tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post5448856064038263108..comments2024-03-28T05:59:52.454-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: TTYU Retro: Too many names? Tricks for managing your "cardstack."Juliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-37749216253373737902012-10-31T10:02:08.602-07:002012-10-31T10:02:08.602-07:00Yes, I've seen that done on multiple occasions...Yes, I've seen that done on multiple occasions, and it is a good idea. I don't personally refer back to those much (they daunt me a bit). It's good also to consider information load, even if you are going to give references.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-70680435846348535542012-10-31T09:58:44.460-07:002012-10-31T09:58:44.460-07:00In 'I, Claudius,' Robert Graves gave the r...In 'I, Claudius,' Robert Graves gave the reader a family tree of the Imperial Roman family; many other authors append a Dramatis Personae or cast of characters. I see no downside to doing this in any work where there are more than, say, ten or a dozen named characters. Anything that helps the reader remain oriented (maps too) is only going to help the author and, as a bonus, enriches the world of the story in the reader's mind. I would never hesitate to use appendices in complex works.Dariohttp://www.dariospeaks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-52481992262722372032012-10-30T16:13:24.187-07:002012-10-30T16:13:24.187-07:00Thanks for the comment, Linda! I especially like y...Thanks for the comment, Linda! I especially like your second suggestion, for keeping anchoring while moving into a situation with new characters. Good stuff!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-81511602233748081362012-10-30T16:03:26.307-07:002012-10-30T16:03:26.307-07:00My stories (in this case novels) tend to have larg...My stories (in this case novels) tend to have large casts, which often seems to horrify writers. I have about 25 major and secondary characters -- all of whom are important in some context in the story. But I also had to learn the hard way how to manage them:<br /><br />1. Don't introduce more than 3 at a time at the beginning of the story (in my case, novel). That's about as much as the reader can handle. One of the problems is that, as the writer, I know all these characters, but the reader is coming into it cold.<br /><br />2. Try staying anchored to one character the reader is already familiar with when bringing in another. The books that I often find confusing keep going to new scenes and then introducing even more characters before I've had to time to figure out who is who (a thriller I just read).<br /><br />3. If a scene is forcing you to introduce a whole lot of characters at one time (especially at the beginning of the book), revise the scene or adjust the positioning of the scene. I did extensive revision with mine -- and even to the story itself -- so I didn't have to introduce 11 characters at once.<br /><br />I'm a pantser, so I don't keep track of anything. Most of the names I get to know when I write. Trying to write them down anywhere drives me crazy, though I will write down a character's name that I having trouble spelling (Phannelia took an entire book for me to spell correctly!).<br /><br />Linda Adams - Soldier, Storyteller<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-64636113089704391802012-10-30T11:57:47.463-07:002012-10-30T11:57:47.463-07:00Good examples, Realmwright. I'm not sure avoid...Good examples, Realmwright. I'm not sure avoiding killing characters is such a bad thing. On the other hand, if everyone lives through multiple books, the list becomes rather long. Thanks for the comment!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-63661095663470829482012-10-30T11:38:19.314-07:002012-10-30T11:38:19.314-07:00Prime examples of both too many and good managemen...Prime examples of both too many and good management are the late Robert Jordan and George RR Martin. Anyone who has read the Wheel of Time knows that Jordan has a billion characters and it's hard to remember over the course of a dozen books who is who. Martin on the other hand titles each chapter with the primary character of the following pages. He also does not suffer from the avoidance of killing characters like Robert Jordan did. Realmwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12025487066357949785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-19285051012014712792012-10-30T11:00:45.334-07:002012-10-30T11:00:45.334-07:00Thanks for mentioning that, R.E. - I thought of th...Thanks for mentioning that, R.E. - I thought of that research, but it's always a good idea to stay on the conservative side for practical memory purposes. I agree with you about the number five. That's about the limit for me. Thanks again for the comment!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-5456904522485238542012-10-30T10:35:19.647-07:002012-10-30T10:35:19.647-07:00I read some years ago that research showed our sho...I read some years ago that research showed our short term memory to be capable of holding seven plus or minus two items at a time (though a item can represent a group). So the ideal would be to limit the number of characters (or easily identifiable groups) to about five. Above that it will be increasingly difficult for readers to keep them straight.R. E. Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439979667806333429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-28802060688148521642012-10-29T21:16:53.905-07:002012-10-29T21:16:53.905-07:00Thanks, Jai!Thanks, Jai!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-72354335916263181602012-10-29T20:12:47.451-07:002012-10-29T20:12:47.451-07:00Great tips on keeping track of things and making i...Great tips on keeping track of things and making it easy for the reader to keep track of things.<br /><br />JaiJai Joshihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858987106548357551noreply@blogger.com