Difference between revisions of "Tuckerization"

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A Tuckerism is the practice among professional authors of using their friends' names for characters in stories they are writing, [[Bob Tucker]] being a leading exponent of this sort of thing which he also originated in 1945 when he used the names of several [[fans]] in his novel ''The Chinese Doll''.
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'''Tuckerization''' (sometimes '''Tuckerism''') is the practice among [[professional]] authors of using their friends' names for characters in stories they write. [[Bob Tucker]] was a leading exponent and practitioner of this sort of thing, which he originated in 1945 when he used the names of several [[fans]] in his novel ''The Chinese Doll''.
  
Note that this is different than a ''roman a clef'' where the fiction is in some fashion about the real person or a story where the fictional character resembles the real person in appearance or behavior or background. In a tuckerization, ''only'' the real person's name is used -- the fictional character does not otherwise resemble the real person.
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Note that this is different than a ''roman a clef'', where the [[fiction]] is in some fashion about a real person or the fictional character resembles that person. In a tuckerization, ''only'' the name is used — the namesake character isn’t otherwise akin to the real person. It arguably counts as [[recursive SF]] if the name is a [[pro]]’s.  
  
It is common for a writer to donate a '''tuckerization''' to a charity auction, where he offers to use the name of the highest bidder in an upcoming book, perhaps as a minion to the chief villain.
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It is common for writers to donate a tuckerization to [[convention]] or [[fanfund]] [[auction]]s, where they offer to use the name of the highest bidder as a character in an upcoming [[book]].
  
{{fanspeak}}
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Tucker himself gave up the habit in his later career, saying "I have largely abandoned my habit of using fan names because I learned that someone who was a friend when a book was published will not necessarily be a friend ten years later" ([[Dark Star (Carr) | Dark Star]] 2, 1963)
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{{fanspeak|start=1945}}

Latest revision as of 09:28, 10 October 2023

Tuckerization (sometimes Tuckerism) is the practice among professional authors of using their friends' names for characters in stories they write. Bob Tucker was a leading exponent and practitioner of this sort of thing, which he originated in 1945 when he used the names of several fans in his novel The Chinese Doll.

Note that this is different than a roman a clef, where the fiction is in some fashion about a real person or the fictional character resembles that person. In a tuckerization, only the name is used — the namesake character isn’t otherwise akin to the real person. It arguably counts as recursive SF if the name is a pro’s.

It is common for writers to donate a tuckerization to convention or fanfund auctions, where they offer to use the name of the highest bidder as a character in an upcoming book.

Tucker himself gave up the habit in his later career, saying "I have largely abandoned my habit of using fan names because I learned that someone who was a friend when a book was published will not necessarily be a friend ten years later" ( Dark Star 2, 1963)



Fanspeak 1945
This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.