Using character's names

[Mouse]

This never occurred to me before. In my earlier writing I over-used character names a lot - in dialogue and in everything else, and now that I've gone back to editing the beginning of my novel, I can see that I've over-used the names.

I'm pretty sure I use names less now. I know for a fact that I don't even bother using them at all in some of my short fiction. But I'm now a bit paranoid about it and I'm starting to edit names out.

So my question is, how often should names be used? As little as possible?

 

[Phoenixthewriter]

Mouse!

Actually I try to use names sparingly. I use many he said, she said, and his and hers etc... And also widely distribute the characters "Occupation" as their description.

"I can honestly say," said the childish cretin, "you do worse things than even I might do."

Now the childish cretin is probably an imp named Lissby, but I try my hardest to keep the names to a minimum. In fact the only times I really overuse names and have difficulty getting around it is during multiple party conversations.

 

[The Judge]

As often as possible to avoid confusion, as little as possible to avoid reader fatigue!

If you have two women talking, then inevitably it will mean having to use the names more than if it's a man and a woman together when it's obvious who "he" and "she" are. If one of them has a title, like General Wolfe or Gloriana, Duchess of Belgrave, then an occasional "the General" instead of "Wolfe" or "the Duchess" instead of "Gloriana" is OK, but what I wouldn't do is start using circumlocutions like some old pulp stories where instead of the person's name it's "the red-headed temptress" or somesuch. That can very easily seem pretentious and over-written if you're not careful.

I'd advise always to go for clarity over elegance, though, and if in doubt use the name. People will forgive the odd could-be-better-written, but if they start getting bewildered as to who is doing what, then you've lost them.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I agree with the Judge that where you have two same-sex characters, pronouns are better than names - and yes, those elaborate tags can get irksome. Eddings drove me mad with the number of times he refered to Silk as some variant on "the little rat-faced man"!

My rules-of-thumb are:

1. Use pronouns as much as possible, particularly where I have one male and one female present.

2. Use a pronoun for the PoV character as much as possible, particularly if I'm aiming for a close, "intimate" POV. Only use his/her name when it's essential for clarity.

3. Use very simple labels - actor, postman, king - as occasional variants

4. Only use more elaborate tags when introducing a new character whose name is not yet known.

 

[Mouse]

Yeah, I do do 'the warrior' or 'the thief' or 'the healer.' And go for 'he' and 'she' where possible.

I think I'm doing it okay then (later in the story, at least), thanks guys. You know when you're editing and you suddenly start to question everything? I'm doing that at the mo!

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I do the same as the Judge - I use names as much as they are needed.

Personally when reading I prefer over use to under use where I have to read back to work out who is speaking.

 

[Phoenixthewriter]

Not to go against the Judge, as I agree completely that the overusing of descriptive terms in lieu of names can be pretentious. However, I do find it as another way to break up using their names, especially if you have only so recently used that person's name. I typically only use it if it fits the action or context of the situation though.

 

[Hex]

I didn't even think about this (I'm still not sure what my policy is, but I hope to be borrowing bits of Anne's) and then I read this as an editor's pet hate:
"Any story where the characters are constantly addressing each other in dialogue. It drives me crazy and I can’t get through the story! No one talks like that in real life except infomercial hosts…"

and it made me wilt.

(http://www.shimmerzine.com/blog/)

 

[Mouse]

I've heard that before about not using names in dialogue. I think it depends on the character though. Personally, I rarely if ever actually use people's names. I never use their names when I'm stood there talking to them. My office manager though, uses names all the time.

 

[Hex]

yes, some people do it, Mouse. It drives me loopy in real life, but it's for real. It depresses me, Mouse, that it's Not Allowed in fiction.

My FIL does it as a form of control. Nice control, but still.

 

[Phoenixthewriter]

I never use their names when I'm stood there talking to them. My office manager though, uses names all the time.

Heh, I actually have a fear of names I think. I am almost terrified of talking to someone by their name and instead say "hey man" or something like that. Even if I've known who the person is for a year or so, I still never use their name. Fear of getting it wrong I think.

As far as dialogue, I agree. Only when you are addressing someone who's just entered the scene, or when someone who just entered the scene addresses someone already present. Otherwise, unless it truly calls for it, names used in dialogue should be uncommon.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

In my world (the one inside my head, which is admittedly more than a little off-kilter from the rest of humanity), people don't use each other's names in every line of a conversation. It drives me batty to see it written, and it really drives me batty when I talk to someone who uses people's names to their face all the time. My second husband called everybody by name, but unfortunately he wasn't that good at remembering them, so often it wasn't the actual name of the person he was using it to. I cured him of that, mostly -- explaining that "hey, how ya doin'" is much preferable to "hey, Bob, how ya doin'" when you're talking to Fred.

Back to the point, as TJ said -- as much as possible to avoid confusion, as little as possible to avoid tiring the reader. The other thing I hate is when I have to count lines back to see who said what. That means the names weren't mentioned quite enough times.

 

[Anne Lyle]

It depresses me, Mouse, that it's Not Allowed in fiction.

I think it's one of those "rules" that gets trotted out because beginners do it far too much. As the habit of one character that defines how they interact with others, I reckon it would be perfectly OK. But when all your characters talk like this:

"Hi Bob, how are you?" Alice said.

"Well, Alice, I've not been so well..."

then yeah, it gets a little cheesy!

 

[Glen]

"Hey, Mouse. I think use of names in dialogue should also depend on circumstance, and you can use this to help suggest tone. Sometimes we will deliberately say someone's full name as a kind of mock scolding. Sometimes we call out a first name to greet someone, or whisper it in love. Sometimes we use surname only in a kind of mock formality," said Glen.