Character

Happy hump day, everyone!

Today we have a new question to be answered, to the best of my ability. :)

How many... 

Today's question: 

How many main characters makes too many? 

Well now, that's an interesting question -- one I've been accused of not knowing the answer to. But I've learned since then, and I believe I have an answer for you.

1. Start with how many words you have

If you have a small number of words, you'll need a smaller number of characters. In general, I say that you're allowed two main characters per thirty thousand words. This doesn't count for short stories, which are a special case.

So, if you're writing a full length novel, try for three or four main characters at most.

2. Next, think about how you'd like your story to flow

If you want it to be a story with multiple heavy plots, then you can make more main characters work. If you're intending for a story that has very few main plots, you'll want to limit it to the number of plots. So if it's a story about a boy and a girl, keep it focused on the boy and the girl, and throw in an antagonist to mix things up.


What you'll want to do is keep your story from being muddled. I like to limit my main characters to less than six, now that I've written four novels with over a dozen main characters. In my honest opinion, if it's exhausting for you to write, it's probably exhausting for anyone to read.

Really, with this one, it's entirely up to you and your comfort level. But I'd suggest going back to some of your favorite books to find out how many main characters they have, and copy them.


Very few successful writers mind if you borrow minor ideas from them. It's the big ones they'll throw a tiff about. *wink*

[love]

{Rani D.}