#in my opinion but i /will/die on that hill

[swaps55]

I have never heard of an epithet before! What does it mean?

This is a great question! You have probably seen many of them, and just not heard them referred to as epithets.

An epithet is more or less a descriptive word or phrase that stands in the place of a name or a pronoun, such as, “the taller man,” or “the brown-haired woman.” In my experience, fanfic writers in particular tend to latch onto them, especially when trying to create variety in scenes with two characters who share the same pronouns.

I’ll put my thoughts on them under the cut, because I have Opinions on epithets, but I am not An Authority. I’m not your mom. I’m not here to tell you what to do or how to write, and I’m not here to ruin your fun, but we all have the hills we’ll die on and this one is mine. If you are a fan of epithets, just give this post an eyeroll or the finger and scroll on. If you want to know more about epithets and why I think writers can and should avoid them, read on!

Let me get this out of my system: I loathe epithets. Do whatever you want with your oxford comma, but take your epithets out back and shoot them.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, I’ll be a little more constructive about the purpose epithets serve and why I think they are so frequently used poorly.

In my experience, they’re often used as a tool to avoid pronoun confusion, but it’s an inelegant tool that can become a crutch. You have two characters of the same gender in a scene, you have already used their names in a sentence, but the pronoun antecedent is unclear unless you name the character again. You don’t want to do that because it feels repetitive, so you pick out a physical quality and use that instead. Problem solved! Except instead of solve the problem, you’ve potentially introduced new ones.

Nuance is important, and to talk tools we should be using the same toolbox, so for the sake of this argument I’m going to assume we’re talking about 3rd person limited POV, because that’s what I generally see, read, and write the most of.

Chances are very high that the descriptor you chose for your epithet derived from you the writer’s perception of the character being described and not the POV character. This is important, because if you are writing in 3rd person limited, the way you describe other people is how the POV character sees the person being described.  

Now tell me. Have you ever thought of a close friend, a lover, or someone whose name you know as, “the taller woman,” or “the dark-haired man?” Have you ever thought about YOURSELF in these terms? Probably not. I have never looked at my Real Life Romance Option and thought of him as “the brown-eyed man” or “the taller man.” I’ve also quite frankly never consciously thought of him as “my lover.” Is he all of those things? Yes. But from my POV, those are never descriptors I would use for him. Once you know a person’s name, they tend to become Their Name and not ‘Random Characteristic” in your mental picture of them.

So when you default to Random Characteristic, it’s usually the writer talking, not the character. And chances are high that the characteristic you choose to represent is not something that is important to the POV character or the scene in that moment. Therefore, is it significant enough to the reader that it clearly identifies the character, or does the reader now have to stop and think, ‘wait, which one is taller?’ So instead of eliminate confusion, you may have actually introduced more of it.

And even if it is an important detail, stating it as a fact is generally a lot less effective than making it part of the character work being done in the scene. For example:

“Can you help me reach this?” Jed asks the taller man. Leo stops chopping vegetables to oblige, and snags the wine glass the shorter man couldn’t reach off the shelf.

Vs.

Jed sighs as he makes another futile swipe with his fingers and barely grazes the bottom of the shelf. He looks over at Leo, blissfully chopping vegetables in a world where stepstools are for other people. “Can you help me reach this?” Leo sets the knife down and looms behind him, effortlessly snagging the wine glass and handing it to Jed with a grin.   

Hopefully, the second example feels more impactful than the first, because the height difference became part of the scene, and not just a descriptor cosplaying as a pronoun.

Epithets become even more distracting when they become part of a prose style rather than just a means to avoid pronoun confusion or name repetition. I see a lot of writers make the stylistic choice to have a POV character refer to themselves as an epithet right alongside the epithets being thrown around for other characters, and there are so many crammed into a paragraph or two I can’t figure out who is doing what.

At best, epithets are distracting. At their worst, they’re actively confusing when their purpose is to do the opposite.

“But Swaps, if I don’t use an epithet, how do I avoid pronoun confusion without wanting to throw myself out a window?”

This is a problem every writer contends with, whether you’re writing same gender smut, combat, or just have two people of the same gender doing things in a scene together. And unfortunately, this is one of those ways in which writing is hard. When you have some pronoun confusion in a sentence you can’t wriggle your way out of, the answer is probably to try a different sentence. Break the sentence up. Structure it differently. Finding the better sentence is part of becoming a better writer. 

If repetition is what you’re concerned about, know that just saying a character’s name and using their pronoun is okay. It’s like ‘said.’ ‘Said’ isn’t a trendy word that goes in and out of style. It’s a building block word that blends into the background. Can you get fancier than ‘said?’ Sure! But do it with purpose. Don’t be afraid to use a character’s name. It’s their name. It’s what you’re supposed to call them. Why are we fighting so hard to respect people’s names and pronouns if all we’re going to do is replace them with epithets? (Kidding. Mostly.) And if you’re using their name so much it’s interfering with readability…it’s probably time to revisit a few of those sentences and figure out what the better sentence is.

When can you use an epithet?

I joke that there are no exceptions to my There Are No Good Epithets stance, but there are. Sort of. Because rules are made to be broken, though I do believe you should understand why the rule exists before you break it, and you should break it with purpose.

Here’s the easy one.  

Epithets are useful when the POV character doesn’t know a character’s name. Now you have to use something else! And here’s the great thing about that: the epithet is now a vehicle for characterization. What about this stranger stands out enough to get the POV character’s attention? Do they notice a physical characteristic? Clothes? Attitude? What does the thing they notice say about the POV character and the character being observed?

For instance, my POV character is eavesdropping on a conversation between two people in a restaurant. You could grab the low hanging fruit and describe them as, “the brunet woman” and the “older man.” Or you could make your scene work harder. “The man with the punchable face,” or “the woman who makes eye rolling an art form.” Or how about, “the woman wearing fake pearls,” shorthanded to Fake Pearls Woman, and “the man with the name-brand suit that’s seen better days,” shorthanded to Shabby Suit. Now you’ve said something about the characters that place them in a more useful context than their hair color – you’ve said something about them that helps inform the scene, and how your POV character observes the world around them.    

Are there other instances where you can effectively use an epithet? Yes, if you are using them like this: with narrative purpose. And in those cases, is it really just an epithet anymore? It is in that yes, it is a descriptor taking the place of a name or pronoun, but it’s doing a lot more heavy lifting now. Maybe you have a character who chronically can’t remember or can’t be assed to remember people’s names. The epithet is now a means of characterization. Maybe you have a Jekyll and Hyde style character, in which a descriptor of those different personas becomes a means of setting a scene or crafting their relationship with the POV character. These descriptors are narrative vehicles being used with intention. “The other man,” is rarely a tool being used with any real intention. If there is an instance of it, I have never seen it.

Now, if reading this makes you second guess your own work, or to feel like you write wrong, or if the thought of going to painstaking lengths to rewire sentences you would typically use an epithet in gives you hives, there’s an easy solution: forget about this post.

Because fanfic is supposed to be fun. It’s your hobby. You are not getting paid for it. You don’t have to use a specific writing style, or meet anyone else’s expectations. That’s part of what makes fanfic such a beautiful thing. You can do whatever makes you happy. Not me, not anyone else. If you fucking love using epithets, use them. If you think I am made of bullshit, give this post the finger like I initially suggested and write five epithets just to spite me. No one will stop you, certainly not me. Though I will continue hating epithets, because you can’t stop me, either. XD

#swaps replies #Anonymous #how writing is written

[anghraine]

I've always found it a bit disappointing that Linda Hutcheon specifically excluded fanfic from her generally excellent discussion of adaptation in A Theory of Adaptation, because I do think fanfic is more akin to adaptation than probably any other thing it gets compared to.

Like, for me, what makes both really intriguing are questions like:

How does this story function as a story in its own right? How do you experience it if you don't know its source material? Does it work? Do you need certain kinds of background knowledge? Are people likely to experience it separately from its source or other versions of the source even if they are familiar with them?

How is this story engaging with the original or previous version it's working off of? What does it consider essential to keep from its source or canon? What is it willing to change? What assumptions govern both of those things?

How does this particular story take part in wider trends in storytelling that may or may not have anything to do with its source or canon? Where do fads or norms in broader storytelling contexts come into play? (For instance, film adaptations may resemble other contemporary films more than their source materials, fanfic goes through phases of popular structures, premises, and phrasings that cut through different fandoms. Or you can look at both in a broad cultural context beyond their immediate social context of fandom/film/whatever.)

I mean, I'm phrasing the questions in a kind of formal way, but I think the basic questions do factor into a lot of the more localized conversations that spring up around both adaptation and fanfic (whether specific adaptations/fics or general groupings of them). So much general discourse around fanfic revolves around the legitimacy of writing versions of pre-existing stories and it's like!! Adaptation is right there.

#fanfic and adaptation are not equivalent but that's not because there's some intrinsic qualitative difference #it's because fanfic is one subtype of adaptation among many #in my opinion but i /will/die on that hill #AND i think if we could get away from the matter of retelling stories and the flattening of this with stylistic quality wrt fanfic #and look at it more as a form of adaptation—yeah with far less barrier to entry than most etc but adaptation nevertheless— #then conversations about it might not involve so many boring unconsidered and incompatible assumptions #i mean. at the end of the day the biggest issue for a lot of people is that fanfic is cringe and adaptation has social cachet #but i do think it'd be helpful to talk—even critically—in adaptational terms rather than just kneejerk associations #(this rant was even longer originally but i'll stop there) #anghraine babbles #fanfiction #adaptation #adaptation theory #ivory tower blogging #sorta

[heynhay]

i want them fighting like children as in pushing each others faces away, i'm not touching you with a finger a centimeter away, tripping each other in the hallway bc somehow that's flirting do u see the vision or am i alone

we may never diagnose what the hell their problem is

#klance #voltron #vld #oh anon. do i see the vision? #I LIVE the vision. you are literally describing my opinion of klance #which i think is canon tbh like #watch the show! if anyone thinks keith isnt immediately sinking down to lance's taunts you're kidding yourself #i fucking. like. this is the only acceptable klance dynamic to me. full of hate #listen to me anon. look at me. #even if no one else were to see the vision (though i have faith many do) #i am confident i would die on the battlefield with you. on this hill in particular. #ask #art #my art

[gab-has-adhd]

#and by this I mean #manga Hisoka > 1999 Hisoka >>>>> 2011 Hisoka #gabs stuff #gab memes #memes #hxh #hxh memes #hisoka #hisoka morow #Hisoka is a fox-faced weird clown not a hot bishonen and I will die on this hill #he is hot in his own way though #and the latest times Togashi drew him he kinda had a jojo character vibe #in my opinion

[idioticbaguette]

The sentences, "Mike kept El at his house because he didn't want her getting murdered and he's a good kid," and, "Mike kept El at his house because he thought she could help him find Will," are both correct.

Mike showing El basic human decency by letting (what he believed to be) a helpless young girl stay at his home is one of the biggest proofs of the heteronormativity shown in ST, as both Lucas and Nancy believed that Mike (boy) being a kind human to El (girl) means that he's in love.

BUT

It's also very clear that one of the reasons he let her stay was so she could help find Will. This doesn't erase the fact that he let her stay, or that he cares about El, it only points out the obvious fact that Will was a large piece in this equation.

#I have zero clue if anyone has seen this discourse #but i have very recently #as in today #and I felt like adding my opinion #anyways ill die on this hill #byler #mike wheeler

[coin-z3fs]

Tried something new for their hairstyles (this took 4 days I am not trying something new ever again)

#where did this mcd brainrot come from wtf #aphblr #aphmau fanart #aphverse #mcd laurance #minecraft diaries laurance #minecraft diaries #mcd garroth #minecraft diaries garroth #laurance zvahl #aphmau garroth #garroth ro'meave #garrance #zefs art #mcd garrance > mystreet garrance #i will die on this hill no one can change my opinion

[harrylovesspaezle]

i do not get the whole "izzy had to die so that ed could get rid of the blackbeard persona" thing.... because that could've been fully worked out without izzy dying... make it a painful conversation, a fight or maybe even an injury for them to talk about their relationship... there was no reason for him to die solely for 'plot reasons'

#and i will die on that hill #edizzy you deserved better #you will have to pry thas opinion from my cold dead hands #ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #con o'neill #ed teach #edizzy #edward teach #ofmd s2e8 #izzy critical #ofmd critical #ofmd s2

[andromeda3116]

#discworld #gnu terry pratchett #terry pratchett #jingo #monstrous regiment #i mean i have my opinion but i think tbh that comes more from personal preference bc man does the other hit some FUCKING high points #for different reasons #no ''show results'' we pick a hill to die on like men

[interstate35south]

THIS close to making a 71 slide powerpoint rating every dislyte ship out of ten bc like everybody’s so creative slash pos but also slash neg

#dislyte #i would say that the vast majority of people are normal about it but some of y’all… #half of it is me being viciously opinionated and the other half is my excuse to infodump about dislyte characterization and dynamics #one very hot take in particular that’s my hill to die on but i gotta test the waters first #this sounds very negative but i promise my opinions are MOSTLY positive #feel free to ask for opinions on specific ships bc TRUST me i have them #what do i tag this #shipping #is that a tag people use #71 slide powerpoint cameo hi leahbear

[im-a-regular-joe]

I for one stan aro/ace striker hc but the reasoning is kinda dumb for some people. Like if I was about to kill you and made a sex joke I would take a step back and say what in the actual fuck. like you see that?

But I want more aro/ace rep but thats not a solid enough reason.

#helluva boss striker #helluva boss blitz #striker #helluva blitzo #helluva moxxie #ace #asexual #aromantic #aroace #just my opinion #ace striker #lets be real #i will die on this hill #but let me dream

[fnnck-odr]

i see that YOU wanna be bothered too and that you're a d4 enthusiast like me (they're my pookies!!) soooo what's your thoughts on the hc that annie was a career?? 🤭🎤

omg first of all thank you for sending this also i just saw your header and that’s such a slay

this is SUCH a good question and i know it’s so controversial so this is just my personal take!! i totally understand why people might think it’s wrong-

but i do believe that annie was a career and volunteered for the games. i think all victors are damaged from their games in a way and annie is just a different (perhaps more extreme?) example of the affects of being in the arena.

the thing is, you can have all the training in the world- but nothing really prepares you for that kind of violence. especially not seeing your district partner, someone you knew, being decapitated. that is extremely heavy and traumatizing to witness even for someone who volunteered for it. and yes, maybe most careers wouldn’t be impacted by that to the extent that by the human brain is a weird thing and all people react differently.

i saw someone make the comparison between soldiers signing up to join the military and still coming out deeply traumatized by what they saw and i think that’s a pretty good example. you can know what you’re getting into, you can train, you can do whatever- but you’re never truly 100% prepared to go through something like that.

in my opinion, that actually makes her a much more interesting- and no less sympathetic- character! i think a lot of people don’t want to associate annie (and even finnick i see a lot) with being “careers” because the careers are associated with being the bad guys and no one wants their faves to be the bad guys. but the careers were not evil/bad people- they were brainwashed children. but that’s another rant for another day.

so yeah idk if any of that even made sense but basically:

yes, annie is a heavily traumatized- but real- career.

#annie cresta #the hunger games #asks #finnick odair #again just my perspective and everyone is totally valid in whatever they think bc we have no way of actually knowing!! #if anyone has any similar thoughts or even different opinions i would LOVE to hear them!!!! #thank you so much for sending this though i love answering questions like this hahahhaha #i will die on the hill that the careers were not evil people

[blackbatcass]

I firmly believe babs and dick are the only two people on earth allowed to call cass ‘cassie’. No I don’t care if canon contradicts this.

#cassandra cain #batfam #barbara gordon #dick grayson #batman #this is my harmless but controversial batfam opinion. I will die on this hill #in my heart of hearts. i know this to be true #babs and dick have special privileges as older siblings. if anyone else tries to call her that it’s Weird and she doesn’t like it. #including bruce. #mmmmmm i MAY make an exception for duke #but no one else #i know tim calls her cassie in canon and so do a bunch of other people HOWEVER i choose to ignore it #cass would probably let steph get away with doing whatever she wants but #she’s so firmly ‘cass’ in steph’s mind that calling her anything else would be super weird. #same for bruce and tim tbh. (IDK IF ITS CANON. I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.) #i simply know if babs or dick called her cassie #she’d go :D ‘yes that’s me! im cassie!!! :D’ #while everyone else is sitting like. cass if i tried to call you that you’d disembowel me.

[anaddicts-blog]

Okay, here is a random opinion that will get me hate.

If Sakura was a man chasing after Sasuke, and Sasuke was a woman, guess who will get all the hate? Fem Sasuke. And i will forever die on this.

Meanwhile male Sakura will be all hyped up, and named as a hero, and would get comments like.

"It's always the nice guys bro 😔" shit like that.

#naruto #my opinion #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #i will die on this hill

[chaosduckytoast12]

mean girls headcanons

REGINA - definitely not straight, either doesn't know what Tumblr is or uses it secretly, isn't in any fandoms but watched Hairspray once because Karen accidentally bought tickets instead of buying actual hairspray

Karen - Probably not straight... I headcanon her as doesn't know what straight means so she just does whatever she wants, Uses Tiktok and tried to use Tumblr but was too confused to figure it out, watches Miraculous Ladybug, I feel like she tried watching XO Kitty got confused and stopped watching it

Gretchen - Either Bi or Straight, Uses Tumblr but doesn't post, gives Jane Austen fan vibes or Book Tok Vibes

Damien - Too Gay to function, Uses Tiktok and Instagram but not Tumblr, Chaotic Theatre kid, knows the choreo for Candy Store

Janis - Lesbian, Uses Tumblr once in like 2 weeks, Used to be in Coroika fandom for like 2 months, Really good at art and does commissions on Etsy, Dyes her hair everytime she has any minor problems

Cady - Straight, Doesn't use Social media, watches wild life documentaries for fun and has posters of lions on her walls, helps tutor people at the public library

That's it, if you have anymore charcaters you want my headcanons on just put it in my asks

#These are my opinions #they are valid #i think #anyways this was fun #i made this at like 3 am #And it was in my drafts for a week #mean girls #mean girls musical #regina george #karen smith #regina george is a lesbian #i will die on this hill #janis ian #gretchen wieners

[brynnmclean]

I am SURE someone has already done this or something similar but a friend and I got into a shouting match over Fingon vs. Turgon yesterday so Nolofinwëan stans, I summon you for a v serious poll. Please show your work in replies/tags. 💜

#Silmarillion #tolkien polls #tumblr polls #the nolofinwean fight #fwiw this whole thing started because fingon got SLAMMED in my presence and i will not stand for that #my actual serious opinion is that i love everyone! but the hill i am gonna die on today is fingon supremacy :) #my polls

[theatricsunflower]

I want everyone to know that I’m doubling down. 2003 Tenma is the hottest. Pluto Tenma is a close second but 03 Tenma got that Phantom of the Opera swag and you can’t change my mind.

#I will fight kill and die on this hill #/j #obviously that’s my opinion #but it is the correct opinion #Astro boy #astro boy 2003 #Pluto #pluto netflix #dr tenma #umataro tenma