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noting where characters first appear

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spencered
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noting where characters first appear

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One edition of War and Peace that I read had an index of characters. Very helpful! Since then I have valued knowing where I could flip back 292 pages and get re-acquainted with, say Marsha Somebody, who first appeared on page 45 and was not mentioned again until page 337. I started indexing on pieces of scratch paper or penciled in at the back of the book. I restrict most entries to the first appearance of the character. It is a bit of work, worthwhile, and it seems a shame not to share it. If I were sharing indexes, I would include the ISBN number of the book edition for obvious reasons. Though it might take a long time to build up a useful collection of indexes, it seems worthwhile to me. I wonder if anyone agrees. A forum like this seems an ideal place for people to share their indexes.
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LanDroid

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Re: noting where characters first appear

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Marsha Somebody, who first appeared on page 45 and was not mentioned again until page 337.
Russian authors seem to love that game. I think Anna Karenina starts with someone sipping tea, then the subject changes and that cup is not savored again for thirty pages. I enjoyed that tension when I was much younger, but my internet addled attention span cannot handle it now.

As for your indexing idea, we could look at it, but I don't know how many will join your effort. Perhaps an electronic file or database would help, especially for tracking characters in a series of books? On a Kindle and other e-books you can search for earlier references.
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