New Dolls ordered but that need stores and names come help!

Isn't it going to be less personal if you don't determine these things for yourself? I think it defeats the purpose of the hobby to have someone design characters for you.

If they don't "speak" to you such that you want to design the characters, you should consider getting some other dolls that do.

 

I think this is something you really need to figure out for yourself. I mean, I can point you to some good name resources (behindthename.com is pretty awesome, and I had a good website at one point for Icelandic names if that's something you're interested in) but that's about it. I think it's kind of hard to design a character for someone when you don't really know anything about them, their interests, why they got the doll, etc.

Also, I don't know if you're trying to come up with names and stories because you want to or because you think you have to, but if you're having a hard time with it or you feel like you're forcing yourself...it might be good to keep in mind that your dolls don't have to have names and stories. A lot of people in this hobby do give their dolls names, characters, and stories, but not everyone does. They're your dolls so you don't have to do anything you don't want to with them. Now, if you really do want them to have stories and such and you're having a hard time with it now, maybe you just need to wait until you actually have the dolls before you decide. I know that for me, I had a lot of ideas for many of my dolls before they arrived, but for several of them (Kazuya, Siofra, Linnaea, Izayoi, Niall, and Riona in particular) their stories really changed after they arrived. Kazuya started off as the ghost of my boy Ryuuki's lover and wound up being the very-much-alive father of Akira, Hideyoshi, and Izayoi, and in the little world his character inhabits, Ryuuki doesn't even exist. I haven't even figured out what the character for my next coming doll will be and she should be here in December.

To summarize: I don't think this is really something anyone else can help you with, unless you just want people to share resources like name websites or tips on character development. But having stories for your dolls isn't a requirement for the hobby. If you want them to have stories, you don't have to decide the details before they arrive -- if you're struggling it might even be helpful to wait until they arrive and you can see them in the clothes, wigs, etc. you picked for them. Sometimes that can really spark your creativity and help you realize the stories you want them to have.

 

My dolls have names and that's it. shiori_hime gave you a lot of good advice. Sometimes names are easier to pick when you have the doll in front of you, but nothing is wrong about keeping the sculpt name if you really like them. They're lovely names.

 

This is not topic for general discussion, as it's quite personal, as others have said. Please use a blog or lj for this and similar subjects.