: Re: Refer to character by title instead of name? Many of the minor characters in my story have official titles. CEO, Sergeant, Lt. Colonel, Ambassador, President, Prime Minister, Chief of Staff, Director,

@XinRu607

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There are no hard and fast rules. It all depends on the context.

Even an omniscient narrator is going to focus on one viewpoint character
at a time. So, consider that person's point of view. How will they
address a given character? How will they refer to the character when
speaking about them to someone else? (This also depends on who they're
speaking to, of course.) How do they think of the character in the
privacy of their own mind?

Consider one character, John Q. Everyman. How will the following people
think of him, speak to him, speak about him?

His wife
His ex-wife
His boss
His 6-year-old son (who lives with him and his wife)
His 17-year-old daughter (who lives with his ex-wife)
His mother
His best friend
A waitress who's serving him and has never seen him before
Himself

I've found the best way to study a technique is to read books that use
that technique. For omnisicient narrator from multiple viewpoints, I
would recommend Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop
Cafe, which tells its story through an enormous variety of viewpoints.
Some other good examples are Lois McMaster Bujold's Shards of Honor,
all Vorkosigan books from Komarr onward, and all books in the
Sharing Knife series. Bujold is a first-class writer, well worth reading
for anyone who wants to improve their writing.

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