Too Many Characters in My UF Series?

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Hi guys,

I have a question. How many characters should one include in the first book of an urban fantasy series? I don't want to overwhelm the reader.

What if said characters are all primary and secondary characters who will appear in the subsequent books?

How many is appropriate? 10? 20?

Or does it matter?

Thanks for your input!

Kathleen42 · Aug 24, 2009

What if the series doesn't get picked up? Are these characters then just cluttering your first novel, waiting around on promises that won't get fulfilled?

JimmyB27 · Aug 24, 2009

As many as are necessary to tell the story.

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Kathleen42 said:
What if the series doesn't get picked up? Are these characters then just cluttering your first novel, waiting around on promises that won't get fulfilled?

Even if it doesn't, the characters DO add something to the first book as well. They're not just there.

They are important.

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

JimmyB27 said:
As many as are necessary to tell the story.

Thanks.

Kathleen42 · Aug 24, 2009

HorrorWriter said:
Even if it doesn't, the characters DO add something to the first book as well. They're not just there. They are important.

As long as they're necessary to the book at hand and not set up, follow Jimmy's advice.

Tasmin21 · Aug 24, 2009

Just out of curiosity, I went through and tallied up the named characters in my first UF novel. Counting the people who are just mentioned (but never seen) or already dead, there are 22 named characters.

Nine of these are what I would call background noise, mentioned or seen only once or twice, few-to-no speaking lines. They're funiture, props, decoration.

Of the people that it is important for the reader to remember, there are about 13, two of which are already dead and only talked about, not seen.

Do with this what you will.

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Tasmin21 said:
Just out of curiosity, I went through and tallied up the named characters in my first UF novel. Counting the people who are just mentioned (but never seen) or already dead, there are 22 named characters.

Nine of these are what I would call background noise, mentioned or seen only once or twice, few-to-no speaking lines. They're funiture, props, decoration.

Of the people that it is important for the reader to remember, there are about 13, two of which are already dead and only talked about, not seen.

Do with this what you will.

Thanks, Tasmin!

I've already calculated around 12-15 for myself. But I don't where I'll end up.

Nakhlasmoke · Aug 24, 2009

Hmm. I have 10 named characters in my UF. At the start of the book, one is already dead. Three are peripheral characters, although they do play important roles.

I had more "scenery" characters but they were all cut in revisions, or their roles were combined so I could lose extraneous bit characters.

Dunno if that helps you, but it's a comparison.

ChaosTitan · Aug 24, 2009

You can have as many characters as you want, as long as you don't confuse the reader.

I tried to list all of the named characters in TDTD, but lost track at over 20. I have a lot. Granted, not all of them are human, but there are a lot of characters running around. Some of them are walk-on, one-scene roles; some of the characters will have larger parts in future books. At least six are major characters, including the heroine and hero.

Make every character justify their existence, even all they exist to do is give vital info to Hero from Shady Bad Guy in one scene. If no one else can do it, keep 'em. If any random dude can do it and not be missed later, don't even bother naming them.

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Thanks, Cath.

Kelly,
Wow. That's great. I was worried that I had too many. They are all there for a reason---a good one.

Fenika · Aug 24, 2009

Wow, I'm embarrassed to confess my numbers.

I have a file with everyone's name, partially to easily cut and paste accented names (ż,ń,ó, etc) and also to keep track of the minor characters that come and go.

A quick count got me about 40. That includes some horses.

Of those I have 6 major characters and 3 baddies and 3 dragons that are important to keep track of. Most family members of my MC or mMC are named/reintroduced in context so there's no confusion who the heck that was again.

Wow. That's pretty bad though. And there's still a few countries to keep track of.

Kathleen42 · Aug 24, 2009

I think I've got about 16 names characters, plus walk-ons.

ChaosTitan · Aug 24, 2009

Just to amuse myself, I made a list. I don't think I missed anyone. Came up with 28 named characters, more than half of whom are in multiple scenes. And what an oddly named bunch they are, too.

HorrorWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Bahamut,
Thanks for sharing.

Okay, now I don't feel so weird about a high count.

Kathleen,
That's almost where I am since I last checked.

Kelly,
Cool. Well, after that first chapter, I cannot wait to read more!

Good stuff.

Too Many Characters in My UF Series?

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

Kathleen42

crushing on fictional characters

JimmyB27

Hoopy frood

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

Kathleen42

crushing on fictional characters

Tasmin21

They will come from below...

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

Nakhlasmoke

yes

ChaosTitan

Around

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.

Fenika

Kathleen42

crushing on fictional characters

ChaosTitan

Around

HorrorWriter

It's a new dawn. It's a new day.