Using Names from the Bible for Characters

My youngest goes to a Christian high school and has many classmates named Luke, Ben, and Caleb. There’s a little more variety to the girls’ names, but my niece went to a small Catholic grade school and had five Graces in her class. So if you want to try using names from the Bible for characters, try find unusual ones. But, of course, the name has to fit the character.

The Fun of Finding Unusual Names

I love naming characters. It’s more fun than naming my kids because I don’t have to consult anyone. I have almost unlimited freedom, but I should follow one of the golden rules of naming characters–names should be easy for readers to pronounce . If the name is Tchakach, but it’s supposed to be said “Take”, don’t use it. Here is my post on the two golden rules for naming.

A third rule to keep in mind is the reputation of the name. Ahab and Judas are easy for English-speakers to pronounce. But they come with a ton of baggage. There’s a reason Herman Melville named his mad captain Ahab. If you use a Biblical name like that, you have to consider the impression it will make on readers before they’ve gotten to know the character.

Following those rules, here are some overlooked Bible names that will make your characters stand out. I put “f” for names that are traditionally female, but for English-speakers, many of these names could suit either gender.

Abel, Amasa, Boaz, Bilhah(f), Cozbi(f), Damaris(f), Dinah(f), Emmanuel, Festus, Gad

Haggar(f,) Hiram, Huldah(f), Ibzan, Japheth, Jehu, Joab, Joram, Justus, Keturah(f)

Kish, Laban, Merab(f), Mishael, Neco, Nemuel, Onan, Oreb, Palti, Rizpah(f)

Rumah(f), Sally, Sceva, Sharar, Shem, Shua, Terah, Tema, Tobijah, Vashti, Zebul, Zeba

Biblical place names that can work as given names.

Edom, Haran, Rome, Zioń, Canaan, Aram, Emmaus, Gilead, Nazareth, Zair

Carmel, Galilee, Havilah, Sinai, Bethel, Beulah, Cana, Judea

Virtue names that go beyond Faith, Hope, and Charity

Content, Mercy, Justice, Temperance, Patience, Peace, Zeal

Cherish, Honesty, Able, Prudence, Honor, Truth, Noble

Here are more tips for writing Christian fiction.

August 21, 2025 0

What Christian Fiction Isn’t

If you are unfamiliar with Christian fiction, you may have some preconceptions about these kind of novels and short stories that may be inaccurate. This was brought home to me when my college-age niece read the short story that kicked off my Rae Riley Mysteries, “A Rose from the Ashes”. She wasn’t expecting a story about a girl looking for her father because her late mother wasn’t sure of his identity. So here are a three points about what Christian fiction isn’t.

Christian fiction isn’t disguised sermons

At least, it shouldn’t be. If a work of fiction comes across as a sermon, then the author should really have written a nonfiction book. In Christian fiction, like in the secular market, the story is king. All the elements the author puts into a story should serve the goal of the story.

For me, that’s a mystery. If I put in a faith element that doesn’t mesh with the mystery, I have to take it out. Since my main character Rae Riley is a Christian, it’s easy for me to incorporate her faith as she solves a mystery because her behavior is based on her faith. But I still have to weave her code of conduct into the overall goal of solving a mystery.

Christian fiction isn’t only about pleasant topics

A lot of Christian fiction tackles a lot of serious topics. What hard topics a writer includes depends on the audience he or she is writing for. I write cozy mysteries. Those readers don’t like violence or sex dealt with in a graphic way, either in the Christian or secular market. I also write for teens, who have parents, and have to keep that audience in mind as I write.

In A Storm of Doubts, Rae’s father, Sheriff Malinowski, discovers a body that’s been in the woods a few days in the summer. When he tells the closest relation that he has to get fingerprints to verify it’s the person he suspects it is, I don’t go into detail about why fingerprints are necessary. And that makes sense for the sheriff not to go into detail either because he’s being sensitive to the feelings of the closest relation. So he just says the body had been damaged because it’s been exposed to the elements. Readers can fill in the gaps in their imagination without me filling in grisly details they don’t like.

Christian fiction isn’t only about a salvation storyline

Even readers of Christian fiction, if they haven’t read very widely in the genre, think there always has to be a character who moves from unbelief to belief. The Christian faith covers all life experiences, and any one of those can be used as the basis for a plot or growth of a character.

I’ve written three novels, and no character has a salvation arc in them. In my latest one, Rae and her family deal with different kinds of fear. Fear is a huge part of life, and my characters confront it based on their beliefs.

So now that I’ve told you some of the things Chrisitian fiction isn’t, if you read Christian fiction, what do you think are the common denominators in the genre?

Here are more posts on writing Christian fiction.

August 14, 2025 2

The Call for Christian Fiction

Very pleased to introduce a new author to you. I met B. Anne Stevens online last winter when she approached me to endorse her YA Christian mystery, The Rabbit’s Foot, the first novel in a series featuring teen sleuth Ella Strawberry. That book will come out in 2026. I was very happy that she is another author writing Christian mysteries for teens because we are a rare breed, like long-haired iguanas, in the YA Christian field. So happy to have you here, B. Anne explains the call for Christian fiction.

God put everything into writing. Think about that. From Genesis to Revelation, He used people like you and me to communicate His plan of salvation for all humankind. Today, God still calls writers from all walks (and genres) to share their faith through the written word.

When I tell people I’m writing Christian fiction for girls, I get similar reactions: “We need that so much!” Moms tell me they struggle to find acceptable reading material for their girls from authors they trust. I first saw a need for Christian fiction for young women when I worked with students at a small private college. There was already an obsession with the paranormal, vampires, and zombies. Then in 2011, a controversial book released. It had graphic, deviant adult themes that launched a previously discreet genre, if you will, right up to the surface of mainstream society. The talk about this book caught like wildfire through campus, not just among students but staff too! I was perplexed by this generation’s insatiable consumerism for fantastical, dystopian, supernatural, and yes, dark, storytelling. A question persisted: “Where are the alternatives?” Can Christian fiction ever compete with the secular market?

Critics say the Bible and fiction don’t mix, and people don’t read fiction to be preached at. True. I know that feeling when there’s a great story line that suddenly jumps the track with an ill-placed scripture verse or a distracting piece of dialogue that’s better suited for a fire-and-brimstone pulpit sermon. It’s a turn off. Is it possible to write exciting stories and present the Gospel without pushing an “agenda” onto the reader? I believe it is.

You see, those secular themes described above all create an enticing experience. The story delivers a thrilling ride, leaving the reader wanting more. As modern authors of faith-based fiction, we have to think about the experience we offer. We must captivate our readers without jerking them out of the story for the sake of our agenda. Our writing has to keep the page turning, and we must expertly weave Christianity into the narrative so seamlessly that there is spiritual growth as a result. We have to deliver the thrill and the life-changing experience. It’s a tall order, but with a lot of practice, and even more prayer, it can be done.

Years went by. Life happened. So did the pandemic. The tug remained. In 2022, I took the plunge and joined a writer’s group through American Christian Fiction Writers. My life had new meaning, and I was convinced of my own call to write. I began devoting my time to learning the industry and studying the craft of fiction. At the end of 2024, I received a book contract for my first YA mystery/suspense novel for girls.

The time has never been better for Christian fiction authors. Research shows both traditional and Indie authors are enjoying a growing and diverse market in Christian fiction across all genres. We need more authors to write more compelling, faith-filled books. How do I know? Moms tell me. The bestseller lists tell me. Our society tells me. God uses writers to bring light to the darkness.

How do you know if you’re called to write Christian fiction? If it’s on your mind, maybe you’re called. Just as God used ordinary people to write the scriptures, he may use your story to reach that person who won’t ever step foot in church. Be bold. Be daring. Pray. Answer the call and be confident that God will take your words where He wants them to go.

*****

B. Anne Stevens writes Young Adult Christian fiction for girls. Through fun and innovative fiction, B. Anne hopes to empower readers to grow in God and know their worth in Christ. B. Anne’s debut novel, The Rabbit’s Foot: The Tales of Ella Strawberry Book I, won the ACFW Genesis award and is contracted for publication through Ambassador International. B. Anne lives in the St. Louis area. B. Anne can be found at @bannestevens.com, Facebook, Instagram, and her blog.

August 7, 2025 3

Dealing with Difficult Characters

Some characters seem to come with diaries that a writer only has to consult to figure out their personalities, motivations, and goals. Others seem like old friends you’ve known for years, and the words flow effortlessly. But some characters stubbornly refuse every attempt to get to know them better.

When I wrote the first novel of my Rae Riley Mysteries series, the extended family of my main character Rae Riley was critically important. I decided to give her father an older sister, a younger sister, and a younger brother. The dad and his two sisters came to life early and easily. But Younger Brothers turned difficult. No matter what approach I took, I couldn’t develop him into an interesting character, one who would contrast with his siblings.

If you are dealing with a difficult character, try these four trouble-shooting techniques.

Change the Name

Naming characters appropriately is critical for me when developing them. If I give a bubbly character a name that somehow suggests a quiet, sensitive type, the character won’t work for me. But the name wasn’t Younger Brother’s problem.

Change the Face

This is the same as changing the name. Usually when I build a character, I start with a face that I’ve seen somewhere and that signals a certain kind of personality. Younger Brother’s face suggested a reserved, intellectual, but I had another character like that who was working well within the story. I thought maybe I just needed to …

Write a Scene with the Character

This technique had worked with Rae’ grandmother. I knew I had to have a grandmother, but she proved a slippery character, her personality assuming all sorts of traits as I tried to structure her in my mind before I began writing. Finally, I decided to stick her in a scene and see what happened. Pretty soon, Gram’s mellow, warm-hearted personality shone through, making her a nice contrast to her son, Rae’s father, who is a worrier.

But when I wrote a scene with Younger Brother, he became irritating, sounding whiny. So the only thing left to do was …

Combine or Eliminate the Character

I offed him in cold-blood with a a lot of relief. I simply didn’t need him. If I hadn’t already had a character similar to him, I might have taken his qualities and those of another character to combine them into someone new.

I think the reason I worked so hard to keep him is that I often create groups of four characters. I’m one of four sisters, so I understand how that group dynamic works. What I had failed to realize was that I already had a group of four characters. Older Sister married the neighbor boy, whom Rae’s father and sisters grew up with. So he’s like a brother, although an older one to Rae’s father. But I’ve had a ton of fun writing about how the brothers-in-law jab at each other.

Click here for more tips on creating characters.

What are your tips for dealing with difficult characters?

July 31, 2025 0

Have Fun With Minor Characters

Creating characters for fiction can seem impossible. Mountains of books and posts have been published giving acres of advice, some of it contradictory. Main and major characters should be realistic and relatable. Likable. No, not likable. Intriguing. Flawed but heroic. Peanut butter but jelly. After working so hard to make our characters ones readers want to spend time with, it’s a relief to have fun with minor characters. I don’t have to worry about how they are growing and changing through the plot. Minor characters serve a limited purpose, so I can tinker with them as much as I want as long as they accomplish what I need them to in a particular scene.

Feel Like Stretching Your Writing?

If you feel like your major characters, great as they are, have confined you to a certain type of personality, experiment with minor characters who are very different from your major ones. My main character, amateur sleuth Rae Riley, is reserve and/or shy with a sense of humor based on observations. So I might make a minor character more outgoing or outrageous to widen the variety of characters in my story.

Let’s say Rae needs to talk to a woman working at the post office. I could write the woman as extremely chatty, going off on tangents left and right, making it hard for Rae to find out what she wants to know.

Even better, I could have two minor characters play off each other. The chatty postal worker could work with a woman as gloomy as Eeyore the donkey from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. The contrast would be a ton of fun to work with.

Choose Minor Characters from the Setting

Think about the setting your scene is taking place in. What kind of people do you normally find in that setting? Let’s say your main character is a mom who is waiting in the principal’s office to have a meeting with her. Who would you find in the principal’s office of an elementary school? One or more secretaries, teachers coming in and out, students coming in and out. Possibly other non-teaching staff, like the school nurse or speech therapist. Any of those could be used to freshen this scene.

You could also toss in unlikely people you’d find in the office. Like a single uncle who got stuck delivering his nieces and nephews to school that day. Or a toddler who escapes from Mom while she waits for her second-grader to come to the office for an appointment.

Here are more tips on writing characters.

What story had memorable minor characters?

July 24, 2025 0

Category: Writing Tips