Trivia: The number of characters in the OP aka from just rktho's first book, outnumbers all of my named cast from my trilogy by 23.
By "Sam" he means some names that aren't totally made up, so are more relatable. So a Nat, but not a Zash . Giving the reader something familiar to get attached to.
Well, if I cut back on the cameos of characters who are important on later books, I think I might shorten it quite a bit.
Indeed, I don't think the difficulty in remembering/ identifying characters stems from their names, but from their sheer number. This novel has about 40-50 more characters than my WIP.
https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-zash-1627921.htm lol I will think about it. I could easily use a similar name. Like Tash. I've heard that name used in some other sci-fi/fantasy series, so even if it isn't a name people use in the real world (which it is, I looked it up), there will be some familiarity there. Yea or nay or Tash? Honestly though I'd rather stick with Zash since it sounds more dragonlike, but I do need to cut back on the Zs, so I could change it. I recently changed a character named Zaktarash to Daktarash because it was too similar to Zarakharn and they meet in the first chapter. I could also go with Nash, Hash, Gash (but then my golden trio would all have G names), Kash, Sash, or Dash. Or just Ash. Little firebreathing pun. Or if you want to suggest a different name entirely, fire away. I also looked up Gazi. https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-gazi-1441336.htm Nothing on Ginzaekh, though. Which is good, because I want my protagonist's name to be unique. Also, many of my characters' names for males are female names in the real world. They sound more masculine in the context of my story, but Rissa and Khriza are examples of this.
Well, not really. Yes okay they're basic, maybe I should have said more common. Those are short and sweet names, but they still just sound like shortened names for the other long names you have. Just looking at it I can see Zahn, Zakar and Har. To me they are all way to similar to differentiate. What I meant with the Sam example is you have Frodo, Legolas, Gimili, all these unique names and then a nice common Sam. I was just meaning not every name has to be unique and never before heard of, sometimes the basic name may stand out more because it's so simple. To me, as a reader, anyway.
Well, the ones that aren't in bold play roles later on. But yes, I am planning on omitting unnecessary cameos from the book now. That should shorten it up quite a bit. To be safe I'd just disregard the whole purple list.
Let's see, taking Zahn, Zakar and Har specifically... I'm keeping Zahn, 'cause it's a nice name and it's also a real one. (There aren't any main characters with it. First Zarakharn uses it as an alias in one or two chapters, then this nobody named Zahn far later in the book stumbles upon... well, I can't give it away, but he's not mentioned much either. The reason he's named Zahn is to emphasize how generic a name it is in their world. I could change it if necessary, though, and just have it be Zarakharn's alias. Give the other Zahn some other name, like Shard. Actually, that's probably the best call...) Zakar-- can't think of anything at the moment, open to suggestions. Same with Har.
That's up to you. Really the advice stage is over. If you see merit in what you've been told than make changes, if not than don't. It's your story and your MC who you know best.
The fact that you had the name Zahn as an alias and then later as a name for someone else should be proof enough how confusing it could get. Also, I was using those three names as an example. There are a ton of others with those similar sounds that people are talking about. Good luck.
Just as a test, (and a lot of your names contain "z") I looked up how many names contain z, and I could only find two, namely zoe and zanimoddiumismybraindrug. There is a problem when you have invented more z's than my brain can think of in 30 seconds.
Tash is a good substitute because it's similar to the common, real-life names Tasha and Tosh. It sounds dragony enough to me and if I found it out of place in the book, it'd be more like a breather, like "Whew! I don't have to figure this person's name out. They're easy to remember." The issue with this is that it's not common. It's the common that people are after. Common names are easy names, but not all easy names are common names. Putting in a name that we already know is like giving us a breath of fresh air, something to hold onto and give our brains a small rest for the more unique names. It also makes the unique names cooler and more memorable. Shard works very well because it's a word we're very familiar with. I don't know anything you can replace Zakar or Har with, especially since I don't know the complexities of your story, but hopefully this post will help you resolve it yourself!
