- in-jokes
- really obscure in-jokes
- references to stuff I like
- make alien names bastardisations of actual words
- puns
- picking names for characters from the entire histories of Doctor Who or Star Trek
- picking names for characters that are the complete opposite of their personalities
- going really close to an expected pattern and pulling away at the last instant
- count how many words I have left before I can slope off and watch bad television