My latest story is coming along in fits and starts. I've noticed myself doing something that I fear might look terribly amateurish in the finished work. Half of the time I refer to my heroine by her name, Eleanor, and the other half of the time Icall her Ellie, according to the mood of the paragraph. It bothers me to use one name when I think the other fits better.
I can't think of another written work in which the narrative voice doesn't settle on one of a character's possible names and stick with it. Does anyone see any possible chance that this tactic will work, or is it just going to look dumb when it's alldone?
I don't think reader confusion is an issue here, as there are very few named characters and none with a name at all similar.
On 2/7/19 8:26 AM, Brian P. wrote:
myself doing something that I fear might look terribly amateurish in the >finished work. Half of the time I refer to my heroine by her name,
My latest story is coming along in fits and starts. I've noticed
Eleanor, and the other half of the time I call her Ellie, according to
the mood of the paragraph. It bothers me to use one name when I think
the other fits better.
doesn't settle on one of a character's possible names and stick with it.
I can't think of another written work in which the narrative voice
Does anyone see any possible chance that this tactic will work, or is it
just going to look dumb when it's all done?
I don't think reader confusion is an issue here, as there are very few >named characters and none with a name at all similar.
If this is in the narrative voice and she’s the POV character, some
readers may suspect that you’re subtly hinting at MPD. If, on the other >hand, the two names are what other characters call her in dialog,
following some kind of regular pattern, it may not stand out at all. For >reasons too involved to go into here I've been 'Jay' to my family and
'John' to the world for 64 years. My wife has actually learned to >code-switch.
(Indeed, these things can be complex. My wife is actually named
'Eleanor', but her two older sisters called her 'Ellie' until
the two of
us became engaged. Once she 'had a feller of her own' [see 'arousel'],
she immediately graduated to 'Eleanor'. 'Nought so queer as folk.')
My latest story is coming along in fits and starts. I've noticed myself doing something that I fear might look terribly amateurish in the finished work. Half of the time I refer to my heroine by her name, Eleanor, and the other half of the time I callher Ellie, according to the mood of the paragraph. It bothers me to use one name when I think the other fits better.
I can't think of another written work in which the narrative voice doesn't settle on one of a character's possible names and stick with it. Does anyone see any possible chance that this tactic will work, or is it just going to look dumb when it's alldone?
I don't think reader confusion is an issue here, as there are very few named characters and none with a name at all similar.
In article <z4mdnfd2QNBd-8HBnZ2dnUU7-WvNnZ2d@giganews.com>,
John W Kennedy <john.w.kennedy@gmail.com> wrote:
On 2/7/19 8:26 AM, Brian P. wrote:
myself doing something that I fear might look terribly amateurish in the
My latest story is coming along in fits and starts. I've noticed
finished work. Half of the time I refer to my heroine by her name,
Eleanor, and the other half of the time I call her Ellie, according to
the mood of the paragraph. It bothers me to use one name when I think
the other fits better.
doesn't settle on one of a character's possible names and stick with it.
I can't think of another written work in which the narrative voice
Does anyone see any possible chance that this tactic will work, or is it
just going to look dumb when it's all done?
named characters and none with a name at all similar.
I don't think reader confusion is an issue here, as there are very few
If this is in the narrative voice and she’s the POV character, some
readers may suspect that you’re subtly hinting at MPD. If, on the other
hand, the two names are what other characters call her in dialog,
following some kind of regular pattern, it may not stand out at all. For
reasons too involved to go into here I've been 'Jay' to my family and
'John' to the world for 64 years. My wife has actually learned to
code-switch.
(Indeed, these things can be complex. My wife is actually named
'Eleanor', but her two older sisters called her 'Ellie' until
the two of
us became engaged. Once she 'had a feller of her own' [see '�arousel'],
she immediately graduated to 'Eleanor'. 'Nought so queer as folk.')
Perhaps they figured that children got nicknames but when someone
started courting, she must be an adult. Cf. the right wing
trying to diss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because she was called
"Sandy" as a kid.
My husband, now known to everybody as "Hal," was actually
christened "Wilson." So was his father. His family called him
"Willie" to distinguish him from his father, and his mother went
on calling him that to her dying day. When everybody he knew in
the SCA started calling him "Hal" because he'd chosen the SCA
name "Hal Ravn", the rest of his family switched over. Now, when
I answer the phone and somebody asks to speak to "Wilson," I say,
"Hey, Hal, it's somebody who doesn't know you. Probably a sales
pitch."
On 2/7/19 12:34 PM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
In article <z4mdnfd2QNBd-8HBnZ2dnUU7-WvNnZ2d@giganews.com>,
John W Kennedy <john.w.kennedy@gmail.com> wrote:
On 2/7/19 8:26 AM, Brian P. wrote:
myself doing something that I fear might look terribly amateurish in the >>> finished work. Half of the time I refer to my heroine by her name,
My latest story is coming along in fits and starts. I've noticed
Eleanor, and the other half of the time I call her Ellie, according to
the mood of the paragraph. It bothers me to use one name when I think
the other fits better.
doesn't settle on one of a character's possible names and stick with it. >>> Does anyone see any possible chance that this tactic will work, or is it >>> just going to look dumb when it's all done?
I can't think of another written work in which the narrative voice
named characters and none with a name at all similar.
I don't think reader confusion is an issue here, as there are very few
If this is in the narrative voice and she’s the POV character, some
readers may suspect that you’re subtly hinting at MPD. If, on the other >>> hand, the two names are what other characters call her in dialog,
following some kind of regular pattern, it may not stand out at all. For >>> reasons too involved to go into here I've been 'Jay' to my family and
'John' to the world for 64 years. My wife has actually learned to
code-switch.
(Indeed, these things can be complex. My wife is actually named
'Eleanor', but her two older sisters called her 'Ellie' until
the two of
us became engaged. Once she 'had a feller of her own' [see '�arousel'], >>> she immediately graduated to 'Eleanor'. 'Nought so queer as folk.')
Perhaps they figured that children got nicknames but when someone
started courting, she must be an adult. Cf. the right wing
trying to diss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because she was called
"Sandy" as a kid.
My husband, now known to everybody as "Hal," was actually
christened "Wilson." So was his father. His family called him
"Willie" to distinguish him from his father, and his mother went
on calling him that to her dying day. When everybody he knew in
the SCA started calling him "Hal" because he'd chosen the SCA
name "Hal Ravn", the rest of his family switched over. Now, when
I answer the phone and somebody asks to speak to "Wilson," I say,
"Hey, Hal, it's somebody who doesn't know you. Probably a sales
pitch."
Joe Straczynski says the same thing about people who call him 'Michael'.
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