Forum: Editors/Reviewers Hangout

This problem has been raised previously. The suggestion (and I am extending it) is to create a list of characters and assign short forms; for example Pastor Hathaway could be called XXZZ. When the story is completed you simply do an automatic search and correct

Even better, keep a running list of name mistakes, where you substitute one name for another. Chances are, if you're doing it now, you'll continue doing it in the future. Then, just before you're ready to post a story (AFTER it's been completely edited) then run a global search and replace, correcting any name mistakes your editors never noticed.

Another, less obvious problem, occurs when you introduce a public figure. You introduce them with their full title, have most people refer to them by their last name, to show the proper respect (if they hope to keep their jobs), while the main character might instead use their first name (once they've developed a personal relationship). What that means, in real terms, is the author keeps using the man's title, his family name and also his first name, all in the same passage. That gets fairly confusing rather quickly!

seem today to have no relation to each other.

The nickname Jack for John. That one boggles my mind.

The nickname Jack for John. That one boggles my mind.

That's only because John Ass sounds so pathetic! 'D

I guess I'm used to that one because my dad's middle name was John and he went by "Jack".

I'm used to name confusions. Each of my family's first names begins with a "V", so my parents were forever calling me by my brother's name. My mother would often start with one name, try another, and then run through the full list until she finally hit the correct one (which, after the first two, wasn't that hard). Heck, she even called my older brother, whose nickname was "Copy", "Coco", which was our dog's name. Generally, I'll respond to any name, whether it's mine or not. If someone looks like they might be talking to me, I'll respond.

But my uncle was named Jack (not John). It took until I was a teenager to learn they were the same.

I was thinking of John F. Kennedy. He was called Jack. And then he married a Jacki.

I know a Robert who has an ex wife named Robin.

And I know a Robin named Robert whose ex-wife is named "Squawk!" 'D (His current wife is called "tweetie".)

My grandfather was John, his war-bride English wife called him Jack, and they named their first son, my uncle, Jack. She died a couple of years after my father was born, so they didn't have much time for confusion around the house as to who was being referred to when she said Jack.

What your family never told you, was that your grandmother only called him "Jack", cause he spent so much time jacking off! 'D

Normally, Jack is not a common synonym for John.

I recall Yorkshire and England cricketer John Hampshire was suddenly referred to as Jack Hampshire and even Jackie Hampshire by the media. I'd never heard of Jack as a diminutive of John before that, but now I know what to look for I see it moderately often.

AJ

In English Jack is traditionally used as the diminutive form of John; it can be used also as diminutive for Jacob and sometimes for James due to his french form Jacques. Jack is now also a proper name in its own right.

I daresay, most of the references uses of "Jack" as a synonym for "John" predate my existence by several generations. I doubt there are many living people named "Jack" who also go by "John".

There might be a few, but I doubt readers would accept it without stopping to reread the page two or three time trying to figure it out.

Normally, Jack is not a common synonym for John.

I don't know about where you come from CW, but in England and Australia Jack is the most common alternate name for John. I don;t know why it is, but it was inherited here from the Brits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_(given_name)

In English Jack is traditionally used as the diminutive form of John;

I don't know about where you come from CW, but in England and Australia Jack is the most common alternate name for John. I don;t know why it is, but it was inherited here from the Brits.

All right. I stand corrected. I'll chalk it up to a 'non-U.S.' thing.

Normally, Jack is not a common synonym for John.

It's very common. John F Kennedy was called Jack.

It's very common. John F Kennedy was called Jack.

Wasn't "Jack" his brother?

Guilty. I think I may have 1 idea why some scores may have been lowered.

Starting a glossary right from the beginning is a good thing. Lazlo's Jade Force of Misera needed one, given all the various names he was tossing out left and right. In one story he had the country, Uptal in the Ringland continent. In a later story he referred to Upal, in the Ringland continent; a bit of digging makes it clear they are probably the same country.

I've been told that 20 - 30 is the normal cut-off for NOT needing a character list for a book (i.e. if you only have 20 characters, there's no need to attach a character list). In my very first story (both on SOL and published) I have over 100 different names over the course of six books, so the character list was necessary, almost from the very start.

With each subsequent book, I'd list the primary characters at the start, then add the secondary characters included (either from earlier books or in the current book), but I'd drop any from who weren't included in multiple chapters or who weren't referenced in the current book. That helps to keep the lists manageable. There's no sense listing anyone there's no sense searching for.

Do you use their first or last name? Do you use the last name in some situations (ex: a position of respect for some) and the first with others (ex: friends with other characters), or do you occasionally use nicknames for them?

I try to mimic real life and mix them. Some people know people by their nickname, some by their first name, some by only the family name, etc. You expect people to call people by the name they know them by. In the narrative I try to stick with the one name, but sometimes forget and mix them up there by using the nickname.

In the narrative I try to stick with the one name, but sometimes forget and mix them up there by using the nickname.

When I do mix it up, I try to remind readers who I'm referring to, such as "Listen, Max," he said, addressing the doctor".