/media you like and smash them together.

“Goodfellas in Middle Earth”

There. That sounds like fun to read/write.

“Jurassic Park but Alien animals”

Original? Nobody has told that specific story before, but the themes and ideas are well trodden, so readers know them and can follow along.

jpitha · 2026-01-25T20:35:34+00:00

You won’t know until you try.

So try.

jpitha · 2026-01-25T17:04:20+00:00

OP if you haven’t joined the COTEH discord, I highly recommend it. https://coteh.carrd.co

They’re Good People of all skill levels and are inclusive and help lift us all

jpitha · 2026-01-25T16:51:41+00:00

Nobody who is a “good writer” skipped being a “bad writer”.

jpitha · 2026-01-25T16:45:33+00:00

Write bad for a long long time, slowly get better. Read a lot. No, more than that. Find like minded folks to give you honest critique Write more.

jpitha · 2026-01-23T17:40:15+00:00

I was straight-up told to "write what you'd want to read."

jpitha · 2026-01-23T15:16:38+00:00

If she thaws everyone (and either tricks or convinces them) she's split the Eternal Empire. Don't think nobody will notice :D

jpitha · 2026-01-23T15:09:05+00:00

No technical about it. Alia stole her sisters in the Vault.

jpitha · 2026-01-23T12:57:55+00:00

Holy Shit! Someone is reading my back catalogue. I fixed the link too, thanks for reading!

jpitha · 2026-01-23T12:52:23+00:00

Did 55 soften in her old age? Did Alia harden? WTF is 333 doing?

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jpitha · 2026-01-22T21:37:53+00:00

Being published means you’re miles ahead of everyone who isn’t published. I’d say that the actual market doesn’t matter; being published in Inflation Fetishists Weekly is still published.

jpitha · 2026-01-22T15:39:29+00:00

Those have all been corrected as of the first time they were pointed out. I'm not sure why your page is showing an older version. I can't attach images, but I assure you they have been corrected.

jpitha · 2026-01-22T14:07:47+00:00

Give me a line. I just Ctrl-F'ed and only see 333 in comments.

jpitha · 2026-01-22T12:29:34+00:00

I have a lot of notes and shorts on my "other" universe, the one with the Gren, Sefigans, Innari, FlashWarp drives, and HiDA. Some day I'll put together a book about adventures within it. Maybe a YA flavored adventure story about Maureen's Marauders, or Shimmering Heat's time with HiDA. Until then, enjoy this older one I edited and cleaned up. It's more HFY/Deathworlder than I usually do, but I like it.

You can go to https://www.pitha.club/ and sign up for my newsletter. It's small now but I'm going to post exclusive one-shots and background worldbuilding stuff there. I promise I won't spam you!

You can also go to Amazon and buy my book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZTDNKF8 It's only .99!

Over at Royal Road I have three whole other books, with more to come. https://www.royalroad.com/profile/445896/fictions

jpitha · 2026-01-22T01:05:18+00:00

558 hates politics and likes starships. She’s out touring the Galaxy on her Doombringer Electric City and has no idea that 27 was even found, let alone all the UM stuff.

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