Character Question (and PS hello)

[arianne]

Uh, hi to everyone.

I'm new to both the Dresden files and to the forum, but I've lurked here for a while, and I've read like 7 Dresden books in the past week, so hopefully I should be able to keep up. 

I have a bit of a character question, and it's this: is it a bad thing to have too many characters?

I'll try to keep things vague so that I don't violate any forum rules. Basically, my hero guy is a normal guy who is dragged into a magical world. There are 4 or 5 magical people who work as a team to get him into the magical world, and then the hero guy has 4 family members he's really close to, and who fill important roles in the story later.

So that would be like 10 characters in the space of the first three chapters.

I'm worried that the reader might be distracted by some many names. But on the other hand, I've already cut a bunch of characters and I don't know if it's possible for me to cut out any more

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Aakaakaak]

IMO, don't cut any more characters. Bring the ones you have out more slowly to let people get used to them. You can classify "a group" of people, and people will associate with it. Then slowly bring out the individual characters over time.

[arianne]

Um...little hard to bring the characters out over time.

The first bit is kind of intense, where the 4 or 5 magic people are responding to a call from their "boss", and they're each doing it in their own personal way. So they're kind of brought out right there.

And then the scene with the hero guy and his family is over a family dinner sort of thing where I *try* to show his relationship to each one, and sort of foreshadowing (hopefully) which of them will come after him when the magic guys come get him.

Which is like intense character portraits in three chapters.

I'm beginning to think this might be messy...

[Aakaakaak]

I would agree. Sounds sort of messy for the beginning of a story. It doesn't sound like you're following a traditional story arc.

[belial.1980]

I recommend strong use of character tags--traits, features, or habits that make a character stand out. Use 'em and wave 'em often. Jenny blinks her blue eys or fusses with her curly blond hair almost every time you shine a light on her. Jake digs in his greasy nails with an old knife. Sam swallows nervously every time he speaks, and it makes his huge Adam's apple bob up and down. Etc. These aren't the most interesting examples, but I'm sure you get the point.

Characters will come into their own given time, but tags breathe life into them and help the readers keep them straight in the beginning. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[arianne]

I would agree. Sounds sort of messy for the beginning of a story. It doesn't sound like you're following a traditional story arc.

Messy = bad?

Yeah, I guess you'd say it wasn't a traditional arc as such...it kind of plops down in the middle. Well, not really the middle. It's the beginning of the story, but the middle in a chain of events.

Complicated. 

[Aakaakaak]

Belial makes a good point on unique characteristics. Dumping readers unceremoniously into your world can either engross them from page one or confuse them for the entire book. As long as you can be clear and concise about things it might be alright.

[arianne]

Hmm...that sounds doable.

Thanks

[prophet224]

As a rule, I'd agree that this is very messy.  If you are doing rotating scenes with the first five or so, it can be difficult to give them solid tags, depending on the viewpoint you are using.  That said, a third-person limited viewpoint combined with separate isolated "solo" scenes should help.

Then you go on to the hero and his family.  If that is all done from one viewpoint, with solid tags, as Belial mentioned, you should be good to go.  I want to mention a pet peeve here though.  Robert Jordan's WoT has a HUGE cast of characters, and many of them have excessively similar names.  Please make the names clearly distinct from one another, and use them carefully in conjunction with your tags.

Also, write it out, and you may find you have a few short chapters rather than just a chapter with a bunch of scenes... that may help some.  Finally, make sure that your hero comes up quickly, because the reader needs to know who they are identifying with.

Have fun!

[arianne]

I know; I hate it when there's a John and a Joe and a Josh, and they all come out at around the same time. I once read a whole book thinking one character was actually someone else and got so confused by the ending...

Thanks for the advice!

[Aakaakaak]

Finding names that match persona can help you associate them better.

[Kali]

Just be careful with character tags.  Jim uses them nicely, if you pay attention.  Every time Marcone's introduced, he's got that "eyes the color of old money" thing.  Jim uses the tags as little reminders of who these characters are.  The thing is, you do have to pay attention.  They're not ridiculous or over-the-top, and they're not hammered home every single time.  It's more subtle than that, and thus is doesn't pull you out of the story while you're reading.

Much as I love the Nightside books (and I do), Simon Green uses the same exact tags repeatedly and often in the same small book.  It's one of the things that makes his work seem repetitive.  This is a case, though, where outlandish descriptions are in keeping with the setting, so they don't seem over-the-top.  Suzie Shotgun in downtown Omaha would be overexaggerated and ridiculous.  In the Nightside, she's downright understated.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

  I want to mention a pet peeve here though.  Robert Jordan's WoT has a HUGE cast of characters, and many of them have excessively similar names.  Please make the names clearly distinct from one another, and use them carefully in conjunction with your tags.

There's a realism issue here, though.  Some names are more common than others;  A story set in Ireland even now is going to break my suspension of disbelief if there is only one Patrick Murphy in a town of a few hundred.

There are also ways round this that keep people distinct and also keep realism, such as the guy whose name is actually Fred but who spends his life going by "Not-George" because the other three guys in his squad were Big George,  Tall George and Lazy George.

[prophet224]

You can also indicate that the names are the same, but then call them differently.  Patrick Murphy one goes by 'Pat', Patrick Murphy two goes by 'Murph', Patrick Murphy three goes by 'Tinkerbell'....    etc.

[Kali]

Or you can have them, but have them as background characters.  Then you could play with it. 

"I've been to see Patrick."
"Patrick Flannigan?"
"Patrick Murphy."
"The one with the mole?"
"Nah, the other one."
"The one that runs the bakery?"
"No, the other ... Look, it's not important. What's important is what I found out."