same name attributes

[mutant-wolf2.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read a story where the main character's name has the same name of the author?

If so, how did you feel about that?
Did it affect the story in any way?
Did it take away from the setting/tone/feeling of the story because you kept being reminded of the author, and not the character, in the situations?
What does that say, to you, about the author?

If not, how would you feel if you did read a story with same name attributes?
Do you think that it would affect the story?
Do you think that it would take away from the setting/tone/feeling of the story because you kept being reminded of the author, and not the character, in the situations?
If you knew that a story had same name attributes, what would that tell you about the author?

I was just wondering because a guy in my Writing Fiction class turned in a story that had a character with the same first and last name as him. And I'm not too fond of same name attributes.

You can read my response in my journal here.

Comments

[13-tezcatlipoca.livejournal.com]

Until I read the further info in your own journal, I thought you were only talking about christian names. And I thought, well, some first names are fairly common, so maybe. But the whole box and dice? That's just weird. :/ I suppose if it was something intended to be 'avant garde' then...maybe? (Like a story that's meant to be autobiographical but actually isn't, where the author uses a pen name that's the same as the main character's.) But I've never come across it, ever, myself. Perhaps it's an extension of so-called Mary-Sueism, who knows?

[bblue23.livejournal.com]

Yes. Darren Shan, the author, has the same name as his vampire boy character. My reaction to this was a positive one. I was intrigued. I think it's cool to know that "Darren Shan" is both a real person and an obviously fictional one. In fantasy and science fiction, I know that the fantastic events described could not possibly have happened to the author, but it is interesting to me that the author finds these events real enough to ascribe them to the lifestory of his own namesake.

On the other hand, in "classic" literature with a more realistic feel, when characters have the same first name as their author, I feel a bit annoyed. It doesn't make sense to me why Jane Austin would use "Jane" as the first name of one of her characters, for example. "Weren't there any other good first names?" is my first reaction. It seems lazy, if not downright narcissistic. So I think the author has to be careful of what message they are trying to get across with the name. "My fantasy alter ego has had been through these weird ordeals" is interesting, but "in my fantasy life I'm a young, pretty and noble heroine" is nauseating.