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Referring to a character in 3rd person when they have amnesia


How best to handle revealing a main character's name midway through a long story in close-third person?Is it a bad idea to vary the voice of the narrator in third person (limited omniscient)?What is the voice called when the narrator is a secondary character?How should I have my male character express strong feelings?Switching perspectives for a single chapter in a first person POV novel, to do or not to do?What is the difference between limited third-person narrative and free indirect discourse?How to refer to characters in a non-repetitive way in the third person?How to write female characters as a male writer?What to call a main character who changes names?How do I prevent my protagonist from ending the world?













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A section of a story I am writing is being told in third person from the perspective of a character who does not know anything about herself due to amnesia. The reader is also unaware of anything regarding this character, but she assumes an identity after a period of time based on the things she learns. How can I refer to this character in 3rd person until her identity is assumed?










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    1















    A section of a story I am writing is being told in third person from the perspective of a character who does not know anything about herself due to amnesia. The reader is also unaware of anything regarding this character, but she assumes an identity after a period of time based on the things she learns. How can I refer to this character in 3rd person until her identity is assumed?










    share|improve this question


























      1












      1








      1








      A section of a story I am writing is being told in third person from the perspective of a character who does not know anything about herself due to amnesia. The reader is also unaware of anything regarding this character, but she assumes an identity after a period of time based on the things she learns. How can I refer to this character in 3rd person until her identity is assumed?










      share|improve this question
















      A section of a story I am writing is being told in third person from the perspective of a character who does not know anything about herself due to amnesia. The reader is also unaware of anything regarding this character, but she assumes an identity after a period of time based on the things she learns. How can I refer to this character in 3rd person until her identity is assumed?







      fiction naming perspective third-person






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      edited 3 hours ago









      Cyn

      21.2k14598




      21.2k14598










      asked 4 hours ago









      driimadriima

      1156




      1156




















          1 Answer
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          4














          Use the name others use for her.



          It's pretty standard that, if a patient can't be identified, a placeholder name gets assigned. Jane Doe (in the US anyway) is a very common one (John Doe for males).



          If this continues longer than a few days, the hospital staff (or the people wherever she finds herself) will come up with a nickname for her. Or your main character may make up a name for herself. Sometimes this is just a first name. Other times it may be a first and last name, for legal purposes.



          If you don't want to show the reader any name, you can refer to her as "the woman" or something similar. Some stories do that. It's not my style, but it works.



          Or you might use a nickname that isn't a real name. For example: "5B" (the room she's in) or "Yosemite" (where she was found) or "Redshoe" (what she was wearing when found).



          Humans always assign names to people, even if they're not accurate, complementary, or real names. Give her something that has little to nothing to do with her real identity and go with it.






          share|improve this answer























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            1 Answer
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            active

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            active

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            active

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            4














            Use the name others use for her.



            It's pretty standard that, if a patient can't be identified, a placeholder name gets assigned. Jane Doe (in the US anyway) is a very common one (John Doe for males).



            If this continues longer than a few days, the hospital staff (or the people wherever she finds herself) will come up with a nickname for her. Or your main character may make up a name for herself. Sometimes this is just a first name. Other times it may be a first and last name, for legal purposes.



            If you don't want to show the reader any name, you can refer to her as "the woman" or something similar. Some stories do that. It's not my style, but it works.



            Or you might use a nickname that isn't a real name. For example: "5B" (the room she's in) or "Yosemite" (where she was found) or "Redshoe" (what she was wearing when found).



            Humans always assign names to people, even if they're not accurate, complementary, or real names. Give her something that has little to nothing to do with her real identity and go with it.






            share|improve this answer



























              4














              Use the name others use for her.



              It's pretty standard that, if a patient can't be identified, a placeholder name gets assigned. Jane Doe (in the US anyway) is a very common one (John Doe for males).



              If this continues longer than a few days, the hospital staff (or the people wherever she finds herself) will come up with a nickname for her. Or your main character may make up a name for herself. Sometimes this is just a first name. Other times it may be a first and last name, for legal purposes.



              If you don't want to show the reader any name, you can refer to her as "the woman" or something similar. Some stories do that. It's not my style, but it works.



              Or you might use a nickname that isn't a real name. For example: "5B" (the room she's in) or "Yosemite" (where she was found) or "Redshoe" (what she was wearing when found).



              Humans always assign names to people, even if they're not accurate, complementary, or real names. Give her something that has little to nothing to do with her real identity and go with it.






              share|improve this answer

























                4












                4








                4







                Use the name others use for her.



                It's pretty standard that, if a patient can't be identified, a placeholder name gets assigned. Jane Doe (in the US anyway) is a very common one (John Doe for males).



                If this continues longer than a few days, the hospital staff (or the people wherever she finds herself) will come up with a nickname for her. Or your main character may make up a name for herself. Sometimes this is just a first name. Other times it may be a first and last name, for legal purposes.



                If you don't want to show the reader any name, you can refer to her as "the woman" or something similar. Some stories do that. It's not my style, but it works.



                Or you might use a nickname that isn't a real name. For example: "5B" (the room she's in) or "Yosemite" (where she was found) or "Redshoe" (what she was wearing when found).



                Humans always assign names to people, even if they're not accurate, complementary, or real names. Give her something that has little to nothing to do with her real identity and go with it.






                share|improve this answer













                Use the name others use for her.



                It's pretty standard that, if a patient can't be identified, a placeholder name gets assigned. Jane Doe (in the US anyway) is a very common one (John Doe for males).



                If this continues longer than a few days, the hospital staff (or the people wherever she finds herself) will come up with a nickname for her. Or your main character may make up a name for herself. Sometimes this is just a first name. Other times it may be a first and last name, for legal purposes.



                If you don't want to show the reader any name, you can refer to her as "the woman" or something similar. Some stories do that. It's not my style, but it works.



                Or you might use a nickname that isn't a real name. For example: "5B" (the room she's in) or "Yosemite" (where she was found) or "Redshoe" (what she was wearing when found).



                Humans always assign names to people, even if they're not accurate, complementary, or real names. Give her something that has little to nothing to do with her real identity and go with it.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 3 hours ago









                CynCyn

                21.2k14598




                21.2k14598



























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