When a character uses endearments to refer to every girl he talks to (like Baby, Darling, Angel, Sugar, Honey) are the endearments capitalized? (I am thinking no.) When this same character slowly begins to call only one girl by those endearments does that change whether the endearments are capitalized? He almost never (only once, I think) calls her by her actual name.
when used in place of a name, they're sometimes capitalized... when not, they're not: "Come here, honey," he said. "Come here, Honey-Babe," he said. "Hey, my sweet little honey-babe...come over here," he whispered. "How's my little sugar doin' this morning?" he asked. ...as you can see, it's often more a matter of style and author's choice, more than a rule...
I would not capitalise if the person is known by another name. Strikes me as dangerously close to cheesy territory.
I agree that it's cheesy and it would drive me crazy to be around someone like that. However, it fits the situation and works well in the story. One day soon when you buy the book, helping to push it into the New York Times best seller status, you'll totally agree with me baby.
The replies have been looking from a male to female perspective, but don't adults commonly refer to children with these too? One adult character calls the child kitten. So if kitten is used to replace her name, it should be capitalized? You know Kitten, You must get those tantrums under control."
I think that some situations would warrant capitalizing the endearment, like if the person was always called by the same endearment and the reader rarely heard the character called by anything else. In my situation it is a male to female perspective and everyone calls the girl by her name except this guy who doesn't call any girl by their name. Strangely enough as annoying as that behavior is by the end of the story you would find yourself emotionally invested in the character, either rooting for him and feeling his pain or possibly hating him and thinking the girl is better off without him. Both responses are fine with me.
I wasn't sure about the comma(Hey, I'm learning, I actually thought about it). "You know, Kitten, you must get those tantrums under control." Oh, yea. Didn't notice I capitalized the second you." AmyHolt: I have met many people that called total strangers "honey", "Darling" and Deer (or is it Dear? cute animal or short for dearest?) They are really nice people, even if they are annoying to some with this.
You are right, calling someone honey or angel isn't necessarily an annoying trait. Many people do it without anyone thinking twice about it. It's completely different when a young, smashingly handsome (and might I add full of himself) guy calls every girls he talks to angel, baby, sweet pea and the like. In the latter case it's annoying and cheesy. And it's dear.
It depends a lot on attitude. The smug businessman who calls all female flight attendants and service representatives "Honeybuns," but addresses men in the same jobs with a polite "Sir" is a chauvinist who is begging to have his teeth handed to him. But the guy who uses terms of endearment to the people he knows well enough to take those liberties might just be a warm, perhaps even charming, person.
Good, hopefully that applies to girls to because I find myself referring to people with endearment occasionally and I've always wanted to be warm and charming.
