How on earth can an author forget their character's names?
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- aaronhattle
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Re: How on earth can an author forget their character's name
- riyanj
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But I have also been guilty of forgetting characters' names in my own works in progress, so I always make sure I keep a list, on paper, for quick reference as I'm working.
An easy way to avoid such mishaps, especially if you are going to be your own editor/publisher, is to join a good writer's workshop and have the work critiqued. Even when you think it's perfect - especially when you think it's perfect - get some fresh eyeballs looking at it and your own will be opened.
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Are these real books? As someone else said above, I've been reading for 50 years (and I read a lot) and I've never seen it. Could someone name a book where this has occurred?
-- 04 Dec 2013, 12:45 --
I realize this is an old thread, but I couldn't let this one pass. Some months ago, lady Charlie said:" it said the information just didn't jibe with what he already knew. I think he was going for jive...."
No, jibe is the correct word. It means to be in accord with something.
That would be the best featuer of E-book readers (which I don't own) - I hear you can get a dictionary loaded on the reader. That's cool by me.
-- 04 Dec 2013, 12:52 --
Brtleby says: "An easy way to avoid such mishaps, especially if you are going to be your own editor/publisher, is to join a good writer's workshop and have the work critiqued"
Don't you read your own work when you're finished writing it? Don't you think you would notice such a glaring mistake?
- riyanj
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Stop and consider: Tolkien had to revise the Lord of the Rings trilogy over and over and over again.
If you're a better writer / editor / publisher / agent than him, all the power to you. Until then, don't judge.
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Your statement that Tolkien revised LOTR over and over again supports my comment rather than your argument. He looked at his work as often as it took to get it where he wanted.
I have to imagine that if he had changed the name of a character partway through, he would have noticed. Are you saying he didn't?
I've never seen it; I've never done it. Plainly that does make me if not a better editor, then a better proof reader than anyone who has done it or missed it.
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-- 05 Dec 2013, 12:46 --
I just posted that I couldn't imagine writing and forgetting a character's name, but now that I've read your post, I can see where that may happen. I guess I was thinking main characters, but the original post doesn't really specify. If I were a writer, I cannot imagine forgetting a main character's name, but I could imagine needing to check the name of a minor character (though I would definitely check).aaronhattle wrote:It's a lot easier than you'd think, at least during the initial writing process. Several of my characters have names that start with T, and if the character hasn't been introduced or talked about in a while...well. Let's just say that I've had to go back and check names earlier in the document. Ideally, editing and revising would catch mistakes like this though.
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- robertcjgraves
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Author of Richard, Zombie King and Diamond Eye
- riyanj
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I read and re-read all of my books even after publication to fix these errors. I even encourage my readers to send me anything I've missed. THAT was my point.
If anyone has a tool to ensure that there are no errors, EVER, upon the first publication of a book, I'd be the first person to shake their hand and bow down to you as the God of Perfection.
- robertcjgraves
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In the review of my first novel, Richard, Zombie King, by the Online Book Club (http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewto ... 22&t=15909), the reviewer basically says that she would have give the book four stars instead of three if it weren't for the errors in the latter part of the book that made some sentences difficult to read. The publisher and I are going back now and trying to find the errors. I even contacted the reviewer and asked for her help.
Author of Richard, Zombie King and Diamond Eye
- riyanj
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- Nathrad Sheare
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-Edgar Allan Poe
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