Hi Folks! I have been using Kaya and Colin as placeholder names for my two main characters. I am starting to really like the names, though wonder if they are too similar. They are to become love interests later on. For now, are just friends, and will remain so for quite some time. I would love to hear your thoughts. Colin is a quiet character. Extremely loyal, and there to help when needed. He is the prince's right-hand man. He is the narrator of the story, which is a fantasy story. Kaya has been raised to be strong, but hasn't really ever paid attention because her brother was meant to be the heir to the throne. Kaya is the spare. She loves her people but is not really interested in ruling. She is not confident in her ability to rule, or make choices. Her brother dies and she ends up having to save everyone.
I like the names. All that matters I think is that you like them and they work for your story. The idea for your story sounds excellent too! I hope you'll be putting up something to review in a few weeks. I look forward to reading it!
Sometimes abstract names are easiest to identify with. I wrote a screenplay that won an award for "Best Character Sketch" (i.e. fancy words for "awesome idea for a person") and the character's name was Sedona, which isn't a name nor a word...
It's a cautionary tale, to assign 'place names' to characters, intending to come up with the real names later on. Place names can certainly stick, when you begin to identify with them as an author. You suddenly can't imagine calling them anything else. However, I think yours are fine. While Kaya and Colin SOUND similar, in that they both begin with a 'k' sound and have two syllables in them, they don't look at all alike when written down. What you need to avoid are things like Jan and Jen, Adam and Aaron, Joan and John, Kenny and Karyn, Tim and Tom, etc. Especially be careful with words that start with the same letter AND have the same number of syllables. But in your case, that's not a problem at all. This can be a problem when writing twins, though. So often their names are deliberately chosen by their parents to be similar. (I know a Tim and Tom combo—and I went to school with a Martin and Melvin....)
They don't sound similar enough to be confusing when I say them out loud, and they certainly don't look confusing written down. In addition, I think they suit the personalities of your characters quite well. You should keep them.