Desiderius Price

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Lets not totally derail this topic Names… yep, size of the role dependent. Whether it’s sexual or not. When reworking the potter fanfic, noticed I had removed a doctor’s name between two (earlier) drafts today, kept the name out simply as it’d be more distracting than helpful. Guess that’s a better measure for your gang of boys & girls the MC is going through – name helpful or distracting to the narrative?

Yep, both agree here. A sidecar/backstory also does way better justice to the character than “flashback short”. Take Jeff, briefly mentioned in a flashback, is now a fully fleshed character, and the reader will be rooting for him when he competes in the Olympics (swimming), in what’s likely going to be a multi-installment type of back story. One thing I fight in my potter story rewrite… I did a lot of retcon before, so it’d be like Hermione going “Yesterday Snape talked to me...” On this rewrite, I’m changing it to showing that conversation when it happens. Thus, what had been revealed later to be SeamusFinnigan/LadyAuror relation, is now being shown (added a new character on this rewrite, and his POV is able to witness SeamusFinnigan/LadyAuror banging on the sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room).

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My disastrous mistake with flashbacks… In my first original fic I posted here, because it was a huge group of people, I started inserting chapters of flashbacks, one after another, covering how the different characters got there. Reviewers were getting confused “isn’t he dead?” Once I realized I had basically had multiple stories in it, I started to peel them off as SEPARATE stories, and it’s way, way better. Of course, haven’t finished those backstories, still working on them, and plan to get back to the main story… eventually. For instance, Jefferey is backstory that delves into the subversive underground group trying to counter the strong religious push/indoctrination of the main society. Alaska Trekkers shows how two join up to the main story. Dale’s Game is intended for one of those too (though it derailed, so it’s eventual rewrite will fix that). Once I start clearing out the backstory & rewrites, I do intend to get back to the main story In the meanwhile, this potter fanfic isn’t going to write itself. Overall, I minimize flashbacks, as it’s usually a symptom of planning issues. However, they can have a place.

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One thing I appreciate here on AFF is that we don’t have to consider sexuality a gift of the 18th birthday, that it’s part of the human condition from the day we’re born. Stuff I write is usually underdogs, their development, which tends to include youth, teenagers, and college-aged characters because its these early years that tend to set them up – sure, can happen later too, but way more likely with early indoctrination. Jeff? He’s eight, in the middle of taking a bath, when the father comes to execute a custody order in the middle of a divorce, thus Jeff’s leaving his family home in his birthday suit, and gets relocated to a nudist environment as that’s a good hiding spot from the ex … that’s got underage all over it. Nah, I’d totally understand it if you had minors doing those acts… happens today with teenagers, how many “wait” until they’re 18 to get frisky if given the chance? Some do, but not most, and I try to write with a fair bit of realism to it. And even if the teens aren’t actually getting frisky, they’re dreaming/joking about it. Even in star trek, most red shirts had a name, maybe added to the captain’s log “Death of Lt Smith”. So, if the character’s around for most of an episode, a name’s likely the right thing to give them. If you’re having difficulty with names, try a random name generator, that’ll suggest names fast. (I tend to use http://random-name-generator.info/random/)

Felt like digging… Definitely sage advice there! I tend to keep the flashbacks short, focus on the one thing needed, and usually to show the character dwelling on something. Because a “flashback” to add in something earlier into the story’s time-frame tends to hint that I failed to simply put it in at the appropriate time. If I “flashback” to right before the story started...why didn’t I open up with that instead? (Obviously with fanfic, sometimes you do have to retcon something into canon, so your hands are a bit more tied.)

I don’t follow Riverdale… but yeah, given the author set on this website, especially as most of my stories have the underage warnings on them, “minor characters” has dual meanings. Suppose even primary & secondary could in a school setting. Suppose a good hint for names is “love interest” vs “sex object”. If it’s simply another hole (or dick), then names are less urgent. If it’s in the name of romance, then a name would be more important.

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Context is everything here. If it’s a long scene with only that other character, you might get away with “naval officer” and use “he” or “she” pronouns; M/F being easier at than over, say M/M or F/F. And your main character not remembering the name the next day. Going down a line? Maybe a name, maybe not. If I’m portraying the opening run of football players within cheerleaders? Describe the paint job, the similarity, or even one or two differences as you’re going down that line. If you’re bouncing between characters, back and forth, well, names are likely more critical. (ps. trying to retire “minor” from this conversation unless you’re wanting it to be under-18.)

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And TBH, even IF I given a name to a background character, I’ll go to referring to them by their role anyways. ie “I’m Officer Burton,” the officer said. “Was that your vehicle son?” The officer pointed at the smoldering burned metal frame. Because the burden of remembering the name/association for a short period of time… is that where you want the emphasis of your story to be? However, when you’ve got multiple of the same role, as pointed earlier, Hermione gave nicknames to her attackers so I didn’t have to repeatedly say “tall one with a freckled face” and “short fat one”, when it became easier use “Freckles” and “Chubby”. Maybe the reader shed a tear when the coroner’s report described their internal organs as vindaloo?