Can there be too many Characters

Agreed. I cap at about six main chars. Any more than that, and they start to seem like repeats or "if" characters. For example, "if" this character did or didn't do [insert major life-changing event here], he would have turned out like that other character. Sometimes this is good; my villain, for example is an "if" character of my main hero. But populating the story with characters who are a mere pin drop away from being exactly like one another isn't my thing. I avoid it unless there's a point to be made in doing so (such as the hero/villain duality.)

 

It all depends on what kind of story it is. For a novel, I recommend keeping the character amount relatively low. Serials, IMO, can hold many more characters.

 

I have little trouble keeping up with alot of main characters in one book, though if they all have similar personalities, looks or names it can get quite confusing. If you make sure each character is its own in every way, there will be such a distinct difference that the reader should have no trouble understanding the story.

 

i have no problem with many characters, but i do have a problem when all their names, actions, apparel are all similar. this makes it hard when reading fluently, such as a conversation between Brendon and Brandon who are both in the same football team, then referring to "he said" makes it all the more confusing for the reader.

also a guy names Kim and a girl named Kym also has profound effects when reading about 'Kim' kissing her boyfriend.

just things to look out for.

(i just realised thats what the post above says....oh well)

 

I thought I should add my thoughts to this, since no one seems to be of a similar state of mind. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is an example of how to use an extremely large amount (around 1600) of recurring characters the right way. Nearly every character is vital for the plot, and is unique. The most confusing aspect of having so many characters (and an aspect which Robert Jordan struggled with, apparently) were the names of characters. several more minor characters had very similar names, a thing to avoid.

In my opinion, as long as it is done correctly, many characters can add unprecedented depth to the world, especially if each character has an individual motive. But that is very ambitious, and isn't necessarily right for all styles of writing, nor all authors. So, ultimately, I would have to advise you to stick to the amount you are comfortable with.

 

I don't think there is a definite number where the number of characters becomes 'too many,' as it varies on how memorable they are, specific traits, involvement in the plot etc. But as the number of characters increase it becomes harder for the reader to keep up with them (this could be when a character glossary is used). But if there's too many for the reader's liking, they'll probably lose interest.

 

I think it depends on how skillfully all the characters are written into the story. As the above poster said, if each character is memorable and has their own specific traits, then you can have more characters. An example would be the Song of Ice and Fire series, which has tons of characters who have all received at least some form of development. Although I'd say that if you manage to get OVER NINE THOUSAND characters, its probably too far.

 

Hey! The best way to handle this of me, is to decide what each character's external goal is. The goal has to keep them in trouble for most of the story until they find a way out of it if possible. I wrote down a list of my characters then wrote out why they were in the story in the first place. Their goal has to be something major that they can't walk away from. If you can't think of a big enugh goal, then the character(s) should just be side characters.

 

That seems oversimplified to me, especially for a full novel. A character may not have a clear direction of effort through a large portion of the story, perhaps a series of related or unrelated goals and barriers that eventually lead him or her to the critical problem.

That doesn't mean the central problem should not be visibly building throughout the novel. It also should not imply that the central problem IS clear throughout the novel.

A character's goals and motivations can most assuredly change over the course of a novel. A problem which may seem necessary to overcome at the beginning, from a character's perspective, may become uniportant as the character and the surrounding conditions evolve. For example, a local boy waylaid in a bar and impressed onto a ship will begin with the overwhelming goal of escape. But as he gets to know his crewmates, and the ship is going into battle against gunrunners threatening to turn the tide of a war between the boy's native land and a foreign aggressor, he may become a ferocious fighter on behalf of his captain and crew.

In a novel, goals and characters usually should evolve and dramatically change over the course of the story.

 

lol. that in red

its good to have you main set proganist(s) and antagonist(s)

 

A handful of major characters, and let the rest be secondary characters who are not too obtrusive. We don't need to know what every uncle and second cousin of the main character are doing every day.

If there is one thing the TV series Heroes is criticized for, it's having too many characters and too little time to let many of them do anything significant.