I often times find myself conflicted about naming characters in short stories. It can be especially tricky when writing in first person. I've had editors and mentors and such say to always give a character a name, especially when they are the narrator. What do you guys think about that? Do you always name your characters? Do you think it does something for the story to name or not name characters?
depends on the story. i have a short that was published where the the POV is first person (no name given) and the non-POV character is just "the boy." I have another one from 1POV where the characters dont have names, either. Then i have others that NEED character names to follow along because they mention more than 2 characters. 2 of those could go either way: with or without character names. But what added to the emotion of it and the tone WERE their names. in almost all of my stories, the characters die. giving them names humanizes them before i "kill" them
I've had the impression that people like the characters to have names. Me, I don't think it's necessary, but I've been doing it for the readers' benefit. Recently, however, one or another person who has read one or another story of mine has mentioned that this or that minor character shouldn't have a name.
Some of my stories have characters with names and some don't. It depends on the story and the aura I want it to have. In one story I wrote, an unnamed character called another unnamed character by name once toward the end of the story. The name was a clue in the denouement of the story.
I had a short story that made it to the final round at a literary journal. When the story was ultimately rejected the feedback said that the character needed a name. So, I slipped in a name for my MC which I found a little tricky being the story was in first person, present tense. After this small change it ended up selling to an even bigger publication (one of my dream pubs). I can't say for sure that giving the character a name made all the difference, but maybe it made some of the difference. However, I do often write stories originally leaving characters nameless and have to go back and insert names. Maybe giving characters names fleshes them out or makes them seem more real. @Lawless -- Why did that person think your character shouldn't have a name? I mean even minor characters should seem fleshed out. I don't know if naming all characters is necessary, but at the same time I don't think it hurts the story to give everyone names.
I found it strange too. On one occasion, a reader said the name made her assume that the character was somehow important, but he wasn't, so he shouldn't have had a name.
As a reader, I like characters to have names unless they're very minor. I've read quite a few stories (usually literary flash) in which the main character is just "he" or "she," and they always feel unfinished, more like sketches than stories. I do think it's easier to get away with an unnamed first-person narrator, though. Maybe the general rule should be that if you can fit a character's name into the story in a natural way, you should do so; if you would have to force it, don't. I am curious what people think about using a label for a character rather than a traditional name. I wrote a story in which the MC is always referred to as "the killer" in narration, though the cop who interrogates him does call him by name. I think it's a technique that can work if used sparingly, either in a short story or on minor characters in longer works. What say you all?
I think it can work quite well, @AntPoems. In some cases I could see it working even better than a name, depending how creative and fitting the label is.
