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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Help! My Character is too much for her story!?

Asked by: Michael Yeager

How do you handle a story with a lot of characters?

10 Rules for Handling Large Casts of Characters

  1. Rule #1: Characters Should Exist to Represent Theme and Move Plot (Preferably Both) …
  2. Rule #2: Fewer Characters Are Better. …
  3. Rule #3: Avoid Repetition by Recognizing Which Archetype Each Character Represents.

Can you have too much character?

The short answer is: no such number exists. You can include as many characters in your novel as you want to. It’s your story, and there’s no rule book you need to follow on how to write a great story. The creative process is yours to own.

How do you get rid of a character in a story?

Writing Death Scenes: How To Kill Off Characters

  1. Don’t be afraid to get gruesome. …
  2. Have them a sacrifice themselves. …
  3. Throw in a red herring. …
  4. Duel it out. …
  5. Give the Big Bad character their comeuppance. …
  6. A death with dignity. …
  7. Make an example of them. …
  8. Give your character a second chance.

How much characters are too much?

A good rule of thumb might be: Include as many characters as needed to tell the story and evoke the proper style and scope—and no more. For intimate novels, this number might be as small as 2-5 secondary characters, and for broader stories, this number might be 20-30.

How do you balance a large cast character?

How To: Balance a BIG Cast of Characters

  1. Set a limit. I’ve heard it said that there shouldn’t be more than seven to ten supporting characters in a novel. …
  2. Don’t get complicated. Like I said before, focus on developing your main players. …
  3. Give them something special. …
  4. Show a change. …
  5. Don’t be mean. …
  6. Cast the stereotypes.

What is a Contagonist?

The contagonist is an antagonistic character who will get in the protagonist’s way, try to lead him astray, and just generally cause conflict and tension. He differs from the antagonist in that he isn’t necessarily directly opposed to the protagonist.

How many POVs can you have in a novel?

But Evan Marshall in his Marshall Plan for Novel Writing suggests four POV characters are sufficient based on my page count (104,000-ish). He allows up to six for a book in excess of 150,000 pages.

What is the most important character called?

Protagonist

Protagonist: The main character of the story is the protagonist.



How many main characters should be in a story?

Most novels of every genre have 2-5 main characters. Romance novels almost always have 2-3 main characters, usually with two love interests and a buddy/sidekick for the male or female lead. A mystery novel usually has 2-3 main characters, perhaps even up to 5.

How many villains should a story have?

The answer depends on the author, but that shouldn’t be surprising when the term is so loosely defined. There are people who’ll tell you that a truly great story shouldn’t have any antagonists at all, and some who’ll tell you that you need at least three to create a narrative worth reading.

Can protagonist be more than one person?

Just because a story has multiple POVs doesn’t necessarily mean there are multiple protagonists. However, you cannot have multiple protagonists without having multiple POVs because, as readers, we need to experience every storyline and character arc for a main character.

How many antagonists can a story have?

You can have more than one antagonist in your story. But, the villain must remain the protagonist’s main opponent. Once you have identified your antagonists and created a masterful villain, you will fill your story with obstructions and tensions that keep your readers engaged.

How do you write a story with multiple characters?

How to Successfully Feature Multiple Main Characters



  1. Think Reader-First. You want nothing to stand in the way of the reader’s experience. …
  2. Make Your POV Characters Distinct. In subsequent books in the Left Behind series, I used as many as five different perspective characters for one novel. …
  3. Choose Carefully.

How do you write a scene with a lot of characters?

Four Tips for Writing Scenes with Many Characters

  1. Stick to a single point of view. Stay in one character’s point of view throughout the scene. …
  2. No more than four or five speakers (maybe six) …
  3. Don’t introduce any new characters in this scene. …
  4. Try to use as much dialogue as possible, but use tags to keep it clear.

How do you tell a story with multiple POVs?

Here are a few ways to make multiple perspectives work in your creative writing:

  1. Hone in on the most important character. …
  2. Use different perspectives to build characters. …
  3. Stick to one point of view for each scene. …
  4. Clearly define perspective shifts. …
  5. Give each character a unique perspective and voice.



How many main characters should a story have?

Most novels of every genre have 2-5 main characters. Romance novels almost always have 2-3 main characters, usually with two love interests and a buddy/sidekick for the male or female lead. A mystery novel usually has 2-3 main characters, perhaps even up to 5.

What are the 4 types of characters?

One way to classify characters is by examining how they change (or don’t change) over the course of a story. Grouped in this way by character development, character types include the dynamic character, the round character, the static character, the stock character, and the symbolic character.

What is the most important character called?

the protagonist

Role. Character role refers to the part that one plays in the story. As you probably know, the most important role in any story is the protagonist (which we’ll discuss below).



Does a story need a protagonist?

So the Main Character is the central character in the Main Character Throughline while the Protagonist is the central character in the Objective Story Throughline. They can, and often are, the same character but they don’t necessarily have to be. In fact, there are many stories that don’t follow this pattern.

Can you have 2 main characters?

So can you write a story with more than one main character? The short answer is: yes. You can write your novel any way you like, so long as it works in practice. Many writers, especially those writing in genres such as fantasy and sci-fi, have multiple main characters in their novels.

Can I have 3 protagonist?

Just because a story has multiple POVs doesn’t necessarily mean there are multiple protagonists. However, you cannot have multiple protagonists without having multiple POVs because, as readers, we need to experience every storyline and character arc for a main character.

Can there be 2 protagonists?

Dual protagonists are characters who are both the central actors in a story, work toward a shared or similar goal, and take up approximately the same amount of screen time. Like most protagonists in film, they must both embark on inner and outer journeys that culminate in an emotional or physical change.

What is a flat character?

A flat character is a character with little to no complex emotions, motivations, or personality. They also don’t undergo any kind of change to make them more well-rounded. In other words, they’re the opposite of a “round character,” who has a fully fleshed out profile and changes throughout the story.



What is the third protagonist called?

Tritagonist

In literature, the tritagonist (from Ancient Greek τριταγωνιστής (tritagōnistḗs) ‘third actor’) or tertiary main character is the third most important character of a narrative, after the protagonist and deuteragonist. In ancient Greek drama, the tritagonist was the third member of the acting troupe.

Is Sasuke a main character?

The main characters of Naruto are Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi, but the protagonist is Naruto.

Who is the Tritagonist in Naruto?

Sakura Haruno (春野 サクラ Haruno Sakura) is a tritagonist of the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Who is the main villain in Naruto?

Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

Kaguya to Naruto and Sasuke. Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, rarely going by her title, is the overarching antagonist of the Naruto franchise. She is the source of the whole conflict and the biggest threat faced by the heroes (though Isshiki Ōtsutsuki surpasses her in the sequel).

Who birthed sarada?

Sakura Haruno

Sarada was born from Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno approximately three years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, as their first and only daughter. Since Sakura refused to leave Sasuke’s side during his journey, even while she was pregnant, Sarada was born in one of Orochimaru’s hideouts, with Karin delivering her.

When did Sasuke get Sakura pregnant?

So we can concur that Sasuke and Sakura got married and Sasuke got her pregnant between the times of, after Naruto and Hinata’s Wedding – before Boruto Naruto Next Generations Episode 1.