Question re: SF/Fantasy Protagonist Names

I have never heard of this rule...though I have read many authors who use last names. I think it depends on the closeness of the narrator to whoever he/she is describing, talking to or about.

I think in SF, this would go back to military traditions because the last name is stitched on the uniform for identification purposes and carries on with a lot of SF writers. But as to it being a rule???

If you're friend is not an editor or agent, then they are MSU. There is no such rule. There are styles of prose, or narrative, or character dynamic that use last names more commonly, but it is by no means a rule of the genre.

What does MSU mean?

edit: Aha, urban dictionary strikes again. Nice acronym.

Making (stuff) up. And I've never heard that so-called rule either.

Using last names is more distant and more formal, but yeah - this is definitely MSU territory.

Smiling Ted said:

Using last names is more distant and more formal,

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If it was in a military setting, sure. And plenty of SF is set on ships and stuff where the military hierarchy is more usual. That'd make sense to use last names then.

If not, they're MSU. I've read plenty of Sci Fi that called their characters by their first names. Heck, I've read a few where there were no last names.

I think this is nonsense. I prefer character-driven stories and using last names (except for military use as mentioned) makes characters seem too distant for my liking.

Then again, I use the first vs last name argument in one of my WIPS: my male MC prefers the "authority" of his last name and rank while my female MC routinely calls him by his first name.

It's using that personalisation as conflict and works for me in this particular context. If using your characters' first names works best for you, then you shouldn't change that. It's not as simple as just changing names - I think it would change the whole tone of the novel.

I find the use of last names for characters when writing from that character's point of view odd and a bit off-putting. How many people think of themselves as "Thompson" or "Hernandez" rather than "Samantha" or "Diego"? I'd say use the names that make sense for the PoV you're working from; the PoV character is called what they'd think of themselves as, and other characters are called what the PoV character thinks of them as. (So the same character might be "Diego" or "Hernandez" or "Mr. Hernandez" or "Dad" depending on who's the current PoV.)

On the other hand, I seldom read military scifi, so...grain of salt and all that. Given that my last creative writing teacher told us "everyone" writes in present tense these days, there's clearly a lot of variation by genre and subgenre alike.

That people have more than one name is due to several factors. At least two are: keeping track of heritage; to avoid confusion in large populations. If such considerations are important in your story, then by all means, pay attention to using them as is appropriate in your society.

I think of my friend Gary as just Gary, unless I need to distinguish him from my other friend Gary, in which case, I use their last names to keep them distinct (Gary V. and Gary F.). I know even more guys named John.

But if your story has just a few characters, and they are all friends (or close enemies), I see no reason not to refer to them using whichever name seems appropriate at the time. If I had the characters John Smith, Bill Jones and Gloria Vixen, I might begin talking about how Smith had a laser rifle and intended using it on Jones. But once Smith and Vixen get it on in the bedroom, they'd be John and Gloria.

Another consideration with SF: does your culture have, or need "first" and "last" names? Might they have some numerical designation instead? I suppose that depends on how far in the future, or in which alternate universe you set your story.

K.B.R. said:

She actually used to be an editor for a small publisher that published a variety of fiction; and maybe the use of last names for male protagonists was the norm in the types of SF/F novels she was used to seeing--but in my manuscript, it would just look strange--at least to my eyes. The main characters are not in the military (they're more like private detectives), and the setting is present-day America (in a reality slightly--but not radically--altered from our own). It just really struck me that two different readers would say essentially the same thing, though for different reasons. My first reader said I should refer to one of the protagonists almost exclusively by his last name because it sounded more unusual and "tougher." Maybe so...but since only one other person in the novel calls him by his last name, and since he is rarely with that person, her advice also seemed just a little off to me...

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That's just wierd. I call some people by their last names exclusively, but that's because they have awesome last names.


Do you know which small publisher they were with?

Unles your beta reader is also your publisher, you don't have to bother about this particular issue. It's minor and easily corrected if the publisher feels similarly.

Huh. I've never heard of that.

I agree with those that say it sounds like a hangup from military SF. And even then, if you have military officers using last names they don't do it all the time.

Personally, I think it's a nice character touch. Maybe there are particular characters that might talk to people this way, but it would seem odd if everyone was referred to by the narrator by their last name, unless it's all about a certain tone/style you are looking to reach.

Whatever's best for the story, but this isn't a rule I've ever heard of.

I've never heard of this "rule" as it were. I use last names in my SF novel because they are in the military and characters are simply going to refer to each other that way. But for the characters that are not and were not introduced by last names, I use their first name.

And K.L. up there is right - even my military guys don't use last names all the time. If things get appropriately casual or someone slips up, a first name gets out there. And I've had military personnel read it as well - the name use never even came up as an issue.

Any other SF I've done doesn't have characters using their last names (that I can think of).

I'm with the camp that says be true to your novel. If this advice feels wrong for your book, it probably is.

This is probably a good "rule" for some types of fiction. The only RULE here is that whether or not you use this "rule," you do it consistently.

Richard Kasteel: Most everyone calls me Kasteel. My mother calls me Richard.

Tasha Yar: Ok, Kasteel.

Richard Kasteel: <pauses> Nah, I think I'd prefer it if you called me Richard.

Tasha Yar: <smiles> Ok, Richard.

Scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season Three "Yesterday's Enterprise."

Ok, so I'm a geek. Get over it. (and yes, that was off the top of my head, at 1.20 in the morning, whilst drunk!) But I think it illustrates a good example of the usage of names in a story. Here we have two miltary officers, fighting in a bloody war. He makes it clear that he's usally called by his last name by comrades - but when Tasha refers to him in this typically impersonal way, he suggests she call him by his first name instead; clearly indicating that he wants their relationship to be more personal than professional.

I think that's a good use of the "rule." If you want the characters in a scene to come off as people who are not emotionally connected, have them refer to each other by their last names. These are clearly people who are connected "because of the job." If they are people who have personal or emotional connections, have them use their first names.

The fun part here is using this "rule" to show changes in relationship. If you have characters who are professionally involved, but develop a more personal attachment, use this as a way of showing that without saying it. Why have a sentance saying "joe suddenly realised that he had feelings for Gloria," when you could subtley shift the dialogue to show a change in relationship developing?

Personally, I don't see such writing as relavent to genre, but something that should be used wherever it fits the characters. If first-name references fit, use them. If last-name references fit, use them. If you have the opportunity to switch from one to ther other mid-story, be glad such a writing technique has presented itself to you!

K.B.R. said:

I do, but I prefer not to name it, or her. She's actually been a very good reader, and I would like to use her in the future--so I don't want to make it seem like I'm bad-mouthing her, especially on a public forum like this. Most of her other comments have made a lot of sense, it was just this one that made me think "Uh, that can't possibly be true... Can it?" I admit I'm not as well-read in the genre as I should be--so that's why I decided to run it by the folks here.

And thank you, everyone, for your input--as I said, it's greatly appreciated!

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I wasn't suggesting anything negative. Just that knowing which sort of books she pubished could give an idea of where she 'scoming from. Especially among small presses, certain ones often sell a certain kind of story.