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Monday, October 12, 2009

Characters’ Names Starting with the Same First Letter





commenter from Maryland contacted me to ask if other readers find this annoying in romance novels. She says she is a very fast reader and when multiple characters’ names start with the same first letter, she has to slow down and confirm which character it is. For her, it gets frustrating. I can see where this might be an issue for very fast readers. Do people who read slower care about the first letter of the characters' names? Do other fast readers find this to be a distraction? Where do you stand?

2 comments:

  1. Hey, Alexis! Interesting question. :) I do personally find it distracting when too many characters have names beginning with the same letter, or even worse, a male Alex paired with a female Alexandra, things like that. I would say I'm a medium speed reader, so I don't know how the faster or slower readers among us would answer that question. For me, it's not so much about the speed as the fact that it just gets confusing/distracting. A character's name is so important, not only for the very basis of characterization, but also as a mark of distinction from the others in the book.

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  2. Oh, good point, Chassily. I know many authors give very serious consideration to the origin and meaning of particular names. I know I do with my primary characters, but I don't spend as much time on my secondary characters. Hmmm, maybe I should :-)

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