1. Lucy M

    Lucy M New Member

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    Too many characters?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Lucy M, Apr 5, 2018.

    So in the novel that I'm working at now, I have a lot of characters. There's 30 of them that are very important (both main and supporting characters) and a bunch of others that have minor roles. I made character sheets for each of them, I have their individual stories all figured out and they each serve their own purpose. But when I was talking to my sister earlier about the book, she told me she would find a story with that many people hard to follow and she asked if I could cut some of them out. The problem is, I can't. I could cut up on the minor ones (maybe), but not the 30 important ones. What do you think? Is this an issue? Is having too many characters a bad thing? Might I add, they don't all pop up at once, they are spread through-out the story, which is a pretty long one.
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Write it and see.

    I mean, personally, I find it really difficult to write tight, readable fiction with more than two or three main characters, but other authors are certainly able to do it. I wouldn't recommend it for a first project, but if you honestly can't write this story with fewer than 30 (thirty!) main characters, and if you're dedicated to writing this story... there's not really a question, is there?
     
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  3. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Game of thrones (and associated books in the ASOIAF series) is a classic example of a massive character cast, others include Tom Clancy, and Harold Coyle. It can totally be done, but you need to ensure that not only do you understand who everyone is but the reader does too , which mans making sure names are both recognisable and recognisably different

    That said are you really certain you need the 30 characters - could any of them be combined if they can't be cut. Also its a good idea to identify which of the 30 characters are the most important /the PoV characters... a cast of 30 isnt an issue but I assume you arent going to try to write 30 Povs (even if you are writing in Omni there are still some you spend more time with than others)
     
  4. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Welcome to the site!
    Does this need to be a single story? Could a series with different casts of main characters living in the same world work better?

    Publishers don't generally look at long manuscripts from first-time writers anyway (I just finished a first draft of 115k words, but I'll be trying to cut it down to as close to 100k as possible).
     
  5. Lucy M

    Lucy M New Member

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    Yes, I do need all of them and no, they cannot be combined. They are not all main characters, but they are all important ones. They are each very different and my protagonist needs all of them in order for his story to be fully told. As I said, it is a long story (I'm thinking I might make it a trilogy), so they all have time to shine and they will not be "crowded". My only worry, after talking to my sister, is that maybe some people will find that hard to keep up with. But as long as I do it well, it shouldn't be a problem, right? I'm hoping I'm not just being overconfident...
     
  6. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    That would probably be best.

    I just had another thought: do you have any other stories that you might want to work on first as a warm-up to this one? Just in case you're biting off more than you could chew on your first time out?
     
  7. Lucy M

    Lucy M New Member

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    I do have other stories that I could work on (I have like at least 5 other stories that I wanna eventually complete), but I want and need to do this one first. Because this one means a lot to me, for personal reasons. I want my debut to be with this story. Maybe I am aiming too high, but I made a promise to someone I love that I will do this, so I have to at least try my hardest.
     
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  8. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    You might want to think about whether your protagonists story is too complex. If it takes 30 complex interactions to be told. Also is it essential for his story to be 'fully' told ... which bits of the story does the reader care most about ?
     
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  9. Lucy M

    Lucy M New Member

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    Hopefully, the readers will care about all the characters. It's not the protagonist's story in itself that is too complex, is the world that is very complex.It took me months to build it up and I'm still working on some aspects and details. Also, my protagonist is the kind of character who would normally be part of the supporting cast. He doesn't become the actual hero until later in the story. The supporting characters are the ones who should be 'the real heroes', until he proves himself to be the strongest of them all. So, because of that, all the characters I have planned are essential to the plot.
     
  10. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I think the problem (in addition to having 30 characters) is that you're unwilling to budge at all. And you haven't started the actual writing!!! All that prewriting can add up, but it doesn't equal a novel. And I think when you actually start writing you'll see which characters fit with this story and which don't. But going into this thinking you need every character and all those sheets have to mean something is the wrong way to approach writing, from my experience and opinion. I think you have to be open to changes and unexpected twists and turns while you are writing. I also think you actually have to write and that will give you a lot of answers once you've started that process. Remember this is one story and not 30 autobiographies. I know some fantasy novels can have many characters, but I most books do not have that many nor need that many. Start writing and you'll figure it out.
     
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  11. MusingWordsmith

    MusingWordsmith Shenanigan Master Contributor

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    I'm going to second the 'write and see' sentiment. My first attempt at a novel was a mess, got over 5ok words in and was still in what I considered the 'beginning' and I kept mentally adding more and more stuff I wanted to do to it. Eventually I quit that project and switched to another one, and repeated that process a few times before landing on the one I'm at now. I wouldn't recommend the constant start and stop thing, it was a bad habit I had to grow out of. XD

    In the end I've basically scrapped the entire thing. A few characters were salvaged to end up in completely different stories, but that one was just too big and bloated to go anywhere. For you, I'd say break it down. You talked like you had one character that you could pinpoint as the 'main'- start with that one. What details are necessary to that character's story? Start there, and see what happens.
     
  12. awkwarddragon

    awkwarddragon Member

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    Characters can serve their purpose, but do each of the 30 main characters serve the plot?

    Have you considered adding an index? That way readers can keep track who's who. That is if you decide not to trim down the tree a bit.

    Why do you need 30 main characters? What plot do they serve? Is the story multiple POV? If these basic questions can't be answered, then you should reconsider how many main characters you really should have. In addition, an author shouldn't really be that attached to the main characters to the point one won't relent in adjusting the cast. My two cents.
     
  13. Steelinghades

    Steelinghades New Member

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    As others have pointed out, having a huge amount of characters isn't necessarily a problem, it's how it is handled in the actual writing that can cause problems. A song of Ice and Fire has been shown as an example, but there's also the Malazan books of the fallen who also have a huge cast and generally goes out of their way to give the majority of named characters their own time as a point of view character, which is frankly quite impressive.
     
  14. Lucy M

    Lucy M New Member

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    Thank you to everyone who has offered me advice! I would like to say that I solved the problem now, I know what I have to do. EmptySoul has been helping me a lot through PMs and I have it all figured out ^-^
     
  15. MusingWordsmith

    MusingWordsmith Shenanigan Master Contributor

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    Glad to hear that, good luck on your story!
     
  16. IDontDrinkKoolaid

    IDontDrinkKoolaid Member

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    That's a pretty big "hopefully".
     
  17. Odile_Blud

    Odile_Blud Active Member

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    You never know until you try.

    Try it out, see if it works. If you feel like you need them all and they all serve a purpose necessary to the plot, I discouraged cutting them. If you feel cutting them would be better but you still need those plot points, I suggest combining characters (have one character do what another was intended to do) if you can. All I can say is that it is up to you as the writer.
     
  18. Macklinrw

    Macklinrw New Member

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    Taking a realistic approach to this problem, ask yourself some questions. How many people do I interact with on a regular basis? How many people does somebody usually interact with on a regular basis?

    Analyzing these numbers, give or take maybe three or four people this would probably the range of people that anybody would be comfortable having as major characters the MC interacts with often. Having too many major characters the MC is interacting with on a regular basis will confuse the reader. However, splitting who's perspective you write in might help you tackle wanting to have a lot of characters in the story.

    Remember that you're never really introduced to a large group of people that you're going to have to keep track of, and if you were, of course, it would be confusing and frustrating. If you build character development with each character at a time it would build in your reader's mind a group of people they can connect with and distinguish and be comfortable with.

    I hope you can gain from this some insight and something that could help you with your story, a lot of characters can make a really fun and immersive experience and contribute greatly to the story (think Game of Thrones). So, good luck!

    -Macklin
     
  19. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    There is nothing wrong with a large cast of characters. Many novels have them.

    A lot depends on how they are introduced to the reader. Key is their relationship to established characters, as they're introduced. Something memorable about them helps, and if they are 'off stage' for a while, a quick reminder about who they are (job, relationship, part played in the plot, etc.). In this, naming can be important, as well as some subtle things like dress, quirks, words or phrases frequently used in dialogue, etc.

    Having a large cast can be very tricky. Remember, the author knows these folks, all of them, but the reader, who does not, can easily be overwhelmed and become frustrated.

    You might study successful novels that are similar to what you're attempting. Study how the author introduced and used the characters over the course of the novel. How interactions, dialogue, descriptions and more made the large cast both possible and effective in relaying the story to the reader.
     
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