On Names and Nicknames. · 11:47am Nov 25th, 2015
"Even that big name was too fancy for her. So, I shortened 'Col-o-ra-tu-ra'...to 'Rara!'"
Ahh, so many names to keep track of. And so many friend-only shorthands to remember. Rainbow Dash to Dashie, Applejack to A.J., Twilight Sparkle to Twily/Purplesmart, and now this...er, 'Cholera-pony' to Rara. Makes me think of my old decision, a long time ago, regarding the use of such shortened names when it comes to writing. Anyone notice how I rarely use "Dash" when referring to Rainbow Dash? Or how the characters are the only ones to actually use nicknames? Where are they in creative writing?
This was just one of several small yet considerable decisions I made when I first began my hobby of writing. It's a decision that has since evolved into an unwritten rule. "If a character is given a nickname, the characters themselves should be the ones to use it, not the author." And I've stuck by it for years, now - even as far back as my days writing for Golden Sun, though that was easy since the characters didn't have nicknames.
Through and through, this choice has been a huge boon to me. Aside from having cool nicknames to choose from, the effect of not using them is pretty big. After all, what better way to keep the author out of a story than by not using a familiar name except in dialogue? Of course, the exception to this is any first-person story. But for the third-person perspective, using first, last, or full names can maintain the tone a writer strives for. Whatever tone that may be.
Even better? This puts a lot of power into the characters themselves. Seriously - aside from writing about a location, just about any story is about the people within. The changes they go through, the conflicts they face, and all the choices they must make in order to reach the climax of a story. A flash series did this to resounding effect, and they're all music videos! It doesn't have to be about romance and society, either. Any story that follows a character would do well to have as much power as possible put into that character.
And I realize this is a tough pill to swallow. "I'm the author; I know best! These letters and words will bend to my will, I swear it!" Yeah, but what if they don't? What if the story that's gripped you for so long decides to veer off into unknown territory, and the characters find themselves plunged into danger and daring? No amount of 'bending the words' will satisfy your own curiosity.
...
Whoa, where did I get into this lecture? I was supposed to be talking about nicknames. *Ahem*
If a character has a nickname, then that's good. It means that the character means something to other characters, for better or worse. And unless the real name of that character is unknown to the story's protagonist, then avoiding nicknames and titles will serve well. This can get into a subject about titles, too, and about ranks. And for that, the unwritten rule tends to change depending on how the so-named character should be portrayed.
As for me, I let Rainbow Dash call her best friend "A.J." all the time. Shining Armor will drop "Twily" several times a day. But when I write out their actions, I will stick to "Applejack" and "Twilight" instead. I'll even gravitate more toward "Rainbow" instead of just "Dash" despite the length. So that also means that any use of "Rara" from me will be kept to a character's speech, and I will maintain "Coloratura" everywhere else. (Except, of course, I happen to dive into some dual-identity crisis where Coloratura is grappling with a second personality that takes hold whenever she's in public, and has to fight against mental barriers she unknowingly erected in her childhood just to get a grip on it, and when she finally makes progress she find out that ponies are getting sick from hearing her sing and that in fact there's a third side to her, a "Cholera" side, that's just plain evil and messy. Except for that.)
What about you folks out there in writerland? How do you handle secondary names in your fiction?
~Leo
I've always called Twilight Sparkle 'Twiglet' in my stories.
I'm not sure what it means.
3567439 I keep on trying to think of a joke, but they all seem too close to real-world racism, so instead I'll just sit here and chuckle. Hardy-har-har.
3567445
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