Hmm.

[katallison]

OK, I'm still trying to write a Vividcon con report, with marked lack of success, but in the meantime -- I'm very curious about something I've come across a couple of times lately in LJ comments, and that is the issue of the name you use to refer to a character when you're writing a close-3rd-person-POV story about that character.

Ahem. Let me see if I can be clearer. Say I'm writing a story in 3rd person about Fraser, where he's the POV character. I always refer to him as "Fraser" because that's, y'know, what I call the guy. But I've seen a couple of people lately saying that in such situations the name used should be the one that the character himself uses when he thinks about himself, so the question is does he think of himself as Fraser, or Ben, or Benton, or whatever?

See, in my head this is kind of, sort of, related to the issue flambeau was talking about a while ago (here, to be specific), where you can't sneak in descriptive stuff by having the POV character musing about his own tautly muscled abs or emerald eyes or whatever, or on the other hand providing detailed descriptions of scenes he regularly moves through and is familiar with to the point of obliviousness. You have to maintain the authenticity/integrity of the character's own awareness. And one could argue, I guess, that using the name the character would use about himself inwardly is part of that authenticity-maintenance, except -- I dunno, I just have never thought of it that way. It feels strange to me, and I'd love to hear others' views.

Comments

[merryish.livejournal.com]

I had the same issue with Fraser in the Great Epic of Long Unfinishedness. I did decide to go with "Ben" in his inner voice, in the end, because a guy who thinks of himself as "Fraser" isn't the guy I was writing, and because his dad (if memory serves) refers to him occasionally as Ben. It seems likely to me that he'd think of himself by the name his parents called him. And "Benton" is just too stiff for the character I'm writing.

It's also a cool way to signal a POV change when I'm not planning to use more than a section break -- the flip to Fraser puts it firmly in Ray's PoV without me having to do any extra work (and I am aaaaaalll about me having to do no extra work).

Bottom line, though -- I know it's probably going to mean a sacrifice to a lot of fans in terms of readability, but it's the only way I could make it sound right to *me*. And since I'm not really in the fandom and don't expect it to make much noise when I finally post (Merry WHO?), I'm mostly just doing it for myself.

[eliade.livejournal.com]

I admit I veer back and forth on "Ben." It can be done well, so that it becomes almost invisible, if the characterization is otherwise dead-on. And then again in some other writer's hands it can grate.

Fandom trends can also affect reading. I did become more used to "Ben" as I read more stories where it was used. There have to be pioneers for that, though, and people may find it a process of adjustment rather than an immediate acceptance.

It's kind of unfair, really, to have to work with that handicap of canonical naming convention(s), and I think you and Gwyn--in her comment lower down--both are correct in that you should just make the choice that works best for you as a writer. That's all any of us can do, really. (She said pretentiously! ;>)

[eliade.livejournal.com]

(She said pretentiously! ;>)

And of course by "she" I meant "me." I hope that was clear. *g*

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Merry, if you do actually finish a Great Epic in dS, or even a short drabble, or any-frickin'-thing whatsoever, *I* will make much noise, of a "WHOO-HOOO!"ing sort.

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease? ::whimpering, pawing::

(And "Merry WHO?" Uh, shyeah, right, as IF.)

[aerye.livejournal.com]

Adding, belatedly, to Kat's woo-hoo-ness. I will personally turn cartwheels and devote much LJ space to the woo and the hoo, should you ever post dS of epic-like proportions.