[ SECRET POST #1475 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1475 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09.


__________________________________________________



10.


__________________________________________________



11.


__________________________________________________



12.


__________________________________________________



13.


__________________________________________________



14.


__________________________________________________



15.


__________________________________________________



16.


__________________________________________________



17.


__________________________________________________



18.


__________________________________________________



19.


__________________________________________________



20.


__________________________________________________



21.


__________________________________________________



22.


__________________________________________________



23.


__________________________________________________



24.


__________________________________________________



25.


__________________________________________________



26.


__________________________________________________



27.


__________________________________________________



28.


__________________________________________________



29.


__________________________________________________



30.


__________________________________________________



31.


__________________________________________________



32.


__________________________________________________



33.


__________________________________________________



34.


__________________________________________________



35.


__________________________________________________



36.


__________________________________________________



37.


__________________________________________________



38.


__________________________________________________



39.


__________________________________________________



40.


__________________________________________________



41.


__________________________________________________



42.


__________________________________________________



43.


__________________________________________________



44.


__________________________________________________



45.


__________________________________________________



46.


__________________________________________________



47.



Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 14 pages, 349 secrets from Secret Submission Post #211.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom.livejournal.com]

23. http://i53.tinypic.com/ety4w9.jpg

[tymaporer.livejournal.com]

But when you have numerous references to the same character within a small space, it gets very repetitive and awkward to keep referring to them the same way each and every time.

[phoeliac.livejournal.com]

This makes me twitch in annoyance. I know other people don't mind so much, but it really nags it me :/

[(Anonymous)]

Yep, it's crappy writing.

[trekkiesara.livejournal.com]

Amen! It's fine to do once in a while, but some fics barely use the person's name and it's very annoying. It's like reading Anita Blake. I mean, seriously, Laurel K. Hamilton, I get it. The were's like to sleep in "big puppy piles". I dont need to have you hit me over the head with it every time they do it.

[citroneuse.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. But even worse is 'the larger man' or 'the shorter woman'.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like this happens a lot in slash and femmeslash, because saying "she" in a fic or scene with two girl characters doesn't differentiate who the author is referring to. You get a lot of hair colors and stuff. "The brunette said..." and that stuff.

[(Anonymous)]

yessss, this this this this.

it's ok to use it if you're writing from the POV of someone who doesn't know that characters name, because then it makes sense that the narrative would focus on a person's appearance to identify someone. aside from that, no.

[standardtastic.livejournal.com]

Pronouns, how do they work

[szaleniec1000.livejournal.com]

SO MUCH THIS. Seriously, stop it. Characters have names for a reason.

[vethica.livejournal.com]

Just adding another "word" up in here. Word.

[innatizzy.livejournal.com]

I've always taken it as a sign of a beginner. I know I used to write like that back in grade school, and it was even encouraged in some of my earlier English/Writing classes. It takes a bit to get comfortable with your words and get the hang of writing.

It's also a sign that you need a better Beta (or maybe that you need to start using one).

[cloud-riven.livejournal.com]

I understand if it's a very prominent physical feature, and something that from whoever's perspective we're in would notice. Otherwise, it just gets weird to think that we're constantly checking out typical things. Stuff like this:

"The gray-eyed turned to the chocolate-locked girl."

"The chubbier felt their way through the thicket of reeds."

I'm not particularly bugged by it, I should add. They're not as bad as occupations, hobbies or whatnot being used in place of them. I can't read most L4D2 stuff for instance if Ellis' name is replaced with "the hick" nearly all of the time.

[virescens.livejournal.com]

I've always found that using a character's name makes it a much more personal experience. It adds a closeness that a descriptive phrase or pronouns alone can't. I don't know why more people don't stress this. Say your characters' names a lot and it gets you a lot closer to the story.

[urania-chan.livejournal.com]

Yes, seriously. Just use pronouns and names people, it's not that hard.

That said, I did run across a handfull of instances where "the blue eyed bla bla" seemed an appropriate description because they included information on appearances without seeming too clunky. That's deep magic though. :P

[deniselleb.livejournal.com]

Wow, I thought I was the only one who feels this way. Especially if you keep varying the description. It's just distracting.

I remember telling a friend this when I read his fic. He said, "But it gets too confusing to use 'she'!" He didn't use "she" or their names ONCE, just varying descriptions: "the blonde beauty", "the feisty brunette", "the younger woman", "the buxom bombshell", etc. I felt it cheapened his otherwise sexy fic.

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

No.

[deavar.livejournal.com]

It should be mandatory to pass even a basic writing course to get into fandom.

[littleworkerbee.livejournal.com]

Agreed.
I just find them amateurish. Their presence doesn't automatically make the fic bad, it's just distracting because you know it could have been better executed.

[allstarzs.livejournal.com]

Agree so hard anon!!

[kathkin.livejournal.com]

I read this fic once that was really long and epic and plot-driven and it was a crossover between two of my favorite shows and was generally awesome... but. The epithets. D: They were everywhere and it drove me nuts.

Basically, it may feel awkward and repetative when you're writing to keep using names over and over, but when reading it back it sounds better. For srs.

[sargent-snarky.livejournal.com]

I both agree and disagree.

There are instances where it's appropriate. For example, you have a first person narration, and the person doesn't necessarily know people's names and so identifies them in his/her head as 'the guy with the crazy hair' and 'the girl with the polka dot scarf.' In that instance, to use such epithets, because that is how the character narrating would tell it, is entirely appropriate.

Also, there are some books - such as Tuck Everlasting - where a character never gets a name and/or is identified primarily by a specific characteristic. The man in the yellow suit, for example. Again, in such situations, though some readers may find it trying to read, it can be entirely appropriate.

Otherwise, yes, generally one should try to avoid them.

[ssjumi.livejournal.com]

Gawd, I used epithets like this in like, every second or third sentence during my first couple years of writing fics. I'm still working on getting rid of that habit, since they annoy me now, too :/
(Funnily enough, they only really squick me out in English fanfic. In my native language, they're a bit easier to stand, if they're not ridiculously overused. But that might just be me being guilty myself and therefore used to them *lol*)

[adlanth.livejournal.com]

The uninspired commenter agreed with the anonymous author of the secret...

[sensualcoco.livejournal.com]

I did that when I was younger and terrible writer. I just didn't want to keep using their names or 'he' all the time because that got confusing when talking about two men and I saw other writer's doing that.

I still am a terrible writer but at least I don't go 'the younger man' 'the taller man' 'the blue eyed man' 'the man who is sometimes interested in sports but secretly harbors a passion for fashion', anymore.