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Blog Archive
Terms of Endearment
I’m a nickname girl. Maybe it’s a part of my culture but I grew up with nicknames (good and bad) and I find myself calling others by nicknames instead of their own names. Even as a little ninja my first memories are by the name of Toots. My daddy has called me Toots since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I know when I’m in trouble because I’m called by my full name (and it’s a mouthful). I know when someone is trying to sweet talk me it’s “C’mon baby.” I know that when the exasperated “Kid” comes into play, the look comes out to say, “You gotta be kidding me. You’re barely older than me.”
Fact of the matter is, I know on the daily basis who is talking to me based on what they call me. Nicknames are a common part of my life and I’m a firm believer anything that’s a part of my life needs to be a part of my characters.
Bright eyes has always been a favorite of mine to write. Granted, I’ve used this one with specific character describing the heroine he can’t have. For me, the endearment is perfect for a guy who’s specifically drawn to a woman whose eyes really sparkle when they look at him. Her eyes are what he sees every night before he goes to sleep. She’s on his mind constantly. I've recently revamped the bright eyes and rethought the process behind who I'm using it for. It suits someone else perfectly.
The nickname usually is a reflection of the character’s personality and the relationship between the nicknamer and the nicknamed. I know sweetheart and baby are two very common endearments. I like the odd ball ones. Wildcat is Ash’s nickname for Sadie. Bright eyes is Fallon’s endearment for Cin. Both are very personal nicknames between them. Wildcat because Sadie is always on the attack when Ash comes near her. Bright eyes because Cin’s eyes gives away her parentage, it’s a source of embarrassment for her, but Fallon sees it as one of the best parts about her.
So, do you use nicknames in your writing and if so, which sort of nicknames do you like to use? Do you like nicknames in the fiction you read?
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48 comments:
Ah, terms of endearment...well, I'm fond of spouses referring to each other as 'wife' and 'husband'. I have the some fun with pirate characters... Mercedes becomes Mercy (que irony). And kids...Ruby becomes Rubygirl. Hazel becomes Hazelnut.
Not terribly imaginative but tho me given name is prone to nickname, I was never a Mo.
Me DH calls me buttercakes, honeybuns, babygirl. Where these come from, I have no idea!
The best nick names caricature some endearing feature of a person's character.
For example I privately think of Sin as 'Tiger'and Terri as 'Sunshine'. Though I would never tell them! I do think nick names can be fun both in fiction and real life.
As a young lad (at school!) I was 'twinkle toes' for a while, because of dribbling skills at soccer.
Mrs Q has a label that she sometimes sticks on the office door when I'm deep in thought and don't want to talk, it says 'genius at work'. When thats up, cups of tea get pushed quietly through the door.
She has another one that she uses after a night of passion...bet you can't guess that one Sin....and I'm certainly not telling you!
Hunnbuny or honeybuns is a nice one Chance. I can guess why the DH likes it! :wink:
In the last book I completed, the heroine's name is Charlotte. When it's her POV, I use the full name. When it's the hero's, it's "Charlie," because he thinks of her in a whole different light.
Mostly though I use nicknames cause they're faster to type, LOL.
I love nicknames.
In my last book the harem owner called Jinan little bird all the time. There is a reason explained in the book.
In my book now, Thaddeus calls Rosalie, Rosa... and he's the only one to do so.
I use tons of nick names. My short, Luke called Evie baby all the time.
And my kids laugh whenever I call the hubby sweetie. I guess there is something funny about that to a five and seven year old.
I love nicknames, I love the instant intimacy that comes from one character assigning another a nick-name. My current heroine is Molly, and shortened to "Moll," which isn't very interesting. The heroine of my other MS is "Tink" or "Tinkerbell" because she looks like a fairy and is a pilot (so flies). She hates it b/c she's tough and kick-ass, and is being called Tinkerbell *g*
I love the nickname baby (DH and I work together, so you should see the looks we get when he accidentally calls me baby in front of 20 people. it's great), but for some reason in writing, I can never make it work to not be sleezy. I need to keep practicing that one.
Chance - I love Hazelnut - that's so cute!
I love nicknames. In one sentence you can convey the level of intimacy between characters. You can tell that when halfway through the book the hero slaps a "baby" or "honey" at the end of the sentence he's crossed that line and he's a goner.
I especially like it when used in historicals because it held so much meaning back then. You just never used a person's given name, even married couples referred to eachother properly.
Fun blog, Sin! I love Toots!
As someone whose gone by a nickname my whole life, I guess I like them. :) And it was the same in my house, if we were in trouble, the full name came out. My mom even does it to my dad. And now I do it to my little one. Which takes a while to get out since her full name has 8 syllables.
I'm always using nicknames in real life. Sweet cheeks. Hot stuff. Goober. In my WIP, my heroine's name is Cecelia but she goes by Celi. That's how she showed up in my head. In the beginning (the only part I've actually written...lol) Celi and Bryan have these spats where they call each other all kinds of things. None of them are very nice. LOL!
I love when couples of special names for each other. It's a great way to show characterization and intamacy.
My first name is strange enough. I get Marn, which I don't mind at all. Besides that my DH calls me beautiful. As in, "how are you today, beautiful." And we call each other husband and wife all the time, Maureen, like you referenced. And we do call each other babe and baby.
I call my kid everything. babyboy, pumpkinhead, nutcase, beautifulboy, darling boy. Whatever comes to my head.
In my current WIP, they haven't talked enough to give each other nicknames, though I'm sure that it's going to happen for her. Everyone already calls him Nik, but he's Nikias. And I have secondary characters Cass (Cassius) and Ice (Isis).
I think endearment terms take longer.
I just realized I called Chance Mo in an email last night. Is that a bad thing? LOL!
Marn - Nutcase? LOL! I love when you throw stuff in like that.
Ter - whatever fits, whatever fits....
I have a nephew named Caden, and as a baby, we always called him Cader-patater (like potato with an r at the end). He's 12, and I still break it out now and then. He *hates* is - lol.
Sometimes you have to be careful with those nicknames you give babies. My ex's aunt started calling her nephew Booger. And it stuck.
Chance, I love when people say, "husband," and the husband gives a sly look and says, "wife".
It gives such a great visual.
I love irony in nicknames. That's what having a nickname is all about. Of course, I have the unisex nickname of my real name. So if it's on anything you can't tell if I'm a boy or a girl. :(
Sin - Same here. But I've always liked the idea of having a boy name. I love when girls named Georgina are called George. My mom's name is Joni but pronounced Johnny after her father. Throws people off all the time.
Q, don't be shy. I can think of a good nickname for you but it's not PG-13. Doubt Mrs. Q would like me to say it either. *biting lip*
I can't believe you secretly think of me as Tiger. LMAO. Once my best friend's mother referred to me as a brazen hellion and I laughed and said thank you. She said, "It's not a compliment." LMAO
Now all I hear in my head is, "Go get'em tiger."
Mattycakes has so many nicknames I don't know how he keeps them straight. Of course, Matty is the one I use and have used for a while and he calls me sassy pants. He gets called bubba (which I find mildly hilarious) and mattycakes and big poppa. I mean, I think the level of nickname tells you the amount of intimacy between one another and not only intimacy the level of your relationship. I know someone else said that. I must make my way through the comments.
Forgot to say thanks to Q for the Sunshine monacher. I'll take that. Though if you had to spend any time with me, you'd likely not think of me that way. LOL!
Maggie, I love girl names that can be reverted into short boy names (just like you said Ter). Charlie is one of my favs for a girl. One of my best friend's little girls friends (confuse you yet?) is named Roberta (Bobbi) and her older sister is Michaela (Mick). I think girls with boy nicknames are more mischievous. :)
Tiff, that's a great nickname for Jinan (who I don't know as a character but love the name) and just from a name standpoint, the nickname suits really well.
To five and seven year olds, everything that we "old" people do is hilarious. LOL
Hal, hazelnut would work great for you. LOL Though, I like referring to you as Hal just simply because I find it hilarious in contrast to the Hal in the SP books. I can't see you toting around a sawed-off and racheting it with just a shake.
You know my dad's name is Hal too - he gets this really startled look on his face whenever someone calls *me* hal. Though I don't know what they thought my name was going to get shortened to! It's always either hal or hail.
And for the record, I have toted around a sawed off shotgun, though I cannot ratchet it by shaking it *g*. And I've never allowed myself to be tasered :)
Sin is Tiger and Terri is Sunshine? NICE. *LOL*
Nicknames.
I'm a Ranger girl, so mostly I call people "Babe." I used to call men "Sugar britches"--sorta in the way some cigar-smoking man might call a waitress "sugar"--rather derogatory. "Don't worry about it, sugar britches. I can change my own flat tire, you incompetent nincompoop." Of course, the GXB actually thought this was a cute nickname and didn't realize the sarcasm behind it. And I guess after a while it was less mean and more sweet. I retired it though. I don't call anyone sugar britches. It's a jinx. *LOL*
So I don't have any original nicknames for my sweetie. Most I call him "baby"--but we're both babies of the family, so maybe it's okay. He calls me "babydoll"--I'm not sure what that's about.
I do find that I have trouble remembering Sin's real name. I mean, she was introduced to me with her real name, but I immediately turned her into a bosum pal and we had code names and code rings by the end of the day--and I have to consciously go, "Can I talk to Sin...er...Chris, please?" So then I sound like a fundamentalist Church Leader when I call.
Hellion was a self-appointed name. You know like "Madonna" or "Prince." But I have to say, I'm fond of it. I'm really fond of "Hellie" and "Hells" too. *LOL* My baby doesn't call me Hells though.
Oh, BTW, nicknames not a big thing in our house. Dad would call me "pumpkinhead" when I was little, but I see he uses that with all children. It's not special to me. *LOL*
My name was shortened to Fran in college, by me, since I loathe my name so, but you can't ask for Fran, if you call me at the farm to talk to me. Nobody will know who the hell you're talking about.
"Hi, can I talk to Fran?"
"Who?"
"FRAN."
*lengthy pause* "Oh, you mean Frances?"
"Yes."
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
I know. I've called your house before and just asked for "Fran" and your dad or brother just say, "WHO?" And then I have to revert to your name. So it's hilarious for me to have to say it. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
I can't believe Q got called Twinkle Toes. I can't believe I missed that the first read through. I think he distracted me with the bedroom talk.
OMG! She's not kidding. That happens EVERY TIME I call. LOL! I finally taught myself to just say Frances the first time.
Marn, I must say, I have a girl crush on Ice.
There I've said it.
Oh, you mean I've said it before.
Hm.
We've always called my little sister by her first and middle name. (Laurie Jean) and *SHE* absolutely can't stand it. Guess what I do? In true sisterly fashion, I call her it anyway.
I'm so lost in the comments that I don't know who I've replied to and who I've missed.
This is me. And this is my brain. I'm like the chicken who lost it's head in the slaughter house.
PS. Hal, you're way too intelligent to let someone tase you on purpose. But being from MO, I can only imagine the type of weapons you've handled. LOL
My dad was called by a nickname he hated all his life, so except for my sister's Elizabeth being shortened to Beth, we never had nicknames. Terms of endearment were plentiful though. Some of my cousins called my mother Aunt Sugar when they were young because my dad called her Sugar and they thought it was her name. The three-year-old grand calls me Bee because we have always sung the bumblebee song when he comes to visit and he always says "Let's sing it again."
In TLWH, I reverse the intimacy level with a nickname. Everyone calls the heroine Dori, except the hero, who calls her by her unabbreviated name, Adora.
My dad also hates his nickname. It was his dad's name but they call him Little Bobby and it drives him insane.
Matt's mom gets called Aunt 'Neen (Janine). Everyone calls her that regardless if they're related or not. I've always found it hilarious. But I love about the "Bee". That's such a great memory to have now and down the road. I get called Cookie a lot. Sounds more like Koooookie. LOL
I think Tiger and Sunshine are so apt that I'm likely to start calling both of them by those names....
And Sin, you might have mentioned you have a girl crush on Ice once. Or twice....
My sister's name is Aubree and we call her Aubs, Aubee, or Aubsee. We also call her Aubee Annie because she's Aubree Ann.
My mom calls me by the full Marnee Jo, and my hubby does affectionately. And a few of my aunts. But I'm just mostly Marnee in real life.
I love the Bee nickname, Janga....
My niece Amanda used to call me Marces (pronounced: MAR-SIS) a combination of Marsha (my sister) and Frances, because she was confused by my sister having a name besides mommy and she couldn't quite get my name right. I can't tell you how dejected I was the year she learned to say my name correctly.
My sister's name is Lynnette but she's been Nette for years. Or Nutte depending on whose speaking. She was even P-Nut for a while. My kiddo has a ton of nicknames. Her real name is Isabelle and I call her Is. Her dad's family calls her Belle, some kids at school call her Izzy (which I hate). She seems to be happy with all of them.
I could get used to the Sunshine thing. LOL! Bo'sun Sunshine has a ring to it....
Is ok ta call me Mo. Jus' wasn't called that when a mid cause another girl, born after me, down the street also was Maureen. I got ta keep the full name, she became Mo. (Not what her mum had in mind, I'm sure.)
Me main character, Miranda. No real nickname save when she found herself in an alternate world and her alternate was called Randi...and she was.
A mid. I was a mid? And I don't have a cold! When I was a kid...child, toddler, rugrat.
Rugrat has to be one of my favs too. Very affectionate older brother to younger sister type nickname.
I love this blog because I give everyone a nickname. I just read a book called Wicked by Susan Johnson. The hero is nicknamed Glory by the ladies of the ton for his sexual prowess, and he calls the heroine in the book, lollipop:) Needless to say I loved this story. It also happens to be a story about the son of Sinjin, who is my favorite Susan Johnson character.
Most all of my characters have nicknames. The men have mostly military nicknames, but some I use their last name. Hawk, Maverick are both last names, but Cutter is a nickname Trey received from his days as a street fighter.
You know Wicked is one of my favorite SJ books.
Worst snow for 20 years here in the UK. Starting to run out of salt and more blizzards on the way. Heck I'm lucky to be home and reading all these dazzling posts!
Sin said "Q, don’t be shy. I can think of a good nickname for you but it’s not PG-13. Doubt Mrs. Q would like me to say it either. *biting lip*
OK Tiger, I hope you're ready for this. After a good performance I get called 'Krypt'. Its short for Kriptonite and yes I do take off my superman outfit first. *grin*
Yeah, I can totally see that. I bet you look good in spandex and a cape.
*giggle*
LMAO!!! My little one did a project on Superman (Christopher Reeve) for school yesterday so this is just cracking me up!
I didn't know they sold those underoos in the UK. LOL!
Been hearing 'bout the snowfall in London. Screwed up climate! California should be drowning in rain. But no, we got mid 70s and sunshine.
*ducking, collecting rum bottles and heading for the recyclers, again.
I see Q is as naughty as ever, lol. We are at freezing temps here, as well. Will the Thames be freezing over life it did in the 1800s? Is that possible?
My own nickname is Sandina which means, wait for it, little Santa. My dad used to call me Sandarella. My brother calls me Sandy. My husband called me Sam for a time. I've no idea where that came from. Essentially, I'll answer to anything...well, almost.
I use nicknames in my books all the time. I do the same with my friends. Eventually everyone's name gets shortened to the first three letters.
Q is rather wicked. It's gotta be the English runnin' through his veins.
Sanderella, I love it! I'm like you. I answer to nearly everything and anything. First you have to get my attention because I'm usually in lalaland.
Sanderella - yeah, that one is just too cool. Have a pair of glass slippers?
Naturally and the prince to go with them.
All together now - AWWW!!!
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