writing tips

epithets

First off, what are epithets?

An epithet is a byname or description of someone. Example: "the blonde", or "the shorter boy."

I've noticed that writers generally use epithets when using third-person, simply because there isn't an exclusion of a character (with using "I"). This means they have to narrate all the characters' actions using their names, or in this case, epithets.

This also common in same-sex romance stories, because there are two (or more) people with the same gender and it gets really confusing.

Thus, they turn to epithets.

Now I understand completely why one would use them. It's confusing and hard to differentiate characters, and saying the names of each character would get repetitive.

But without epithets, your writing will flow so much better and will generally look nicer and easier to read.

You don't have to worry much about repetition either. By being conscious of how you word your sentences/sentence structure, the overall flow of the story, and how you can link the pronoun being used to the antecedent, your story won't seem so repetitive.

Generally, readers tend to skim over the things that "get repetitive." Have you ever noticed how many times a book has repeated the word it's?

No, because your brain naturally skips over it and just takes note of important details.
So instead of writing something like this:

Chloe hugged the younger girl tightly. "I missed you," the blonde said.

"I missed you too."

The younger girl rested her head in the blonde's chest, relishing this moment of tranquility.

You can write:

Chloe hugged Amber tightly. "I missed you," she said.

"I missed you too." Amber rested her head in Chloe's chest, relishing this moment of tranquility.

The edited version just looks and flows better than the original, because you took away the epithets.

**I'm not saying to stop using them altogether. When a certain character is unknown or isn't important, you can use them to substitute in place of their name. (Example: a background character who appears only for one part of a story).