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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42836
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42836
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

With a few exceptions, every one of my characters has a name, gender, age, and family relationship. A large percentage also have a backstory. I have well over 100 characters.

As others have said, you don't need to _use_ all the names. But it's your world, you should know the people in it.

Naming characters helps you keep track of them. I have lists on my wall so if I need to pull up, say, a random 3 year boy, I can check my lists and say, okay, that would be Barachel. It can help you keep consistency from scene to scene as well. Characters in movies have names (or unique descriptors, but usually names if they're in more than one scene) just to make it easier for writers/directors/etc to keep track of them.

Naming characters humanizes them, so they're less likely to end up as stereotypic fodder.

Having your characters use other characters' names shows us what kind of people they are, something you pointed out. When I'm switching points of view, I also switch how people refer to each other. My MC knows the names of all the other kids that came with her. One of my other viewpoint characters refers offhand (in his head, not out loud) to another character as "some little twerp." This will change over time.

Not everyone wants to name people, and that's okay too. But you do. So use it. There are a lot of advantages to knowing your world down to the last little detail.

Original score: 2