What is the maximum number of characters you can have in a short story without it getting confusing for the reader? Does it depend on length at all like two characters for every 1,000 words or something like that? Just wondering what some of you think.
How many people do you put in your stories?
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Not trying to be fresh or anything but, I think you should read more short stories.
I think for a short story, less is better.
However you could have many minor characters, but the focus is probably on one character, maybe two, rarely not more than three because then you are going to get overly complex and headed into novella or novel territory.
However you could have many minor characters, but the focus is probably on one character, maybe two, rarely not more than three because then you are going to get overly complex and headed into novella or novel territory.
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I cannot imagine anyone would have a rule, fewer is better in theory, but you probably shouldn't eliminate a character that should be there.
OTOH, I'm really moving into oral story telling and the forum I tell them in limits you to 6 minutes or you get penalized. I had a story about 3 coworkers and me. The other 3 included the antagonist and 2 supporting characters. When I told the story the first time I had both the supporting coworkers described, both as background, and what they did during "the action." I exceeded 6 minutes, and got penalized.
I realize now that I should have mixed the 2 supporting into 1. I would have 1) eliminated detail that distracted from the story (although was funny) and 2) could have got the story in on time.
There may be a lesson there- make sure EVERY character needs to be?
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I like lots of characters. On Duotrope I read an interview with Shelia Williams, and one thing she said really resonated with me:
You gotta do whatever is best for the story, but often I like to challenge myself and see how many different people I can squeeze in.
You gotta do whatever is best for the story, but often I like to challenge myself and see how many different people I can squeeze in.
I put in a new character when it makes sense. Have a kid character? I'm likely to include parents (even if it's just a mention) at some point. If we see someone at their workplace, boss and co-workers will enter the picture.
It becomes confusing for the reader when characters start to look and sound the same. Make them unique.
It becomes confusing for the reader when characters start to look and sound the same. Make them unique.
It doesn't depend on anything numerical. Include only the characters you need to tell the story and write in a way that avoids confusing the reader.
Well, you did say you were wondering what some of us think. It seems to me that reading stories, by itself, would give you a sense of how many characters to use.
I find three is a much better number of people than two. You get a whole lot more of a dynamic situation that way, more possibilities for interaction and conflict. After that, the returns start to diminish. I don't think there's much you could do with eight characters that you couldn't do equally well with seven. And I'm of course talking about characters that play a real part in the story, people you'd almost have to mention in a summary. Incidental characters who are briefly mentioned or just implied don't count.
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As far as this: "Most stories are underpopulated. A lot of the tale can be told through the interaction of characters."
I find the opposite to be true. Sometimes...
It may have to do with the way characters are introduced in short stories. I've read good stories with first person narration, and there are no other characters. But when there are a lot of characters, introduction is key. Confusion happens when too many are introduced too fast.
Usually, I find that when I feel a story has too many characters, a few can be condensed into one.
It just really depends. Decisions are best made in revisions.
I find the opposite to be true. Sometimes...
It may have to do with the way characters are introduced in short stories. I've read good stories with first person narration, and there are no other characters. But when there are a lot of characters, introduction is key. Confusion happens when too many are introduced too fast.
Usually, I find that when I feel a story has too many characters, a few can be condensed into one.
It just really depends. Decisions are best made in revisions.
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What exactly isn't "nice" about her response? Reading lots of short stories usually is best way to understand what is necessary and what is not for a story.
As for me, on the average, I have about 2-3 characters in my short stories. The longer the story (which tends to have a more involved plot), the more characters there will be.
I agree.
And I really don't want to see this thread turn into a nice/not-nice debate. So far, I haven't seen anyone break the One Rule (Respect Your Fellow Writer). So, let's move on and focus on the question asked. It's a good question regarding personal preferences.
To answer the question, my short stories tend to have one or two major characters, with a handful of minor characters.
I don't think the comment was intended as unkind. The truth hurts sometimes, and a lot of questions you've asked can be answered by extensive short story reading. That doesn't mean you should stop asking questions, it just means there's a more direct path to the answers you seek. How many short stories do you read a day? A week? If you haven't read very many you aren't doing your market research and craft development any justice.
ETA: Sorry, Smish, missed your post! No nice v. Not.
Personally I like to keep it to one to two main focus characters, with one to three "incidental" characters.
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I shall answer as I've had a few published. (Most of my shorts run around 10 to 13K however.) But I've had a few under 7K published, too.
In all of them, I have as many as I need.
I tend to have background characters as and where and when they are needed. You an create a good background character in like a sentence: "That was Max who drinks too much and married the girl who runs the tanning salon on the corner of Charleston and Main."
I pose questions to the group because I think they will make for interesting discussions. I am not looking for hard fast answerers. Telling me to read more or implying I don't read enough comes across like a personal jab. It also adds nothing to the conversation. It kind of feels like some people feel better about themselves by putting other people down. If you don't like my questions, don't comment on them.
Hi interesting question...when I write I dn't plot out the entire story, I kind of let it take on a life of its own, I do try to keep the names of my characters short but unique. like Jo Ring, I find long names harder for me to remember so it more then likely gets to the reader too, my last story was 72,000 words and I think I have nine people in the story, hope my answer helps
If you ask for advice and someone suggests in good faith that reading more would be of benefit, you can choose to take the advice or ignore it as you see fit, but try not to take it as a personal jab (even if you think it might have been one). Sometimes the advice to read more is spot on.
You asked a pretty open question that invites a wide range of possible answers. Not getting at you, just suggesting that you give others the benefit of the doubt. Chances are they're just trying to help. If you're genuinely concerned about someone's post, you can always use the Report Post option and let the forum staff deal with it.
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My two bits? The answer "read more" is an interesting answer. It might be a cutting answer, but it was an answer for how to decide whether you've too many or too few characters. The people that post here are, or want to be, artists; a colorful or cutting post will happen from time to time.
Peeps, can we get back to the original question, please, and avoid, as Smish (one of the short fiction mods, in case you didn't realize) referred to it, 'a nice/not-nice debate.'
Remember, things go both ways. If we don't like somebody's answer to a question we've posed, we are fully within our rights to ignore the response and move on to the next one.
Remember, things go both ways. If we don't like somebody's answer to a question we've posed, we are fully within our rights to ignore the response and move on to the next one.
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Truthfully, not too many because I know I can't really expand upon them or anything, unless they are just meant to, well, stand there I guess. I mean like someone else said; it really depends.
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