A word for father/kidnapper, anyone know?

Simplesolid · Feb 21, 2012

Hey guys, I'm trying to describe in a query that a character calls the Antagonist father but in truth, he kidnapped her when she was a baby. But she will only find that out later towards the end of the book.

Is there a word that would describe something like that?
I see this sort of thing happening all the time in real life and I thought that maybe there's a word out there that describes this and I don't know.

Thanks for any help.

Sage · Feb 21, 2012

It would depend on context. I don't know of any specific word for kidnapper-who-raised-me, but in some contexts for the query, you'd just use "dad" and some you would use "kidnapper." Or maybe "guardian" would be what you're looking for. All depends

Simplesolid · Feb 21, 2012

Sage said:
It would depend on context. I don't know of any specific word for kidnapper-who-raised-me, but in some contexts for the query, you'd just use "dad" and some you would use "kidnapper." Or maybe "guardian" would be what you're looking for. All depends

Great suggestion Sage.
Self-appointed guardian might work.
Do you guys think that "self-appointed father" conveys the right idea? (The right idea being that he kidnapped her and raised her as his own.)

Becca C. · Feb 21, 2012

You could just explain in those words. "He kidnapped her and raised her as his own." Or you could say "abductor-turned-father" or something.

Polenth · Feb 21, 2012

Does the query cover her finding out he isn't her real father? If not, I don't see why you can't call him dad/father/pa and leave it at that. Or if the reveal does happen in the query, call him father up until the reveal.

Simplesolid · Feb 21, 2012

Polenth said:
Does the query cover her finding out he isn't her real father? If not, I don't see why you can't call him dad/father/pa and leave it at that. Or if the reveal does happen in the query, call him father up until the reveal.

Actually, the query doesn't explain it, because it's a subplot.
I was just concerned that I would be misleading the agent by calling her his daughter.
Thanks for the help.

Becca C. · Feb 21, 2012

Simplesolid said:
Actually, the query doesn't explain it, because it's a subplot.
I was just concerned that I would be misleading the agent by calling her his daughter.
Thanks for the help.

In that case, if it doesn't appear in the query, leave it out.

Cloudcastles · Feb 21, 2012

Simplesolid said:
Actually, the query doesn't explain it, because it's a subplot.
I was just concerned that I would be misleading the agent by calling her his daughter.
Thanks for the help.

Maybe he could refer to her as his adopted daughter?

breaking_burgundy · Feb 21, 2012

Think of your prospective agents as your future readers. At the beginning of the book, is the reader supposed to know that he's not her real father? Or is this something that is meant to be a surprise?

Unless your reader is supposed to know his true identity from the get-go, I would simply say "father." That way, your agent will get to experience that surprise.

TudorRose · Feb 22, 2012

I was just concerned that I would be misleading the agent by calling her his daughter.

I assume as it's YA that the story is told from the girl's perspective? Could you just write "the man she believes to be her father"?

wampuscat · Feb 22, 2012

Becca C. said:
In that case, if it doesn't appear in the query, leave it out.

I agree. If something's presented in a dramatic way in the query, and then not explained in the query, I would be disappointed. Of course, I have no idea what your query says, I'm just saying what I would do, in general.

Simplesolid · Feb 23, 2012

Thank you for all your help.
I ended up going with; Phasma's captive "daughter". I wanted to show that although she's presumably his daughter she was held against her will.

Thanks again for all your insights.
Happy writing.

A word for father/kidnapper, anyone know?

Simplesolid

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

Simplesolid

Becca C.

Polenth

Mushroom

Simplesolid

Becca C.

Cloudcastles

Can't draw castles, will write 'em

breaking_burgundy

TudorRose

not napping... brainstorming!

wampuscat

Recovering adjective addict

Simplesolid