Do you think it confuses a lot of readers if you use unfamiliar names? I mean, I come up with my own names, but I write a lot of fantasy and futuristic scifi, so I think it's allowed. But I know it's definitely a bad idea to confuse people.

Also, should you avoid using similar names, like "Sarah" and "Sandy", for instance?

Neither of these things bother me, but my brother (my main reader) told me off for doing them, so I was just wondering.

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For me personally, I don't mind what the name is as long as A) I can pronounce it B) If I can't pronounce it, the author writes in the story the correct way to say/think it and C) That the name isn't annoying with several syllables (as I'll end up shortening it in my mind when I read and then I get into bad reading habits).

Names are just as important as the character themselves, so get that right and the rest should follow.

If by "unfamiliar names" you mean the random syllables that make up most of the made-up names in amateur fantasy writing, I'd say it's more silly than annoying. You should try to use real names, whether familiar to your readers or less common, domestic or foreign. Last names, to a certain extent, can be completely made up, but don't make them too ridiculous. All you really need to avoid, before using real names, is giving a character the same name as a famous person by accident.

As for "similar" names like Sarah and Sandy, it shouldn't be a problem for any reader with a good memory, unless the spelling of the names is really so similar that they look identical at first glance.


Names are important, but I wouldn't say a good name is the key to success. Coming up with a good name is really just a minor obstacle. Good names can be given to terrible characters.

As far as names go i cheated a little and just used the names of some of my old friends, for example Ed, Toni, Daniel, James Etc.
Personally speaking despite being a lover of fantasy when there is a characters name like Landianteia, i tend to be put off a little, though you could probably get away with calling a county or town something like that.
I think that the setting changes the type of names you could use, for example in medieval fantasy in the land of Arcania you probably wouldn't get a character called Neil. where as on the flip side of the coin you couldn't call someone Lazarus in a modern time drama novel.

As for similar spelling, if someone cant tell Sandy, Sandra and Sarah apart then perhaps it is down to how you create the characters :)

Just my two cents

For me, it depends on the character, or the character's species.

As it is, the Gods in my story have names pertaining to their power (for example, Watcher is meant to lead and 'watch over' all life). Razyr's (they'll be explained later) have names that have to do with their job (main Razyr character's name is Siren; he happens to be a cop. Another's name is Recruit; he's a soldier).
Then, regular humans have names that we'd all know: Jonathon, Ezekial, Michael.
Thats just how it works for me.

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I've found that there's something great about using the same names in all of your work, regardless of what it is. Seeing a series of characters called Steve spanning my (pretty diverse) collection is almost like a tag.

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That reminds me of how Steven King constantly uses the town of Dairy as the setting in a lot of his novels.

That's just what I was thinking. Plus you've got Randall Flagg/Walter/Man in Black playing the villain in every other book he's written. I thought that was a pretty awesome touch myself.

As for unfamiliar names, it really depends on the genre you're writing for. If you're going for a gritty present-day drama you of course want the most normal names you can come up with, but conversely in a fantasy epic (assuming you don't mind running with the cliche') completely original names can fit the scene more appropriately.

At the moment I have one supernatural/fantasy piece that's set in the distant future, and I'm incorporating all the "fantastical" elements of it into real world principles such as evolution and genetic engineering etc. As a result it's definitely in the fantasy genre, but with a realistic grounding to it.
Anyway, the same applies to how I've gone about naming my characters - unnusual, but not unreal names.
At the moment I'm using a lot of European stuff that most people don't generally think of, such as Jeanne and Roman to name a couple. There are also characters with nicknames (a great way to introduce crazy titles into a genre like this) and others with "meaningful" surnames such as Goodchild, Darwin etc.

Ultimately I see naming policy as being subject to whatever type of story you're writing, something that can be a whole lot of fun once you find the right feel for it.

"Plus you've got Randall Flagg/Walter/Man in Black playing the villain in every other book he's written."

He mainly features in things relating to The Dark Tower series. I only wish he'd been more substantial with those connections - a lot of the time he just mentions towns or characters from other books without any point. Probably because he didn't get heavily into the series until halfway through his career.

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