I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Will too many characters be overwhelming?

Asked by: Angelo Ogunlana

How many is too many characters in a story?

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.

What do you do when you have too many characters?

Does Your Novel Confuse Readers with “Too Many” Characters? 8 Ways to Unconfuse Them.

  1. by Anne R. …
  2. 1) Make Characters Vivid When You Introduce Them. …
  3. 2) Don’t Name “Spear Carriers” …
  4. 3) Don’t Give Your Characters Unpronounceable Names. …
  5. 4) Make Sure the Name fits the Character. …
  6. 5) Don’t Give Too Many Characters Similar Names.

What is a good number of main characters?

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 characters should a short story have?

three characters

A short story only needs three characters – a protagonist, antagonist, and what is referred to as a wrench or relationship character. The reader needs someone to cheer on, someone to hate, and, occasionally, someone who serves to advance the character arc for either the protagonist or antagonist.

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.

How many main characters are in SpongeBob?

ten main characters

SpongeBob SquarePants stars a cast of ten main characters. They were created by Stephen Hillenburg, who worked as a teacher of marine science before becoming an artist.

Is 9 main characters too many?

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.

Which novel has most characters?

A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust contains an estimated 9,609,000 characters (each letter counts as one character. Spaces are also counted, as one character each). The title translates to “Remembrance of Things Past”.

How many protagonists can there be?

Protagonist (main character)



The majority of books only have one protagonist. It is possible to have more than one, but you need to be incredibly organised if this is the way you want to go. I would advise avoiding this at all costs for your first writing project.

What is a story under 1000 words called?

A novelette is longer than a short story, which usually has a word range of between 1,000 and 7,500 words, and flash fiction, which is usually under 1,000 words. Any piece of creative writing that is longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel is considered a novella.

How can I make my story interesting?

17 Ways To Make Your Novel More Memorable

  1. Your protagonist drives the story. …
  2. Structure your book as a roller-coaster ride. …
  3. Tell the story in a linear way. …
  4. Write from your heart. …
  5. Start your novel at the end of the backstory you’ve created. …
  6. Include only the most important parts of the story. …
  7. Always remember the end.

Is 5000 words a short story?

However, the word “short” can mean different things, but generally speaking, a short story can be anywhere from 1,000–15,000 words, but most publications only publish short stories between 3000–5,000 words. Anything less than 1000 words is categorized either as a flash fiction or a micro-fiction.

How many words are in Harry Potter?

1,084,170 words



The entire Harry Potter series – 1,084,170 words.

How long is a first novel?

80,000 to 100,000

If you’re writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel.

Do short stories sell?

Yes, it’s definitely possible to make money selling short stories. There are hundreds of websites and magazines that pay for short stories. You might not get rich selling your short stories, but this can be a great source of side income.

Does Wattpad pay their writers?

Wattpad Paid Stories is a program that makes it possible for writers to earn money for their work, while providing readers with a way to monetarily support writers on Wattpad.



How hard is it to publish a short story?

Getting a short story published is surprisingly not that difficult—as long as you have a good story and put some effort into your submission process. Even mediocre stories have a decent chance of getting published with the right submission strategy.

How much do Wattpad writers earn?

No, writers do not get paid on Wattpad through money, but through opportunities, satisfaction, and friends. It’s pretty much like writers on Quora. Instead of writing articles, people write books instead. If your book gets popular enough, you might be contacted through an agent to get your work published.

What is Wattpad age limit?

13 years of age or older

As per the Terms of Service, Wattpad is only available for people who are 13 years of age or older. If we learn someone under 13 is using Wattpad Services, we’ll terminate their account. We also collect your date of birth to ensure that we serve you with the right content for your age.



What is the #1 best selling book?

Top 100 best selling books of all time

Rank Title Author
SOURCE: NIELSEN BOOK SCAN
1 Da Vinci Code,The Brown, Dan
2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Rowling, J.K.
3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Rowling, J.K.

How do I get my book noticed on Wattpad?

A Leaf in the Wattpad Forest: How to Get Noticed

  1. Write masterfully. …
  2. Edit. …
  3. Make sure that your book cover is fantastic . . . or at least make sure it doesn’t suck. …
  4. Post your full completed manuscript. …
  5. Add tags. …
  6. Communicate with the community. …
  7. Don’t get discouraged. …
  8. Send Wattpad a request to make your story ‘Featured’.

Does Wattpad own my story?

And no, your story does not belong to Wattpad after posting it on there. You can choose to hand in your manuscript to other publishing companies or self-publish after posting it on the platform, but be sure to remember to fill in the copyright before posting the book on the site.

How many chapters can a Wattpad story have?

You can have up to 200 chapters in a single book.



Who are the most popular writers on Wattpad?

From writing online to a publishing deal: meet six Wattpad…

  1. Anna Todd. Hailing from Texas, Anna Todd is perhaps the best known of Wattpad success stories. …
  2. Beth Reekles. …
  3. Abigail Gibbs. …
  4. Lilian Carmine. …
  5. Nikki Kelly. …
  6. Brittany Geragotellis.

Who is queen of Wattpad?

Jonahmae Panen Pacala

Considered as the pop-fiction queen, twenty-eight year-old kindergarten teacher Jonahmae Panen Pacala or more popular known with her pseudonym “Jonaxx” is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan.

Which country uses Wattpad the most?

Wattpad, a global multiplatform entertainment company with more than 65 million monthly users worldwide, continues its growth in the Philippines with 7 over million monthly users. This makes the Philippines the second largest market after the United States.