U is for the Unnamed Characters #AtoZChallenge

U is for all the Unnamed Characters

Am I cheating? Probably. But Uriah Heep isn't one of my characters, so I'm going to pay homage to the minor characters who don't always even get a name. You've seen them in the movie credits: "Cashier at the 7-Eleven" or "Old Man on Mobility Scooter." They aren't key players, but in books even more than in movies, they may matter.

In The Ninja Librarian, in the chapter, "The Ninja Librarian Takes on a Baby," an old woman appears to provide the key to the appearance of an unattached infant on the library steps. She gives a name to the baby's mother, but has no name herself. She has a personality--one that makes a notorious bully back up--but doesn't stick around to introduce herself.

In Halitor the Hero, Halitor's own parents have no names. Of course, they don't appear in person, but because he is the only character to speak of them, they are merely Ma and Da. On reflection, parents are always in danger of being left nameless. In the Ninja Librarian books, Big Al's father is named only in the final chapters of the final book, and her mother never gets a name. But all these unnamed parents, though not appearing directly in the books, have a key role to play in the formation of the central characters!

So here's a shout-out to the characters with no names. Stick around long enough, and you might get one.

And here's a question for my readers: do you think it's important that characters always get named?

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Following the suggestion of fellow blogger and amazing author Jemima Pett, I'm doing a very simple A to Z with characters from my writing and the books of my author friends! I'm just posting a brief profile, sometimes a quote, and the book cover with links. Though you may also see some of my typical reviews (when I feature other peoples’ books) and the usual Friday Flash Fiction.