A creative person will have a lot of ideas and insights. Most of them will be wrong and unworkable. A few—a very few—will be brilliant. One or two ideas may change things for the better (and possibly for the worse, because ideas are powerful). Winston Churchill was a statesman, historian, artist, and one of the key visionaries of modern tank warfare. He was a creative thinker on an extraordinary level. That, combined with his impressive skill-set, made him a formidable force.

Useful tips on how to find the perfect name for your fictional characters.

This essay was originally published in Jewcy.com on December 5, 2006. For almost a quarter of a century, I was an atheist. Only since I...