Much discussion can be found on the internet regarding the pros and cons of the Oxford, or serial, comma. As a reader, I feel the argument is a waste of time. I don’t like ambiguity in the works I am reading, and the proper use of serial commas can resolve that.
 
When we have a list in a sentence, not using commas can create some interesting situations. Serial commas prevent confusion. In March of 2017, the New York Times reported that the omission of a comma between words in a list in a lawsuit cost a Maine company millions of dollars.
 
Consider the legendary book dedication often attributed to Teresa Nielsen Hayden:
 
To my parents, Ayn Rand and God.
 
Parents, when named, are a unit. They will be written as Ayn Rand and God. In the above dedication, the author thanks three separate units:

• the unit of her parents,
• the unit of author Ayn Rand,
• the unit of God.

 
By making the last two names a unit, the author introduced ambiguity about her parentage, because Ayn Rand and God can be read as meaning that the writer claims Ayn Rand and God are the parents.
 
On a side note, that is actually rather hilarious because Ayn Rand was famously atheist in her beliefs. If she were to have had a child with God, I doubt she would have believed it. I'm not qualified to say whether or not God believed in Ayn Rand.
 
However, using the serial comma removes the ambiguity: To my parents, Ayn Rand, and God.
 
Lists can be written in other ways that eliminate the ambiguity without introducing the serial comma. We can use other punctuation or none. We can set the words in a list apart from each other.
 
For example, we could show the above dedication in the following manner: To God and Ayn Rand and my parents.
 
Ernest Hemingway used the conjunction “and” in place of commas in much of his work. Most will agree, Hemingway’s work was readable.
 
Another famous example, reported by Wikipedia, was found in a newspaper account of a documentary about Merle Haggard:
 
Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.  This could be taken to mean that Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall were Merle Haggard's ex-wives.
 
Although Merle Haggard has been married five times, he was never married to either Kris Kristofferson or Robert Duvall. A serial comma would resolve that inaccuracy:
 
Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson, and Robert Duvall.
 
Think of it as a list: if there are only two things (or ideas) in a list, they do not need to be separated by a comma.  I am buying apples and then going to the car wash.
 
Whenever there are more than two ideas, the comma should be used to separate them. Always include a comma preceding the word 'and' before the final item/idea.
 
I must buy apples, go to the car wash, and then go to the library.
 
Grammar doesn’t have to be a mystery. If we want to write narratives that all speakers of English from Houston to Brisbane can read, we must learn the simple common rules of the road. To this end, I recommend investing in The Chicago Guide to Grammar and Punctuation. It is based on The Chicago Manual of Style but it's smaller, and the contents are easier to navigate.
 
If your prose feels wonky to you, and you know the punctuation is weird but think a reader won’t notice, you are wrong. Take the plunge and open the grammar book. Look up the rules for punctuation that confuses you. You will become more confident in your writing, and your work will go faster. Editing will certainly go faster.
 
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Connie J. Jasperson is a published poet and the author of nine novels. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies. A founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group, she can be found blogging regularly on both the craft of writing and art history at Life in the Realm of Fantasy.

I always begin with an outline, but part way in my stream-of-consciousness takes over, and the outline goes out the window. When that happens, I find myself giving every walk-on a name, right down to the dog.

For me, the second draft is a mission to whittle down my cast of thousands.

It’s sometimes difficult to decide should go and who should stay. What is the optimal number of primary characters for a book? Some say only four, others fifteen. I say introduce however many characters it takes to tell the story but use common sense. 

Rule 1: When you introduce a named character, ask yourself if it is someone the reader should remember. 

Even if this character offers information the protagonist and reader must know, it doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be named. Some random walk-on characters will give us clues to help our protagonist complete his/her quest. They might show us something about the protagonist, give us a clue into their personality or past.
 
Does the character return later in the story? Give them a name only if they have a memorable role later.
 
Some characters are part of the setting, showing the scenery of, say, a coffee shop, or a store. If they are just part of the scenery, overheard for the ambiance, they don’t need a name.
 
Rule 2: Only give names to characters who advance the plot.
 
In an excellent article on screenwriting, Christina Hamlett of the Writer’s Store writes:
 
In a screenplay, the rhythm you're attempting to establish--along with the emotional investment you're asking a reader to make--is disrupted whenever you devote more than two lines of introduction to a character who is simply there to take up space. In order to justify their existence, each player in your script should perform a unique function or deliver a specific line that:
 
1.       Advances the plot,
2.      Thwarts the hero's objectives,
3.      Provides crucial background, and/or
4.      Contributes to the mood of the scene.
 
If you've included characters who don't fulfill one or more of these jobs, they're probably not critical to the storyline and can be deleted.
 
While she is speaking of screenplays, this is true of a novel or short story. A name implies a character is an important part of the story.
 
Ask yourself if the character is an example of “Chekhov’s Gun.” Does this character serve a purpose the reader must know? If not, don’t give them a name.
 
Rule 3: Never name two characters in such a way that the first and last letters of their names are the same.
 
I learned a difficult lesson the hard way about naming characters. Ten years ago, when I began the Tower of Bones Series, I had a main character named Marya. She is central to the series. Also, in the first book, a side character was important enough to have a name, but my mind must have been in a rut when I thought that one up—for some stupid reason I named her Marta.
 
Unfortunately, the two names are nearly identical.
 
What is even worse, halfway through the first draft of the second book in the series, Marta suddenly was a protagonist with a major storyline. She actually becomes Marya’s mother-in-law in the third book. Fortunately, I was in the final stage of editing book one, Tower of Bones, for publication, and immediately realized I had to make a major correction: Marta was renamed Halee.
 
Rule 4: My personal rule now is to never have two that even begin with the same letter.
 
This means I must exhaust the alphabet, but trust me, your readers will be grateful that you did.
 
Rule 5: Spelling and ease of pronounceability are critical. How easy is it to read and how will that name be pronounced when it is read out loud?
 
Audio books are gaining in popularity. You may have your book made into an audio boo, so make those invented words and names simple to read and easy for the narrator to read aloud.
 
You may not think that matters, but it does. I only have one book that is an audio book, but during the recording of that book, my narrator had trouble pronouncing the names of two characters, because I had written the names so they would look good on paper, not realizing they were unpronounceable as they were written. We ironed that out, but the experience taught me to spell names simply.
 
In conclusion, don’t confuse your readers by giving unimportant walk-on characters names, never name two characters names that are nearly identical, and consider making your spellings of names and places pronounceable just in case you decide to have your book made into an audio book.
 
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Connie J. Jasperson is a published poet and the author of nine novels. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies. A founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group, she can be found blogging regularly on both the craft of writing and art history at Life in the Realm of Fantasy.
 
Credit: Minor Characters Don't Need Major Introductions, Christina Hamlett, Copyright © 1982 - 2018 The Writers Store ® Incorporated, accessed Mar. 11, 2017.