what to call a character before bringing in their name?

What's wrong with using his name from the start? The reader won't really have a different reaction to his name if it comes up on the aircraft or if it comes up right away.

Third person limited is very intimate--almost like using first person. The level of knowledge the narrator knows vs. what the character knows is the same. Therefore it seems strange the narrator would not know your MC's name.

What Katiemac said.

If there is some big reason you don't want to reveal his real name, you could consider a nickname.

Beth

I think I know what you mean because I personally hate having to name characters from the start. I have no idea why, but it's just one of those things I've never been comfortable with. I'd rather start with something like, "He walked down the street..." or "The main in the trenchcoat walked down the street..." Something like that, and then have him called his name or give his name in dialogue. I guess because telling the name always makes it stand out to me that I'm reading a book. Weird, huh? Might also be because I usually use first-person, in which case you could go the entire book without naming him.

I ended up giving in and just naming the guys from the beginning last time. It still sort of annoys me, but everything else I did felt too artificial.

Not naming is a very distancing thing, no good at all for third limited. It's as bad as describing the character. You could get away with it in omniscient, but it would still be a lousy thing to do to the reader.

If you're in the MC's POV, you should probably just use his name, unless for some reason he doesn't know his own name.

Matera the Mad said:

Not naming is a very distancing thing, no good at all for third limited. It's as bad as describing the character. You could get away with it in omniscient, but it would still be a lousy thing to do to the reader.

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I'm not sure I get why not naming a character is any more distancing than naming him. Either way, you still know the same amount. Personally, I feel more of a sense of intimacy with a "he" or something similar and being thrown right into the story. To me, having the character named always feels like, "And here, Mr. Reader, so you know his name..." I know I'm strange that way, but I've always been like that. Sometimes it's great and really well done and part of the voice (depending on the name, I suppose). I mean, you could start a book with, "My name is Odd Thomas" and you've hooked me right there, and that would obviously be a case where it's better to use it than not.

I'm not really arguing, I just don't really get why it influences distance. Doesn't the voice itself have more influence than whether or not he's named in the first line or the first page?

Call him "him," or "he."

I think by not naming your character right at the start, you risk keeping the reader indifferent to that character. You need to begin the reationship with the character and reader right from the get go, not the first line, maybe not even the first paragraph, but soon. personally I want to know who I'm reading about, I get annoyed with the writer trying to hide the identity from me, at least it always feels that way- MHO- of course

Well, I've been writing a first chapter where the MC is together with "the woman" or "her". I need to figure out a name for the woman asap. But I can't come up with one.

sheadakota said:

I think by not naming your character right at the start, you risk keeping the reader indifferent to that character. You need to begin the reationship with the character and reader right from the get go, not the first line, maybe not even the first paragraph, but soon. personally I want to know who I'm reading about, I get annoyed with the writer trying to hide the identity from me, at least it always feels that way- MHO- of course

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I agree here. If I have to guess at who is important, and if he's important why not use his name, then I am less likely to feel any sort of sympathy for him or identitfy with him. Then I mistrust the author. If the character and the author don't have my trust, I'm not finishing the book.

I call my character, "the youth" and "he/him" until I finally get around to naming him. It just didn't seem important to me to name him. Guess I'll go name him right away now.

sheadakota said:

I think by not naming your character right at the start, you risk keeping the reader indifferent to that character. You need to begin the reationship with the character and reader right from the get go, not the first line, maybe not even the first paragraph, but soon. personally I want to know who I'm reading about, I get annoyed with the writer trying to hide the identity from me, at least it always feels that way- MHO- of course

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I guess this is the difference. I don't see how the name is what makes a reader indifferent or not (we're obviously different on this lol). I've seen plenty of manuscripts that name the character in the first sentence, but then have so little insight into the character that it's impossible to care. Then you have books like Rebecca where you never know the MC's name. Granted, that drives me absolutely insane if I get to the end and still don't know, but if you're just talking a page or two that's not so much of a big deal.

I used to have a friend who was superb at character. She could give you one single line that would pack more character into it than a lot of writers could do with a chapter. It was amazing. I was always in awe of her for it. Having seen things like that, I guess I just feel like there are some things that are more important than the name.

Granted, I did go ahead and throw the names of mine in from the very beginning. Well...mostly. I don't give my MC's full name until halfway through the story, and that's intentional and he even refuses to give it a couple of times. But that's kinda integral to the plot, so a bit different.

Not naming your main character as soon as they're introduced is tricky business. It can be done, but you're going against something very basic in human nature when you do it: Humans instinctually want names on things. The more individual the name, the more the person/thing is likely to be remembered. The more generic the name, the less likely any notice is going to be taken of it.

The introduction of a character is just that--the introduction. If you met your MC at a party and never got his name, how much would you really remember him when talking about the party to coworkers the next day? Odds are, probably not very well.

We humans are bias towards identifying things with names because that's what works with our memories. I'd offer that by refusing to give your MC a name--any name--immediately, you're inviting the reader to mark him as meaningless and go looking for the real main character who has a name.

Something to consider, at least.

In any case, if you really want to do it this way, I say you use this opportunity to include description. You can thicken "He" by saying "he picked up his pace, the wind whipping through his brown hair" etc etc.
That way you can refer to him as "the lanky man" or whatever.

Find a different way to introduce your character.

It really pisses me off when the title of the character is "The ____" before his/her name is revealed. I have no idea why.

KaysenParkerPlath said:

It really pisses me off when the title of the character is "The ____" before his/her name is revealed. I have no idea why.

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Me too, Kaysen. I know it's irrational but it annoys the crap out of me. It feels like false suspense. The character knows his name. Why withhold it?

One easy way to add the name is to simply substitute it for 'she' or 'he' at a comfy early point. You can do this in narrative or in deep Third Person.


First paragraph:

-- They caught up to her in Braddy Square, in the rain. She'd been wary as a wild bird all the way across London. No flicker of movement pursued, no single footstep shadowed her own, but she knew someone was following. Justine had been a spy a long time.


You can wait till there's some dialog and have folks use the name.
About 150 words in:

--"Just so." He touched her cheek where he had hit her and turned her toward him. He did it gently. He had much practice in hurting women. "We continue. This time you will be more helpful."

"Please. I am trying."

"You will tell me where you have hidden the plans, Annique."



You can even have the character name herself:
Maybe 100 words in:

---It was a good day for robbery. Fog crawled up out of the Thames and made itself at home on Katherine Lane. It coiled over the drains and lurked in the corners, smelling like the river, which wasn't precisely ambrosia and mead as smells went. Anything could hide in that fog. Probably did.

"Welcome home, Jess," she whispered. She pulled her hood up and kept walking. The afternoon folded in around her, drizzling.

You don't want to be gimicky about it, generally. You want it to be invisible to the reader.

A Name yet to be Named

In using MC, seems like you already have a good placeholder name. Call him MC for now, and who knows, maybe those letters can be his initials for when you think of a full name.