So, I wrote a first person story for the first time ever, and the narrator and heroine is an OC (also for the first time ever in one of my stories).

But I didn't name them, or describe "myself" in much detail - the narrator is a unicorn, a mare, she loves to read, her cutie mark is a vague magic-related symbol rather than an identifiable object, and her father was a carpenter. Beyond that, the reader gets nothing. I wanted to leave it open to the imagination (also I felt like I couldn't come up with a name I liked and this was a kind of cop-out compromise). But now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if I should have given her a name or more description, instead of leaving her mostly blank but not entirely.

Has anyone else got any advice for this kind of situation, where the story created/drove the OC and not the other way around?

7202141
It depends on what kind of story do you want to tell. If a detailed knowledge of the character is not necessary and would be just getting in the way, then leaving her unnamed will do no harm. It might even help in some aspects—there are a few (non-pony) pieces of fiction that rely heavily on emotions and that purposefully left the character blank to further drive home their point (Most of these were sad stories and the namelessness mostly emphasised how worthless the character was.) I’m pretty sure leaving a character blank so that the reader can envision himself in their place is going to work as well—if written properly, of course. After all, some second person stories work in a similar way.

7202143
Thanks, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

It's definitely a sad story (for the most part, anyway), and the reason I went first person was because it's basically about forced isolation and the loneliness, introspection and going slightly mad that that inflicts on the heroine, which I thought was better conveyed as a first person rambling narrative than by me just describing it. I guess I just started to second guess myself in wondering if I should have done more "traditional" character building rather than just painting in a few key details here and there. Now I'm second guessing the second guessing.

7202144
You’re welcome, glad I could help.

That’s actually really close to the stories I mentioned, so going with a more vague and sort of experimental character is definitely a better choice here.