My MC's Mom

If your MC refers to her as 'Mummy' and it's your MC's POV, I think you'd refer to her as such. I'd usually just refer to my MC's parents or guardians by name, but I think in your case 'Mummy' might be appropriate. I might be totally off but that's what my crazy mind is telling me makes sense.

Oh dear. I'm having the same problem, but with the father. He, like your MC's mom, plays a huge role in the story. I posted a thread a while back asking this same exact question.

I was advised to stick to "his father" or "his dad" when referring to him since it was the MC's POV. Makes sense. That's what I've been doing. BUT I'm still having trouble. If the MC's dad is interacting with a character other than MC — and "his father/dad" is used, it gives off the effect that it's the other character's father.

Example:

Finally there was Mr. Pepper, who was far too large and round too be moved. They found that they had to lay him on the ground and roll him up his driveway like a barrel of apples. His father was too exhausted to stand him back up so he propped him up against his car and placed Regina’s jump rope next to his feet so that it appear as though he had tripped over it. Ben couldn’t help a snigger.
“Right, then,” his father wheezed, sliding his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Your turn, Benedict.”


In the above example, it's the MC David's father that it's referring to as seen in 3rd Person Limited, MC's POV. Here it seems as though it's Mr. Pepper's father, or alternatively, Ben's.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Sorry for leeching off your thread Bisileyton! If you get an answer, it'll also benefit me and vice versa. LOL.

ETA: If you want to check that thread out: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208265

Same here. I've also been advised to just stick with "her mom," and "her mother."

If, however, I'm talking about her in a professional sense, I might use Dr. Maura Brown.

When I'm writing first-person, I either say "Mom" or "my mom." In third I usually say "her mom." Sometimes I give a name, but usually I don't think it's that necessary. Depends on the POV character, I think, and how close the third-person is, too.

This is frustrating you guys. It's so common to have absentee parents in literature (I guess it's to give the MC more freedom) that it's difficult to guide yourself when writing. Any examples or book suggestions where the parent is prominent is greatly appreciated.

HELP!

Here's my take:

If you are writing in your MC's point of view, you refer to the parent as the MC would. If it's Mummy, it's Mummy. If it's Father, it's Father.

If you're writing in omniscient, then you could easily say "MC's mother" or "MCs father."

Whatever you do, you want to stay true to the point of view you have chosen, true to your character, and stay consistent.

The way I see it:

In first person, you'd refer to the person as the MC would.

"My mom stood at the kitchen counter, hunched over, cutting thin slices out of a green pepper. I sat down at the table without a word."

In third person - limited, you'd refer to them as the character's mother/father.

"Jessica found her mother in the kitchen, hunched over, cutting thin slices out of a green pepper. She sat down at the table without a word."

Third person omniscient, you refer to them either by name or by calling them the character's mother/father. And which you choose can depend on which POV you are in at the time.

"Jessica found her mother in the kitchen, hunched over, cutting thin slices out of a green pepper. She sat down at the table without a word.

Mrs. Aldecott heard her daughter, but did not make the first move to speak to her. She was still angry, furious, about what the girl had said."

In "Vampire Killer" and "Becoming a Hero", I refer to the MC's mother by name or as "her mother", even though the stories are what you'd consider to be in the MC's POV. Not an issue for me, since I used third-person, neutral.

I have a short story that I'm writing in first person. The narrative is very much in "his voice." His father is mentioned as "my Dad." While his mother is mentioned as "my mother."

So in doing that, you can subtlely clue the reader in on their relationship.

Just food for thought.