Tuckerism n.

In LaB #2 I mentioned that del Rey had practiced Tuckerism to the extent of naming a slew of characters in a recent story (Superstition, ASF Aug 54) with names highly reminiscent of oldtime fans.

Tuckerism is the practice among professional authors of using their friends’ names for characters in stories they are writing, Bob being a leading exponent of this sort of thing.

Ted White has gone beyond Tuckerisms with his new novel, By Furies Possessed. Tuckerisms, for those who don’t know, are the creation of our own Arthur Wilson (‘Bob’) Tucker. They are the mention of fan names, as minor or passing characters, in a professional book. [...] Tucker is not the only fan-turned-pro who has used the device—with varying degrees of success—but like a lot of things, it started with Tucker, and hence the practice is named after him. But it all gets out of hand, I think, when one or more of the major characters—as in By Furies Possessed—is so obviously a real fan. In this instance, it’s a midwesterner named Tucker.

Bob Shaw and Jim Barker may have succeeded in selling a comic strip to the News of the World. It features a robot [c]alled MacHinery, his creator Prof. Willis, a charlady Mrs Weston and neighbours called Langford. One hopes they do not get sued for this Tuckerism.

I’m surprised that Langford, in explaining the numerous Tuckerisms that dot the text of The Third Millenium [sic], somehow overlooked his funniest line.

Although there aren’t many Tuckerisms in this book, Tucker does manage to slip in just a few, such as Dr Lainy, the vet at Boone Animal Hospital, and E. E. Everettes, the crooked head of the insurance company.

Bicycles, interestingly, had already been invented by two characters named Wilville and Orbur…. Those two names are good examples of the many tuckerisms that pepper the novel.