Young Writers Society

First of all hello, and thank you for reading this (:

I've just started a novel, and I really hope I will finally keep this one going and maybe even finish it (that would be a first...).
I am still not sure about the whole plot and happening yet, because I like to leave all my options open and let my characters sort of decide all events - If I know the end already, I stop writing because I get bored with it
But it will be a dark and twisty and slightly psychological story.

My question, however, is: What if I don't name my characters?
Since I plan to leave the reader rather confused and definitely _not_ omniscient for most of the novel, I thought it might just fit in nicely if there were no actual names mentioned. And it kind of fits my characters to say, for example: 'Who cares what my name is - you can call me whatever you like. We have long since stopped being what we were once meant to be, anyway.' (Just an example...)
So, what do you think: Can I do that? Do you think it's plain stupid or a nice touch?

I'd be delighted to receive any suggestions, ideas, opinions...
Thanks in advance & have a lovely day


EDIT: If this topic should fit better into another area, I apologise - I'm new. (Bah, that has "stupid & lost" written all over it )

I quite like the idea. I'd do it. Just make sure that the reader isn't confused about who's doing what. Maybe you could call them "the old man" or "the girl's mother" or something like that so there's some differentiation.

Good luck! I can't wait to read some.
-Rachel

Hey! I'm actually doing the exact same thing. I'm giving the main character the name of, "the beggar" or "the thief". Haven't decided . Anyway, Cormac McCarthy is very famous for it, where, in The Road and Blood Meridian, he just refers to the main characters as "the boy" or whatever.

Go for it.


And yeah, I'd say this'd be more of a Writing Tips topic. I think. Just ask a moderator nicely if they'll move it for you. =)

Oh, it's nice to hear that you guys like the idea or are even using it yourselves (:
I have to admit I've never heard of McCarthy.
I'll pay attention to make it very clear who's who.

Thanks for your answers!

- P.S.: I asked a Moderator (:

Haha, I pulled off a whole novel without giving two of the characters names. It was awesome. If I can do it, you can do it. One of the things you might want to do is have a couple of the characters have multiple names or nicknames so the reader isn't quite sure what his real name is. That way, you don't do the cheesy spaghetti western "man with no name" sort of characters. Because, face it, that can get a little cheesy at times.

For my novel, it was illegal for one of the characters to have a name (sci fi... long story) so what I did was I gave her multiple names and nicknames that all contrasted together to make it really confusing. Plus, in third person I only referred to her as "the freak." Which is her official label. Long story. But I thought giving her multiple names was great because the reader never really knew who she was. She was just continuously labeled. For a main character, especially, I would recommend this.

For the other guy, he was just known as "Sadie's father" or "Sir." The former was the most widely used name and that's what I referred to him in third person as. Since the title was sufficiently descriptive for who he was, it worked. But only do that if it pinpoints him as a person that needs no more description. Otherwise, it can be really confusing.

In A Small Free Kiss in the Dark, "Skip" is the main character's name he made up for himself. I don't recall his real name ever being mentioned.