by Orly Konig-Lopez

Who are these people who live in your head? Where do you come up with these ideas?

You’ve heard those questions a few times, right?

A few days ago I was giving someone a quick and dirty of my new book. Quick and dirty because that’s all I have at the moment—there’s only so much I can plot and plan ahead of time.

But there are a few things that I always know before starting a new project: character names, personality traits, physical attributes, career, hobbies.

1. What’s your name?

Some characters come with names. The moment they start “talking” I know what their name will be. Others require a bit of inspiration. For them I usually turn to social media. Seriously, it’s a great excuse to hang on Twitter and Facebook. Procrastinating? Nah, researching.

I scroll until a first name jumps out that will fit one…