1. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    Use of Character Names

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Antaus, Jul 21, 2017.

    I had a question about the use of names in stories with characters that haven't been formally introduced. Take for instance two character thrown together in a fight against enemies, that don't have time to swap names. Which do you think'feel would be more appropriate to use? Calling them say, John and Marsha, when writing about them outside of spoken dialogue, or referring to them as 'the man' and 'the woman' until names get dropped.
     
  2. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    That depends on whether you're using
    • A third-person objective POV (assumed to know everything)
    • Or either a third-person close or a first-person POV (restricted to the character's own knowledge)
    What type of POV are you telling the story through? Have you decided yet?
     
  3. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    Sorry, my bad. It's third person close, rather than the omniscient narrator I tend to play things close to the vest and focus on the MCs

    As Bob walked down the street, he looked though the shop windows at all of the items on display. Everything from clothing to electronics and games were displayed with colorful advertisements, in the hopes or drawing people in and parting them from their money. With a smile he continued on, seeing a rather attractive young woman walking toward him. The two passed without a word spoken between them, and he turned on a heel to watch her pass by. ~ Generic writing sample
     
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  4. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Then that would depend on whether the POV character knew the other characters' names yet.

    It's all good :)
     
  5. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    In third person close, I definitely wouldn't use names until the POV character knows those names.
     
  6. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    It can get tricky. Obviously a name can't be used if none exists for the POV character, but an overuse of epithets can be annoying too. Suddenly you have a paragraph populated with the man, the woman, the bald guy, the old lady, the one-legged pimp, etc.... I've seen authors get creative with this, referring to characters as Red Shirt, Mustache, or Tweed Coat, and that can play for a little while, but sometimes it gets to be too much. I try not to write myself into a corner where there are several unnamed characters flying about the page, but that can be difficult to avoid too.
     
  7. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    I had my narrator in one scene describe a bank security guard as looking like Kevin Hart, only a lot taller, not quite as dark skinned, heavier build, rounder face, and then wondering why exactly Kevin Hart was the first name to pop into his mind when the guard looked pretty much nothing like Kevin Hart.

    After that, he kept thinking of the guy as "Hartless" :) Does that sound like it works?
     
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  8. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Haha, yeah that sounds good. Just be careful with the tone. If it sounds like the character (or the author) is in love with her own cleverness it could play out or backfire later on. It's a good gag in moderation though. And if you're Tom Robbins or Jospeh Heller you can milk that cow all day.
     
  9. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    What if the reactions of the world around him had already established the point of the narrative as being that he's not as funny as he thinks he is ;)
     
  10. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Then that would theoretically counter any stylistic inertia to the contrary ;)
     

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