1. DarkPen14

    DarkPen14 Florida Man in Training Contributor

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    Do I absolutely NEED multiple characters?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by DarkPen14, May 18, 2019.

    This is something of an issue for me, as I would like to write something longer than a few pages or just a self-contained side-story. I've seen stories where the main characters bounce from chapter to chapter with little overlap between them, such as the Tsubasa manga, but this has the issue, at least to me, that these characters get development, and then it vanishes. For example, in that same Tsubasa story, they get these awesome powers in each universe they visit, but apparently lose them when they to the next.

    I'm having this issue because I have several concepts, and I try repeatedly to reconcile them within a single universe or within closely related universes. Magic factors into most of them, science exclusively in one, and a fusion dance of both in another. The issue I'm having is, none of these concepts blend together very well. And when I try to change things or create concepts that can blend with existing concepts, it changes the original too much and it doesn't make sense anymore.

    So, do I absolutely need multiple main and/or secondary characters? I know the 5-man band or the power trio are common tropes, but I'm having difficulty making one that doesn't crash as soon as the character that inspired the concept comes into play. Example: Sunnu Wukong is Sun Wukong's descendant, wields Ruyi Jingu Bang and many of Sun's powers, but she does not have Sun's five-fold immortality. So she's basically the definition of overpowered. But that's not the issue, we see OP characters everywhere. The issue I'm running into is her cohorts. I can't seem to come up with a lancer for her, or literally any other character. the issue isn't the characters themselves, it's characters that can match or at least prove a challenge for her, at least around her. Bad guys are no problem, it's friendlies I'm having trouble with.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2019
  2. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    No. The Old Man and The Sea has like 5 characters total and spends 90% of the book listening to some geezer ramble to himself. Try not to overthink it, just write it the way you think you need to write it, and it you feel the need to add people or cut some, there's always that option in later drafts.
     
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  3. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    I am going to draw off what I know. Batman in the Justice League is the only
    member who is human for all intents and purposes, with no real powers.
    Yet he can take out all of the rest of the league because he knows each one
    of their weaknesses, should any of them decide to turn evil. So in a way for
    all the things that limit him, he is on equal footing with his Super Powered OP
    friends.

    Just an idea to consider, when dealing with insanely OP characters.
     
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  4. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    Hello friend. :superhello:

    Cave troll gave you a good example which you can consider to change your character to become more human. However, if you decide that character must be OP then I will ask this, what's the point if nobody offers her a challenge? How will she grow as a character? How will that influence the plot and move forward the plot? People like OP characters but sometimes forgot that it is necessary to create a weakness. Why not make your MC have a character trait as a weakness? She can be selfish, cocky, arrogant, manipulative, whatever something that the other characters can use to defeat her as well. Create a balance for her towards the other characters you have. Otherwise, you will end up having an uninspiring character that defeats everything and everyone. But if this is a satire, parody I think that should be fine. Go ahead and exaggerate your MC. After all, you want to show how ridiculous powerful she is.

    About your question: 'Do I absolutely need multiple characters?' While I can't use an example that you used on your post, I can advise you to do this exercise. Write first your story as a first draft, don't bother if all makes sense. Now this very important: if one of your character(s) have no dialogue, one line of dialogue or minimal; consider to put that character in your writer's trash bin. Why? Is doing nothing in your story. That character is just fluff if you like, it will not contribute to your characters grow or to the plot.

    I hope this helps. Keep on good work and have fun. :superagree:
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2019
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  5. Ma'am

    Ma'am Banned

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    I think the danger of only one character is too much of the interior or exterior: him musing endlessly in his own mind or too much of him as a body in motion. They can both get boring quickly. I'm sure it's been done before, though.
     
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  6. Bluedango

    Bluedango Member

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    Have you seen BLAME! ? I say 'seen' because there is so little to read innit.
     
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  7. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    If you can't write more than a few pages using your current method, that probably means it's not working. Characters are what bring a story to life and make it interesting. If what you're working on is failing to hold your attention so much that you can't get a story out, it sure isn't going to work for readers. Do you have a story? Sure, a story can have minimal or even a single character, but the execution is going to need to be letter perfect. Stories belong to characters. I'm a big fan of heavily populated stories even when it comes to short works. The more characters you have involved, the more chances you give readers to feel engaged with your work. I don't really see the benefit or reason for a single character in your case because you say it's not working for you. And if it's not working, I think you have your answer.
     
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  8. DarkPen14

    DarkPen14 Florida Man in Training Contributor

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    One of the defining traits of Sun Wukong was his ego the size of the Pacific. As Sunnu is basically Sun shoved through a rule 63 filter, this is maintained. She's got her roster of emotional vulnerabilities/character flaws, and her combat-related issues aren't a long list, but they exist. Mostly having to do with a) her lack of complete control over her transformations, b) her fur-clones are not always completely capable of remaining for long enough to get things done, c) the Fiery Eyes, Golden Gaze thing that came with sitting in a furnace for a month and a half gives her a vulnerability to smoke. Bad guys are actually surprisingly easy to match up to Sunnu, since they're almost all demons of some kind (come on, you gonna put a human against the Monkey King's granddaughter?)

    My issue isn't maintaining a plotline with a single character, it's the opposite. I have difficulty dealing with multiple characters at once. Characters A, B, and C could be in an event, and I'll have no idea what to do with A and C because B uses their brain as something besides a doorstop more often than the other two. I don't know if multiple characters are necessary, considering that that (stupid English language) is what I have been primarily "raised on" as far as what I have read for most of my life.
     
  9. J. J. Wilding

    J. J. Wilding Member

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    I would say this: just write it how you would like to read it. If you hit a problem it means your narrative needs trimming down a little, whether that's a character or a plot point, a mechanic of some system in the novel or social rule. The most important thing is to not concern yourself with what other people might think, because art is selfish. The best thing that happened to me was when I was writing my first novel was losing track of the timeline, then going back through it and assigning characters to places. Doing this will help you determine how many characters you need to tell your story. With OP characters, I worked through their flaws first, i.e. madness, callousness, arrogance, delusion, etc... and then I worked out everything else. Hope this helps friend, I've definitely been where you are now. Happy writing!
     
  10. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    I'm assuming that you're asking whether you need multiple protagonists, right? Not whether you can write a story that has one and only one character active in the story world?

    Plenty of stories have one protagonist. But it sounds like you're trying to write a story of a category that traditionally has multiple protagonists, and you're trying to make it follow that model, changing nothing but the multiple-protagonist part. I think you're going to have to change a great deal more. You might want to start reading in genres that do have single protagonists.
     
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  11. pyroglyphian

    pyroglyphian Word Painter

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    Pincher Martin, William Golding, pretty much has only one character. It is very interior, as you say, though well done IMHumbleO.
     
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  12. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    Do they have to equal her in fighting prowess? I've read and watched plenty of stories with OP characters who cannot be matched, and yet they have "sidekicks" and friends who hang around them and help them in battle. In my WIP, my MC (and only viewpoint character) is OP compared to other dragons, yet I have other very important characters in the story--as side characters. If you really want to add friends or cohorts into your story, you don't have to write it from their viewpoint and neither do you have to make them match up to your MC. If the other friendlies were as overpowered as her, why would she be considered OP rather than just normal?
     
  13. Azuresun

    Azuresun Senior Member

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    It might be worth expanding the definition of "match" or "challenge". I'm assuming there are areas that her powers can't cover, so those are areas where someone else could be necessary instead of her. For example--tense diplomatic negotiations, a riddle contest, a romantic rivalry, a foe who is invincible until its weakness is figured out, or an unconventional contest with high stakes, such as a card game, chess match or cooking contest.

    Alternatively, give the supporting characters their own struggles, and a reason the heroine can't just swoop in and trivially solve them. They won't be on the same scale as the big conflicts, but they can have just as much emotional impact. Plus, having smaller conflicts helps keep the main character impressive by comparison, and makes the world feel more vivid beyond being just a backdrop for the heroine's exploits.

    Lastly, supporting characters don't necessarily need to be directly participating in the big struggles to be important. No matter how OP a character is, they'll probably still want to have friends, lovers, mentors, people they can get advice from or talk to when they're feeling down, etc. Personal relationships are important, and they keep characters from just being a dull laundry list of powers.
     
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  14. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    Hatchet by Gary Paulsen had only one character. The fact that he was alone was a key part of the plot.

    It did result in a lot of introspection and self-conversations. I think you need to decide what plot decide other people would be. If they aren’t necessary or the same plot device can be written without another character then go for it, but in most situations another character is the best way to flush a character out.
     
  15. S A Lee

    S A Lee Contributor Contributor

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    While it is a play and not a novel, Waiting for Godot features two characters.

    The film Buried Alive shows one character and how he tries to get help before he runs out of air.

    The cast doesn't have to be large or consistent compared to your protagonist. What is important is that their presence has a purpose.
     

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