How many people with names do you have in your book?
I used to not care how many characters I had in my writing until recently. I discovered at the Writing for the Soul Conference that you don't give a person a name unless he's going to play a role in the story. Names are precious. Watch a movie in production and you'll see a bunch of people walking around with tags saying, "taxi driver," "bus man," so and so forth. Only a few have a nametag saying "Frank" or "Elizbeth."
Not everyone needs a name. 
Looking back on my first book, I realized I introduced 12 characters with names. Try keeping track of all those people as a reader! It distracts from the plot if the victimized reader has to stop every three paragraphs to think.
Also, having too many people is a signal to editors that you can't develop characters, so you compensate by having a lot of them. Go for those few elite in your story that stand out and give them all the spotlight.
Does anyone have anything to add?
8 comments:
Yes, I've learned that, reading 'Nicholas Nickelby'. Dickens returns to characters that I'd forgotten even existed! When that happens I have to turn back and find their names again and re-acquaint myself with them. It's rather frustrating!
~Kiwifruit
Very frustrating...especially when you're the author and you forget who's who!
My mom is reading a book originally written as a serial for a magazine back in the 1800s. In the preface they said that it had strung out over a year or two and that some of the characters had been given three or four different names throughout the book because she just forgot who was who! That would be embarassing!
~Kiwifruit
It's like the Lord of the Rings where Aragon as a million names!
There's a problem with my story that I will have to wait to find out how to resolve: there's one large main character, but he's the leader of small squad of horse riders. And these six or seven horse riders are a large part of this particular part of the story, so I'm giving them all names, because I was tired of always saying "one of _______'s riders" and things like that. I'll have to kill a couple of them off...:D You know what type of author I am....
Actually, I already planned for a couple of them to die, and for the whole group to be disbanded a while later....THAT part will be fun :)
:)Ian(:
Omigosh, I was reading Silmarillion, and I was like argh! 'cuz there was Feanor, Fingon, Fingolfin, Felagund, Finrod, and then Elrond, Elwing, and a ton of others.
Y'know, reading this blog is really helping my writing. Thank you!
SAy, can I post a review on here for Bryan Davis's contest?
I understand what you're talking about. Sometimes I would introduce so many characters that it was really pathetic.
I've noticed this problem with the Harry Potter series. I can't remember half of the people in the book. (my mom said it was because I read them too fast.) I disagree.
Your blog has some really great posts.
-Judi
I hear your pain with those characters, Ian. I copying off of Alexander the Great's Comrade Calvalry, but I don't want to give EVERYONE a plot line. I'll have to read some books involving group settings to see how that's done. I guess it's not too bad to give everyone names, except for when they get together.
Thanks, Araken and Judi!
What would I need to do for you to post something, Araken?
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