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A lot of you hate nicknames in fanfic because you hate nicknames, period.
Some of you disagree with individual nicknames because you believe the character wouldn't let others use it--but then the whole issue of "Snivellus" comes up and reminds us that often it isn't a case of "letting" at all.
At least 2% of you believe you're qualified to judge what a good nickname is, but don't trust everyone else. I genuinely love you for that honesty. Surely some people do have a knack for using appropriate nicknames, and know it! False modesty does not always a useful discussion make.
And then there's great discrepancy over what are good nicknames. Nothing's universally despised; what sends this person into seizures, that person thinks sounds logical and kind of sweet.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
calliope14 hates "Pads" for Padfoot because it sounds so very menstrual. And some nicknames translate badly if you speak other languages ("Siri" can mean "buttocks" or "crustacean," I'm told).
One thing brought to light that I want to stress is how resistant a reader is to the phonetic use of words we would never blink at to hear. Yes, nicknames and shortening of names occur in speech all the time. This is what a lot of writers are getting at with all the "Mione"'s and "Drake"'s and "Siri"'s. I brought up the example of TV scripts. Scripts are filled with such phonetic shortenings: a charcter named Mary addressed, "Stop worrying, Mare, it'll be fine." That's because it's a script; it's going to be spoken, not read. If you think no one would ever yell at Sirius, "Seer! Check this out!", I don't think you can argue that it's because it's not canon, or dumb or childish, or he wouldn't tolerate it. It's because it looks ugly in prose and the instinct is to say, "Yuck!" (Asflorahart points out, "Reme/Reem/Ream" is even uglier, but no less likely.) To paraphrase meredyth_13: "I hear this, but I hate seeing it, and shudder just typing it out."
This may be related to that rule that "But that's the way it happened in real life!" is no excuse for writing a story that doesn't flow or is boring. Screw real life; a story has its requirements. So the creation of nicknames may also be one that can't be resolved with "But that's what everyone does and says in real life."
If you stick to canon names (and canon nicknames), no one can fault you. You may hate the name or think it unlikely you would use it in conversation, but if a bed partner is moaning, "Oh, Severus," no one can fault you for using what's canon.
On the other hand, we're probably never going to hear what bed partners DO moan in the canonical Potterverse. (I mean, come on; you know that even Rowling thinks Lockhart's lover calls him "Gildy" at the height of passion.) We're exploring places canon's never going to go.
So, stick to canon and make no waves, or put 'em in and be prepared to shrug, "Can't please everyone." (Me, I'm probably going to practice shrugging. Besides, it'll be good for me, with all the other controversial stuff I write.)
Some of you disagree with individual nicknames because you believe the character wouldn't let others use it--but then the whole issue of "Snivellus" comes up and reminds us that often it isn't a case of "letting" at all.
At least 2% of you believe you're qualified to judge what a good nickname is, but don't trust everyone else. I genuinely love you for that honesty. Surely some people do have a knack for using appropriate nicknames, and know it! False modesty does not always a useful discussion make.
And then there's great discrepancy over what are good nicknames. Nothing's universally despised; what sends this person into seizures, that person thinks sounds logical and kind of sweet.
calliope14 hates "Pads" for Padfoot because it sounds so very menstrual. And some nicknames translate badly if you speak other languages ("Siri" can mean "buttocks" or "crustacean," I'm told).One thing brought to light that I want to stress is how resistant a reader is to the phonetic use of words we would never blink at to hear. Yes, nicknames and shortening of names occur in speech all the time. This is what a lot of writers are getting at with all the "Mione"'s and "Drake"'s and "Siri"'s. I brought up the example of TV scripts. Scripts are filled with such phonetic shortenings: a charcter named Mary addressed, "Stop worrying, Mare, it'll be fine." That's because it's a script; it's going to be spoken, not read. If you think no one would ever yell at Sirius, "Seer! Check this out!", I don't think you can argue that it's because it's not canon, or dumb or childish, or he wouldn't tolerate it. It's because it looks ugly in prose and the instinct is to say, "Yuck!" (As
florahart points out, "Reme/Reem/Ream" is even uglier, but no less likely.) To paraphrase meredyth_13: "I hear this, but I hate seeing it, and shudder just typing it out."This may be related to that rule that "But that's the way it happened in real life!" is no excuse for writing a story that doesn't flow or is boring. Screw real life; a story has its requirements. So the creation of nicknames may also be one that can't be resolved with "But that's what everyone does and says in real life."
If you stick to canon names (and canon nicknames), no one can fault you. You may hate the name or think it unlikely you would use it in conversation, but if a bed partner is moaning, "Oh, Severus," no one can fault you for using what's canon.
On the other hand, we're probably never going to hear what bed partners DO moan in the canonical Potterverse. (I mean, come on; you know that even Rowling thinks Lockhart's lover calls him "Gildy" at the height of passion.) We're exploring places canon's never going to go.
So, stick to canon and make no waves, or put 'em in and be prepared to shrug, "Can't please everyone." (Me, I'm probably going to practice shrugging. Besides, it'll be good for me, with all the other controversial stuff I write.)
