Naming Characters

 In writing my Indiana stories while in prison I tried to use the names of the people from where I came from Joel gave me hell for having a Kelly and a Shelly in the same story My only defence is most of the female names I could recall ended in a vowel; generally in an e sound. He shook his head and let me have my way.  I recall the custom as being we distinguish the different Shellies and Kellies and Debras and Kims by their last names. I bring this point up because of the following from Alison Stine's How Should You Name Your Characters? from Literary Hub:

Names must be deliberate and memorable, distinct. Too many characters with similar names—even names that start with the same first letter—and readers can be confused. Names also need to make sense for the location, time, and tone of the story. If a major character is unnamed, that’s a decision too, one that can draw attention to itself. What do you want readers to focus on?

Check out the whole essay as it does have some good advice over an issue I think is important. Names have meanings.

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