Too Many Mentor Figures

Emissarius

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Hello,

My WIP has four mentor figures of almost equal importance in the story. I'm thinking it might be too much. I'm not sure if I should try merging two of them or just making one of them less prominent. Four adult characters may not seem like much, but when added to the protagonist's three best friends, his rival, love interest, and the antagonist, the cast feels overcrowded. It would help if I see this done somewhere, but I've yet to come across a book that manages to pull it off. Any solutions and/or book recs with a huge cast?
 

starrystorm

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Are two of them his parents? Because I wouldn't find that unusual.
 

Sage

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Thinking as a reader, unless there is an important plot reason behind having 4 (each represents a season or a direction or a Beatle), having to remember which mentor was the one who gave such and such advice might get a little tedious. Anytime you have multiple characters in similar types of roles, you have the chance to confuse the reader, but sometimes it's just necessary. If you see a way to seamlessly merge a couple, I'm a big fan of simplifying your cast.

Another thing to think about in YA is that with so many mentors available, does it weaken the agency of your teen characters. When it comes to mentors, one common motif you see is the MC outgrowing their help (one way or another--sometimes it's the death of the mentor). Will the MC be free to seek advice from one or more mentors all the way up to the end?

That said, I could see something like a magical boarding school situation where there are multiple teachers teaching different things as mentors, but the MC doesn't have time or think to consult with them before they go off to save the school from evil or whatever.
 

Ari Meermans

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Some things you might consider regarding mentors:

We have many mentors in our lives—sometimes concurrently and sometimes consecutively—and some don't realize they're mentors.

Each mentor brings something different to the table; one person can't know everything about what we may be struggling with.

Story-specific mentors:

Often you'll see only one mentor in a story; this is because that mentor is related to the major story problem.

When you do see two or more characters who may be considered mentors one may be related to the main story problem, the others may show up in subplots.

Just some thoughts that may help in evaluating your own story.
 

Sage

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Another thing to consider is whether the different mentors pose a source of conflict for the MC. If two or more are giving conflicting advice that sound equally right, the MC has to determine which to go with or to go their own way. Likewise, one might give better advice that doesn't sound right to the MC, so they go with the advice they like better and it turns out that mentor was wrong (on purpose or by accident or by circumstances beyond their control), thus causing conflict. My concern is more that so many mentors might make the MC's journey too smooth.
 

Ari Meermans

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Another thing to consider is whether the different mentors pose a source of conflict for the MC. If two or more are giving conflicting advice that sound equally right, the MC has to determine which to go with or to go their own way. Likewise, one might give better advice that doesn't sound right to the MC, so they go with the advice they like better and it turns out that mentor was wrong (on purpose or by accident or by circumstances beyond their control), thus causing conflict. My concern is more that so many mentors might make the MC's journey too smooth.

Yep, that is a good consideration—you might have to evaluate those characters you've designated mentors to determine if they do qualify as mentors or might more properly be considered advisors.
 

Woollybear

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One of my beta readers said I needed a mentor in my story. There were two mentors in my story.

Your readers might not see all four of your mentors as mentors. :)

My other thought is that you could bring in other archetype characteristics to one or two of your mentors. Qaigon the Jedi was a mentor to Obi Wan, but also had bad-ass warrior qualities.
 
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Emissarius

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Starrystorm, none of the four mentors are the MC's parents, no. And Sage, my story takes place in a secret order. The four adult characters are the leaders and the MC actually trains under and sometimes accompanies each on a mission, so it does tally with your boarding school example. I think my main problem is that I somehow made the four mentors equally important. If we look at Harry Potter, Dumbledore is the undisputed mentor in the story (not counting Snape), with Sirius and Lupin being slightly less important, and then there's McGonagall and possibly Hagrid. In my case, we're looking at four characters of exactly the same level of significance and I just don't think that's right. I've also given each a major backstory that impacts the main plot and it'll be a real job to lessen their involvement now.
 

Bing Z

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Why do you have to have four mentors with equally important level of significance? Why can't they be of different levels of significance? I mean, even in real life, people have different preferences and will usually 'rank' their important people differently. If one of the mentors in your story is killed, will it matter more to the MC which one it is?
 

Roxxsmom

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I suppose it depends on what you mean by mentor and on the role each play in the story. Harry Potter had several adult mentors/benefactors over the course of the series: Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, McGonnagal, Hagrid, The Weasleys etc., though they weren't all of equal prominence throughout the series. There were other teachers who played a less prominent role but were still important. It would be kind of odd for a kid not to have a number of adults, even ones who aren't their parents, who befriend them, or at least take an interest in their education and progress, though it would depend on the setting.

HP isn't the only example of a story about a kid without parents but who had adult mentors, but it's the one that is coming most prominently to my mind at this (for me) ungodly hour of the AM.

You mentioned all four of your mentors being introduced at the same time and being of equal significance. I couldn't say whether or not this works, but it certainly wouldn't be odd to have different teachers specializing in different aspects of the young peoples' training. This doesn't mean the character can't form a closer relationship with one or two of them, just as we all had certain teachers we connected with more (and who connected more with us) during our teen years.

Whether each of your mentors are needed depends on the role each plays in the story and in the way their personalities play out as separate entities. Sometimes characters can be combined in stories, and simplification can be a good idea, especially in shorter works. Again, it depends on the story and on when and how these characters are introduced.
 
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Froeschli

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I'd go back in and look at why there are four of them. Is it part of the hierarchy of your secret order? Are they specialized in significantly different ways? (But then why is you mc not specializing instead of learning from a generalist?)
Being shuffled between mentors seems a bit disorganized for a secret order. They tend to like structure. Unless their jobs are so dangerous the first one gets injured (maybe for something the mc did) and then your mc is shuffled between the other three who are already busy with their own proteges... jealousies could spring up. blame assigned for the mishap could make mentors resent the mc and teach him grudgingly...
 

Woollybear

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Another example:

Vin has multiple mentors in Mistborn, and no parents.

Kelsier is her main mentor, as she and he are both "Mistborn," with all the potential powers that entails. He asks her to seek out specific "Mistings" (each of whom have one specialty) to learn specifics of each of her eight blossoming skills. Those Mistings become mentors to her as well, in their area of expertise.

It's another example to consider.

Her 'normal' brother Reen is never on the page, but she is often thinking about the life-lessons and street-smart-lessons he taught her long ago. So, he too has been a mentor to her.
 
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Emissarius

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I probably should've mentioned this in my first post, but one of the mentors (let's call him Mentor C) is a newcomer to the story. I sort of plucked him from an older manuscript (that's set in the same universe as my WIP) where he wasn't getting the attention he deserves. Mentor C's presence in the new ms creates more tension and conflict (the MC distrusts him, Mentor A is indifferent, Mentor B hates him, and Mentor D endorses him), so I think it's a positive addition, but for some reason, he just doesn't feel as grounded as the other three mentors, who were technically born with the new manuscript. This could be because I spent three years writing Mentor C into the older manuscript. I'm thinking perhaps the readers, who can never know which character was created before the other, wouldn't feel the same way I do.
 

veinglory

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I would only consider it odd if they all gave identical or consistent advice. Having adult mentors that frequently contradict each other seems like a common YA experience.
 

Sage

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Really, it won't be until betas see it that you'll know whether C feels seamless to someone else or not.
 

Emissarius

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I would only consider it odd if they all gave identical or consistent advice. Having adult mentors that frequently contradict each other seems like a common YA experience.

They're totally different, alright. There's no risk of any repetitiveness on their part. But four major adult characters poses a problem when choosing which one is by the MC's side during which mission and who ends up assisting him in the climax. Back when they were three, the choice was much easier.
 

Debbie V

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I think a key for you will be to make sure it's still the main character's story. If the mentors are taking over the story, you have a problem or a work for adults. If each serves the story and none take over, you're fine. Though I would combine them if you can. (That doesn't mean combining two of them. It may mean losing one and having the other three take over pieces from that one. Any combination is possible.)