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Young Writers Society


How many important characters are there in your story?



How many important characters are there in your story?

1
11
5%
2-3
73
33%
4-6
85
39%
7-10
28
13%
11-15
7
3%
16+
16
7%
 
Total votes : 220


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Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:14 am
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Tenyo says...



Hmm...

Who is important in my life? Everyone I could care to remember, because if I remember them then they must be of importance somewhere. Even if they're only there for one brief blink of a moment, someone who is there for such a short time and is still remembered must have a reason to be remembered for.

I am made up of these people, of thousands of these brief moments of the woman who turned around to say thanks even though she was in a hurry, and the bus driver who let me on for free when I was standing in the rain with an empty wallet, and that kid who stole my bag of sweets and ate them before I could prove it was him.

To me, everyone who is worth mentioning is worth remembering, and that makes them of importance. When it comes to relevent importance this still goes, because unless you're writing a scene on a desert island, there are millions of people who could or will cross your narrators path every day, but only the important ones will make it to the final draft.


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Wed Jun 19, 2013 1:55 pm
dark says...



My story has a lot of important characters. Even those that you don't here from after a while, thos characters have to be important or their existence would be a waste of time. However I don't think too many important charactes is an actuall thing. You should have as many as possible to keep you going. If you only have one it will be boring to try and figure out things such as:
What will (character) look like
What will (character) dislike
What will (character) be interested in.
The list goes on, but when there's many characters you almost never become bored while figuring them out because they'll always be different.
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Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:47 pm
Omni says...



I put 4-6, only because I have so many characters, it's hard to put 30+ characters in this. Only 4-6 characters in every story (More as it goes along) are truly important to the story, although all of my characters are.
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Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:07 am
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Payne says...



I voted 16+ for two reasons. First, because I am insane.

Secondly, the first novel I ever wrote had an enormous main cast, a lot of supporting characters...and wayyyyy too many irrelevant characters who had absolutely no development or bearing on the story. After spending a few years cleaning up that debacle, I now try to make sure every character has at least some level of development, and they play a role in the story even if it's just a participant in a one-scene brawl. Plus, I find people generally fascinating and I like writing them.
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Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:36 pm
kayfortnight says...



Well, in my current work that may or may not live to see it's end, I have 4 viewpoint characters, a character who isn't present for most of the story but whose death creates most of the plot, two major antagonists, and two people my protagonists thought were evil at first but later help. And this is when I only have a vague idea of the plot-no doubt it will stretch into the 11-15 range when I finish draft one.
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:05 am
EloquentDragon says...



I did 4-6, although I probably should have done 16+

I just thought of those that had bearing on the plot at first and counted them. Problem is, the cast continues to grow... although I've discarded quite a few characters a lot of them get recycled into who I have now. Hopefully though, all my characters are important to the story. I tend to have some "non-important" cardboard, nameless characters who are there simply to fit their role in the plot... but I don't really count them as characters because I don't give them names or figurative faces. Anyways...
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Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:22 pm
StoneHeart says...



I can't concentrate on anything over five and anything under three doesn't give enough perspective, so usually I have four or five.

Concentrate on too many characters and you dilute your emotions. There's nothing more to it.
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 3:11 am
Holysocks says...



Funny you asked, I've been wondering if there should be a limit. I myself fill my story to the brim with tons of characters... well not tons tons, but enough. Don't worry, they all do something they are all needed, and I love them.
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Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:37 pm
EscapeToNeverland says...



you can never have to many important characters in a story :)
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Tue Oct 15, 2013 2:05 am
XxKaixX says...



Each character in my story is very important to the main character's development and to the rest of the story. Some may not have the biggest roles, but they are still pretty important.
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