When a character goes by two names...

[Whispersecret]

I have a character in a story who is known to the world by one name, like Cher or Madonna. But she is trying to live incognito for a while and tells the other main character her name is Missy, her childhood nickname.

My question is, how does a writer refer to her? Do I call her "MadonnaCher?"

"MadonnaCher" ran to the car, her red hair streaming behind her.

And how does she think of herself? If she's gone by this name for years as a professional and in her personal life, wouldn't she think of herself as "MadonnaCher?"

Should she think of herself as MadonnaCher in the beginning of the story and then at some turning point begin to think of herself as Missy?

 

[wildsweetone]

what point of view is the story in?

i.e. i don't think of myself by my name, simply as 'me' or 'i'

if it's 3rd person POV then i would think to keep solely to the name specifically needed, using dialogue between this character and another to let the reader know when she reverts to her real name.

Cher could be living a normal life, then she gets caught stealing, goes to jail, serves her time, comes out and uses a new name. while she is using that new name/nickname, she thinks of herself as 'nickname'... thus getting totally into her part. the time will come when she advises others of her real identity. most likely after the conflict has been resolved.

i have a character in a piece i am currently playing with who has amnesia. she has spent six months with a new identity. she thinks of herself as Ginny. soon she will discover who she really is and will let others know (through dialogue) what her real name is.

sorry - i'm waffling again.
did it make any sense?

 

[Weird Harold]

Know Your Character

I have a character in a story who is known to the world by one name, like Cher or Madonna. But she is trying to live incognito for a while and tells the other main character her name is Missy, her childhood nickname.

...

Should she think of herself as MadonnaCher in the beginning of the story and then at some turning point begin to think of herself as Missy?

How you refer to her in the narration will depend on how involved she is in the deception and her "motive" for the deception.

From the little bit you've disclosed, it sounds like she's "MadonnaCher" for most of the story -- the kind of deception where she ocassionaly has to do a double-take when someone addresses "Missy" because she doesn't associate that name as being her.

How long she clings to the idea that "Missy" is a deception will determine how long the narration refers to her as "MadonnaCher" -- when she stops thinking of her situation as a deception then she starts becoming "Missy" instead of "MadonnaCher."

On the other hand, if she never starts thinking of her "Missy" persona as "real" then she would stay "MadonnaCher" throughout the story.

The answer to your question all depends on the character and what direction your plot is going.

 

[Whispersecret]

It's third person POV, otherwise I'd have no problem. LOL. My difficulty occurs when I'm "in her head," as opposed to omniscient, but writing third person.

I think perhaps the problem is that I haven't chosen the right name for her, and so it's difficult to think of her with that wrong name.

I think I'll refer to her as "professional name" until the other character learns of her real identity. The other character will, of course, refer to her as "nickname."

Thanks!

 

[wildsweetone]

have you ever tried doing the meditation thing? there's a how to on it if i recall... hmmm

okay i found it, it's How to Write a Character Biography by Judo...

about three quarters of the page down, there is an exercise for meditation... maybe if you tried this, your character might tell you what she wants to be named... who knows... they move in mysterious ways rofl

good luck

here's the link:

http://literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=51114

 

[JUDO]

Thanks for the mention, WSO. Getting your character to tell you is always a great way to go.

* * *

Here's what I think, Whisper.

When your mention your character in prose, at all times, use the character's real name (let's says it's Lizette). When masquerading and she is referred to in dialog by either herself or someone else, use her fake name "Missy."

Example:

Clutching the towel tighter to her breasts, Lizette smiled at the awkwardness of the situation. "It's okay, call me Missy."

Embarrassed, but intriguied, Raymond fumbled like a blind man, trying to pick up her robe while continually staring at her legs. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know anyone was staying here. I mean, my sister left this morning, miss... Uh, I mean, Missy.

Lizette watched him struggle for a moment. "Don't you think it would be simpler to pick it up, if you looked at it for a moment?"

His mouth dropped open, then his eyes flashed to the robe. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, Missy, here it is."

* * *

In this way, it seems like the reader is "in" on her secret, celebrating with her like a confidant.

What do you think?


- Judo

 

[ronde]

It depends upon who she considers herself to be. By your description of the plot, I would think she thinks of herself as MadonnaCher. I would use MadonnaCher unless the narration is of the other character's thoughts. In dialogue, both characters would use Missy. at least until she reveals her true name.

 

[Whispersecret]

GRR, I thought I had this resolved, and now I'm waffling again. LOL.

Okay, let's not bother talking about dialogue, because in front of the guy she's "fooling" she will always be Missy, until the moment of truth.

So, what remains is the narration. Obviously when I'm writing in the guy's pov, he will think of her as Missy.

It's when I'm writing from HER pov that is the problem. Ronde asked the pertinent question: "Who does she consider herself to be?" She is a woman who is dissatisfied with always being judged solely on her looks. So, her self-image is a fuzzy area.

I'm thinking about this option:

1. She has the professional name Antoinette. The world knows her by that single name, with no last name.

2. She goes by Tony. All her close friends, etc. call her that.

3. When she meets this guy, he doesn't recognize her for many reasons and she introduces herself as Nina because Tony is too close to Antoinette.

If I went this route, then I would refer to her as Tony in all instances, except when perpetuating the ruse. The full name of Antoinette would only be used when explaining her real identity, either to the reader or to the hero.

Whaddaya think?

 

[ronde]

I like these choices. I am a firm believer that names connote much about a person's personality.

Antoinette has a "stage" sound to it, and fits a woman who uses her body in her profession. It could fit a stripper or model equally. Tony is a diminutive of Antoinette, and retains some of the stage sound. A woman who goes by Tony would probably be vivacious and possibly seductive. Both traits fit the public image of Antoinette.

If she's not certain she is really as the public sees her, it would be natural for her to pick a more demure name, and Nina is nearly an opposite personality. She might do this unconsciously in response to her uncertainty, or consciously as a rebellion to the personality that Antoinette connotes.

 

[JUDO]

If I went this route, then I would refer to her as Tony in all instances, except when perpetuating the ruse. The full name of Antoinette would only be used when explaining her real identity, either to the reader or to the hero.

Whaddaya think?

I think this is exactly what I thought you should do. If you are writing in 3rd person, then when it's his time to think of something referring to the woman and it occurs during the time when he's being decieved, then he will think of her as "Missy."

BUT even when the action is described from his point-of-view, she should still be referred to as Tony. If it seems like you might find a moment where that could be confusing, then use a hyphenation (which could be comical), like this:

Brett watched as Tony-pretending-to-be-Missy drank the tap water and attempted to smile.

Cool?


- Judo

 

[Whispersecret]

I'm gonna go with it as I described and see how it works. Thanks so much, friends.

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Once you've established firmly in the readers's mind that Antoinette and Nina are the same person, and what their respective characters are, Antoinette outgoing and well-known, and Nina trying to hide from it, you should be able to switch between names and let that indicate how she's feeling or what she's thinking at that moment.

So '"Yes," said Antoinette' and '"Yes," said Nina' should convey different nuances to the reader, and shouldn't be confusing even if you switch from sentence to sentence. The reader will understand her internal switching.

I've got a similar thing I've just submitted, which hasn't appeared yet: two actresses rehearsing a play, which is also reflecting their real life. It's only a rehearsal, and they aren't fully in character, so I could call one of them either Carlotta (real name) or Anna (the part).

What I actually did was use whichever seemed to be speaking or doing the action at that time: was it more predominantly the play character or the real person? At several points the play dialogue and action had significance for the person too, so I wrote:

'No,' said Anna and Carlotta.

I hope this resonance will work for the reader.

 

[wildsweetone]

I was just struck dumb by a thought... (yeah it does happen occasionally) rofl

this is like having a real name that your family know about and a nickname that people on Lit know you as...

*shivering* ohhhhh goosebumps

If I went this route, then I would refer to her as Tony in all instances, except when perpetuating the ruse. The full name of Antoinette would only be used when explaining her real identity, either to the reader or to the hero.

this sounds right to me

 

[Whispersecret]

Rainbow, you're braver than I.

Saying "said Anna AND Carlotta" is just a little too far outside the box for me to attempt. I'm afraid a reader might be pulled out of my story because they aren't sure who's talking. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Ulyssa]

The Most Wonderful Thing About It...

...is that your character can explore different aspects of herself.

Also when you approach omniscient POV her friends know her as Toni, the new object of her affection as Nina and the world as Antoinette.

WS I've had some personal experience so I'm going to PM you about this one.

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Heh, 2 out of 3.

My story's just appeared (by the way, postings are very slow at the moment, aren't they?) and I've got three feedback e-mails from it.

Two of them liked it but the third said it's very nice but I'm confused who "Marie" is. (Marie the character opposite Anna.) -- So, okay, subtlety doesn't always work and you'd have to spell it out more for some people.

But that doesn't mean you should make all concessions to people who don't understand at first.

 

[Whispersecret]

True, Rainbow. Like almost everything in writing, it's a judgment call.