I'm unsure when to capitalize nicknames/pet names or not. For instance: "She's daddy's little rich girl" or "She's Daddy's little rich girl?" How about, "I love you, darling" or "I love you, Darling?" Thank you!
I wouldn't consider "daddy's little rich girl" to be a nickname as much as an epithet, even if only a teasing one, and so I would not capitalize it. Actual nicknames, I would: Slugger, Killer, Bucko, Red, Spike, Ace, etc. Pet names, too. "Darling" is less of a pet name and more of a term of endearment, and, like "babe", "sweetheart", "honey", I'm not actually sure if they should be capitalized. I would tend to think not, but will defer to others with more experience than myself (cue [MENTION=373]mammamaia[/MENTION]).
You've got it right, Ed. I could see babe or honey getting capitalized if the endearment stuck as a true nick, as in everyone in the story referred to the individual with that name. A couple of Tyler Perry's stories have characters with such nicks. Clearly, that's an unusual situation.
it's mostly a styling issue left to the discretion of the writer based on the needs of the story... 'daddy' [or 'mommy/sis/grandpa' et al.] would normally be capitalized only if used as a name, by the character... as in 'Daddy loves me'... but not as in 'my mommy loves me'... terms of endearment can go either way, as wreybies notes above...
the only time you'd capitalize that if it was a boat, Daddy's Girl. Or something along those lines. or she could be called Daddy's. but that could be kinda creepy
I would agree with Wreybies and Mamma, except that I would always capitalize any word when used to address someone as if by name. "Yes, Dear," he said, "I'll take out the garbage." "Thanks, Honey," she replied. But not as an indirect reference. "My honey is handsome."
This^ "She's daddy's little rich girl" - This is a description like, "a mamma's boy" would be. "She's Daddy's little rich girl" - This would only be used if "Daddy" referred to a specific man and it was clear the reference intended to say that specific Daddy. But if you added 'her' to daddy it's no longer a name (direct address). "She's her daddy's girl." "I love you, Darling" - This one's tricky because Darling would be correct, but if you said, "I love you, darling one," or, "I love you, my darling," darling is no longer a direct address.
