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Q&A What are the advantages and disadvantages to leaving the narrator unnamed?

As I begin to write a narrative (I haven't decided yet how long it should be), and as I develop the plot, I was wondering whether or not I should give the narrator a name. It was one of those rando...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Conor O'Brien‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:59:26Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/33351
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Conor O'Brien‭ · 2019-12-08T07:59:26Z (almost 5 years ago)
As I begin to write a narrative (I haven't decided yet how long it should be), and as I develop the plot, I was wondering whether or not I should give the narrator a name. It was one of those random thoughts, but I thought it was interesting enough to pursue. I was wondering what could be gained, if anything, by omitting the narrator's name? Would it cause more harm than benefit?

I would plan to never have the narrator's name become relevant; there wouldn't be any specific plot element that describes the narrator's lack of name, or its importance.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-02-17T02:30:58Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 3