How on earth can an author forget their character's names?

[booklvr62]

Ok, this is a pet peeve of mine,on top of getting history wrong in an historical,but this just happened to me again the other day while reading.Suddenly a character's name was changed from Fletcher to Witcher,and I thought "Whaaaaat,who the heck is Witcher"! I find this especially inexcusable when it happens in a trilogy or series!

BTW,the books that I recall this happening in, have not yet occured in self-published books,so no editor is not the problem.

Does this drive other readers BONKERS like it does me,LOL?

[A24]

Lol. Sounds like a problem Dory had in "Finding Nemo"! She couldn't get Nemo's name straight (Fabio, Elmo, Chico, Harpo, and Bingo)!

[lady_charlie]

I can't remember losing a character but yesterday I was reading a mystery and it said the information just didn't jibe with what he already knew.

I think he was going for jive....
yes, lots of mistakes in books these days.
we should have been editors instead of readers, eh?

[booklvr62]

It seems like the editors aren't even reading the books anymore.

[Maud Fitch]

According to research, and Scientific America, we read a screen differently to a paper page. Our eyes do not scan words on a screen as efficiently as paper. We can read about 25 percent faster, with more comprehension, on paper. This may explain the rise in e-book editors errors but it does not explain the author goofing up with character names. Unless they don't re-read their own work or keep good manuscript notes.

[booklvr62]

Exactly, because the books that I am referring to are paper books,not eBooks.

[lady_charlie]

Ah, I have been finding a lot of mistakes in ebooks.

[booklvr62]

Ah, I have been finding a lot of mistakes in ebooks.

Oh yes, many mistakes in ebooks,especially self-published ones,but I download very few that aren't already highly regarded.Haven't yet read an ebook where the author forgot/changed one of their character's names.

[lady_charlie]

Well, if I can keep track of who it is maybe I just haven't noticed when it happens. Sometimes people in books have more than one name so maybe some of them are changing accidentally and I am just assuming it was on purpose! Especially in Russian books like Anna Karenina or even LOTR if I am pretty sure who they are I don't worry what they get called.
Maybe there are more or fewer characters in some of these books than I thought!
Now I am worried.

[Fran]

Well, if I can keep track of who it is maybe I just haven't noticed when it happens. Sometimes people in books have more than one name so maybe some of them are changing accidentally and I am just assuming it was on purpose! Especially in Russian books like Anna Karenina or even LOTR if I am pretty sure who they are I don't worry what they get called.
Maybe there are more or fewer characters in some of these books than I thought!
Now I am worried.

@lady_charlie
In relation to Russian names I remember reading up on it when I was trying to get to grips with Tolstoy & Pasternak but I've mostly forgotten the rules. But I do recall there being variations of names used dictated by differing social circumstances & depending on the relationship between the person being addressed ... formal, informal and intimate relationship.
Also if I recall correctly they use three names ... a first name, a patronymic and a surname.
Maybe someone with more Russian expertise can explain better. But it is definitely one of the challenges of Russian literature.

[booklvr62]

Well since I have never read a book set in Russia that doesn't pertain to the authors of the historical romances that I've read where they changed their character's names.One changed their's back again after a few chapters,but the other author never did,and that really made me feel like someone else finished writing that book!Someone who didn't even know the characters.

[lady_charlie]

Well, I am pretty sure Tolkien knew who Strider was all the time.
But now that you say this I will watch more carefully.

[janebeth92]

I've never experienced this issue before, but I have come across awful editing (grammar mistakes, spelling errors etc.) and it makes me want to become an editor so I can fix these problems. One book was so bad that it actually was missing 14 pages. They weren't ripped out or anything, they were just completely non-existent. It was hard to finish the book, as those 14 pages held some vital plot information. The thing is, no genre or style or publishing house can escape from this amateur editing. Small publishing books have it, big publishing books have it, you can find it anywhere! So frustrating.

[kaybru]

That seems very insane.

[Carrie R]

I've only encountered this a couple times, but the slip ups only happened once, so I found myself wondering if the author just made a mistake and inserted the wrong name, or if there was some other character I wasn't even aware of! I have more trouble with books that have so many characters I can't keep them all straight.