How to Write a Colossal Cast of Characters











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I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different characters all over the hero-villain spectrum that it would take 50 books to have time for all of the characters' motivations, backstories, character development, and arc resolution along with the plot and huge mass of worldbuilding. I've only planned 28 books for the entire series, and I don't think I'd live long enough to write 50 books. How would you suggest I tackle all of these characters while keeping the number books at 28 and needing as little simplification as possible to keep the story compelling?



Just so you can understand the sheer scale of this project, here are the three groups of MAIN characters:



Heroes (Knights of the Square Table): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-knights-of-the-square-table



Villains (The Cabal): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-cabal



Supernatural Characters (Deities, Spirits, Etc.): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/system/app/pages/subPages?path=/the-metaphysical










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    I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different characters all over the hero-villain spectrum that it would take 50 books to have time for all of the characters' motivations, backstories, character development, and arc resolution along with the plot and huge mass of worldbuilding. I've only planned 28 books for the entire series, and I don't think I'd live long enough to write 50 books. How would you suggest I tackle all of these characters while keeping the number books at 28 and needing as little simplification as possible to keep the story compelling?



    Just so you can understand the sheer scale of this project, here are the three groups of MAIN characters:



    Heroes (Knights of the Square Table): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-knights-of-the-square-table



    Villains (The Cabal): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-cabal



    Supernatural Characters (Deities, Spirits, Etc.): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/system/app/pages/subPages?path=/the-metaphysical










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      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite











      I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different characters all over the hero-villain spectrum that it would take 50 books to have time for all of the characters' motivations, backstories, character development, and arc resolution along with the plot and huge mass of worldbuilding. I've only planned 28 books for the entire series, and I don't think I'd live long enough to write 50 books. How would you suggest I tackle all of these characters while keeping the number books at 28 and needing as little simplification as possible to keep the story compelling?



      Just so you can understand the sheer scale of this project, here are the three groups of MAIN characters:



      Heroes (Knights of the Square Table): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-knights-of-the-square-table



      Villains (The Cabal): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-cabal



      Supernatural Characters (Deities, Spirits, Etc.): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/system/app/pages/subPages?path=/the-metaphysical










      share|improve this question













      I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different characters all over the hero-villain spectrum that it would take 50 books to have time for all of the characters' motivations, backstories, character development, and arc resolution along with the plot and huge mass of worldbuilding. I've only planned 28 books for the entire series, and I don't think I'd live long enough to write 50 books. How would you suggest I tackle all of these characters while keeping the number books at 28 and needing as little simplification as possible to keep the story compelling?



      Just so you can understand the sheer scale of this project, here are the three groups of MAIN characters:



      Heroes (Knights of the Square Table): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-knights-of-the-square-table



      Villains (The Cabal): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/characters/the-cabal



      Supernatural Characters (Deities, Spirits, Etc.): https://sites.google.com/site/weaselworldofficialsite/system/app/pages/subPages?path=/the-metaphysical







      characters character-development structure series






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      asked 13 hours ago









      The Weasel Sagas

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          I agree largely with Jedediah's answer, and want to add something else to it. I'm also going to preface this with saying I've glanced through a couple of the links provided, but didn't bother reading more.



          First off - what you've listed aren't Main Characters. You've listed the players involved.



          There is a staggering difference between Main Characters and supporting characters. Take, for example, the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. It follows the story of an entire regiment of soldiers across a war-torn galaxy. There is, arguably, one main character (the titular Gaunt) and a whole swathe of supporting characters, on both sides of the conflict of differing importance. We know them, we recognize them as distinct, but they aren't the main character. Whether it's the warmaster himself, or the arch-nemesis - they are named, given life but aren't main characters. They don't need a backstory beyond what the story itself demands.



          Likewise, the biggest reason not to include it, is no one cares. The reader does not care that the main characters trusty companion once had his ice-cream stolen by a goose and his mothers favourite colour was cyan - unless it is directly related to the current story.



          In the ever-so brief readthrough of your character backstory, I can't remember a single interesting, relevant fact. It's great for YOU to have these notes, as it helps YOU, as the author, build the characters - but it is entirely irrelevant for the reader.



          All the reader cares about and needs to know is that the Knight's of the Round Table are a brotherhood of knights opposed to the secretive, evil Cabal. Unless it brings some kind of personal conflict to the current story, then we don't need to know why each individual is opposed (I'm guessing there were a lot of lost heirs/burned villages/slaughtered family etc) just that they are, collectively, opposed.



          Likewise, we don't need to know the backstory of why the villains are doing what they are doing, or some unrelated campaign 10 years ago.



          So in summary, make as many notes as you need to give the characters life. But keep them for yourself - they don't need to be in the story itself - unless it is directly relevant to the story currently being told.






          share|improve this answer




























            up vote
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            It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story



            In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are tightly-plotted stories which attempt to resolve and give closure to every thread the author introduces. (The Westing Game comes to mind.) This is great.



            On the other hand, there are stories with incredibly sophisticated backgrounds (like Lord of the Rings), where the author has volumes of supporting material which could not fit into the actual story. This is also great.



            I suspect that, even in the tightly-plotted cases, a good author may have material which did not directly show up.



            In the real world, there are endless subtle influences on your behavior which need not be explicitly included in a story, even if their unseen mass affects the orbital paths of those characters featured. I don't need to tell you how the size of my family as I grew up, or the relative wealth of my family, still influences my decisions at the grocery store - although knowing what kind of situation your character grew up in will help you generate a more interesting "shopping list," or whatever is needed in your story.



            Let your larger universe add hidden texture to the few characters that fit into each tale, and don't worry that there isn't time or room to fit everything in right now






            share|improve this answer

















            • 1




              This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
              – Matthew Dave
              13 hours ago






            • 2




              I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
              – hszmv
              9 hours ago


















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            You don't. You reduce the importance of some characters to reinforce the importance of the ones critical to the plot.






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            • Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
              – Thomo
              5 hours ago


















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            Do you remember hearing a fairy tale as a 5-minute bedtime story in your childhood, then seeing Disney make it a 90-minute musical? How did they do that? Well, in many cases that story has a novel-length original source. For example, de Villeneuve gave us Beauty and the Beast in 1740, and it was quite long, only to be gradually trimmed to the version you heard before you went to sleep



            What does this have to do with your question? I want you to imagine how dear Villeneuve wrote the original. Presumably, she had a rough story idea about as detailed as the shortest version you've heard, then gradually wrote it. But here's the crucial detail: when you have enough of an idea to write a novel, you don't have to write a novel. Oftentimes what you should really do is keep certain things in your head, then draw on them when working on what really deserves a novel-length treatment. Hemingway likened it to most of an iceberg being invisibly submerged; most of the 50 novels' worth of ideas you have in your head should never, ever be such novels.



            I'm sure you want an example of something that does it well. I recently rewatched the first two seasons of A Certain Magical Index because the third is airing now, and I also watched the two seasons of its spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun . It's a franchise with a huge cast of characters, and you very quickly get inside the heads of all of them. But only three of them, Touma, Misaka and someone known only by the codename Accelerator, have been protagonists in the franchise, and that last one doesn't have his own series; he's just the guest protagonist in several Index episodes. Index is one of the characters, and she doesn't even get to lead what's named after her! So the author has had to be very selective about what stories are told and from which perspectives. I can't recommend it enough add an exercise in great writing for many reasons, including as building a world and its characters succinctly.



            One of its tactics is a protagonist unexpectedly encountering new people and having to quickly learn and react. Another is to experiment with various characters interacting in new combinations in side scenes, allowing several to be developed simultaneously.






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              4 Answers
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              I agree largely with Jedediah's answer, and want to add something else to it. I'm also going to preface this with saying I've glanced through a couple of the links provided, but didn't bother reading more.



              First off - what you've listed aren't Main Characters. You've listed the players involved.



              There is a staggering difference between Main Characters and supporting characters. Take, for example, the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. It follows the story of an entire regiment of soldiers across a war-torn galaxy. There is, arguably, one main character (the titular Gaunt) and a whole swathe of supporting characters, on both sides of the conflict of differing importance. We know them, we recognize them as distinct, but they aren't the main character. Whether it's the warmaster himself, or the arch-nemesis - they are named, given life but aren't main characters. They don't need a backstory beyond what the story itself demands.



              Likewise, the biggest reason not to include it, is no one cares. The reader does not care that the main characters trusty companion once had his ice-cream stolen by a goose and his mothers favourite colour was cyan - unless it is directly related to the current story.



              In the ever-so brief readthrough of your character backstory, I can't remember a single interesting, relevant fact. It's great for YOU to have these notes, as it helps YOU, as the author, build the characters - but it is entirely irrelevant for the reader.



              All the reader cares about and needs to know is that the Knight's of the Round Table are a brotherhood of knights opposed to the secretive, evil Cabal. Unless it brings some kind of personal conflict to the current story, then we don't need to know why each individual is opposed (I'm guessing there were a lot of lost heirs/burned villages/slaughtered family etc) just that they are, collectively, opposed.



              Likewise, we don't need to know the backstory of why the villains are doing what they are doing, or some unrelated campaign 10 years ago.



              So in summary, make as many notes as you need to give the characters life. But keep them for yourself - they don't need to be in the story itself - unless it is directly relevant to the story currently being told.






              share|improve this answer

























                up vote
                4
                down vote



                accepted










                I agree largely with Jedediah's answer, and want to add something else to it. I'm also going to preface this with saying I've glanced through a couple of the links provided, but didn't bother reading more.



                First off - what you've listed aren't Main Characters. You've listed the players involved.



                There is a staggering difference between Main Characters and supporting characters. Take, for example, the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. It follows the story of an entire regiment of soldiers across a war-torn galaxy. There is, arguably, one main character (the titular Gaunt) and a whole swathe of supporting characters, on both sides of the conflict of differing importance. We know them, we recognize them as distinct, but they aren't the main character. Whether it's the warmaster himself, or the arch-nemesis - they are named, given life but aren't main characters. They don't need a backstory beyond what the story itself demands.



                Likewise, the biggest reason not to include it, is no one cares. The reader does not care that the main characters trusty companion once had his ice-cream stolen by a goose and his mothers favourite colour was cyan - unless it is directly related to the current story.



                In the ever-so brief readthrough of your character backstory, I can't remember a single interesting, relevant fact. It's great for YOU to have these notes, as it helps YOU, as the author, build the characters - but it is entirely irrelevant for the reader.



                All the reader cares about and needs to know is that the Knight's of the Round Table are a brotherhood of knights opposed to the secretive, evil Cabal. Unless it brings some kind of personal conflict to the current story, then we don't need to know why each individual is opposed (I'm guessing there were a lot of lost heirs/burned villages/slaughtered family etc) just that they are, collectively, opposed.



                Likewise, we don't need to know the backstory of why the villains are doing what they are doing, or some unrelated campaign 10 years ago.



                So in summary, make as many notes as you need to give the characters life. But keep them for yourself - they don't need to be in the story itself - unless it is directly relevant to the story currently being told.






                share|improve this answer























                  up vote
                  4
                  down vote



                  accepted







                  up vote
                  4
                  down vote



                  accepted






                  I agree largely with Jedediah's answer, and want to add something else to it. I'm also going to preface this with saying I've glanced through a couple of the links provided, but didn't bother reading more.



                  First off - what you've listed aren't Main Characters. You've listed the players involved.



                  There is a staggering difference between Main Characters and supporting characters. Take, for example, the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. It follows the story of an entire regiment of soldiers across a war-torn galaxy. There is, arguably, one main character (the titular Gaunt) and a whole swathe of supporting characters, on both sides of the conflict of differing importance. We know them, we recognize them as distinct, but they aren't the main character. Whether it's the warmaster himself, or the arch-nemesis - they are named, given life but aren't main characters. They don't need a backstory beyond what the story itself demands.



                  Likewise, the biggest reason not to include it, is no one cares. The reader does not care that the main characters trusty companion once had his ice-cream stolen by a goose and his mothers favourite colour was cyan - unless it is directly related to the current story.



                  In the ever-so brief readthrough of your character backstory, I can't remember a single interesting, relevant fact. It's great for YOU to have these notes, as it helps YOU, as the author, build the characters - but it is entirely irrelevant for the reader.



                  All the reader cares about and needs to know is that the Knight's of the Round Table are a brotherhood of knights opposed to the secretive, evil Cabal. Unless it brings some kind of personal conflict to the current story, then we don't need to know why each individual is opposed (I'm guessing there were a lot of lost heirs/burned villages/slaughtered family etc) just that they are, collectively, opposed.



                  Likewise, we don't need to know the backstory of why the villains are doing what they are doing, or some unrelated campaign 10 years ago.



                  So in summary, make as many notes as you need to give the characters life. But keep them for yourself - they don't need to be in the story itself - unless it is directly relevant to the story currently being told.






                  share|improve this answer












                  I agree largely with Jedediah's answer, and want to add something else to it. I'm also going to preface this with saying I've glanced through a couple of the links provided, but didn't bother reading more.



                  First off - what you've listed aren't Main Characters. You've listed the players involved.



                  There is a staggering difference between Main Characters and supporting characters. Take, for example, the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. It follows the story of an entire regiment of soldiers across a war-torn galaxy. There is, arguably, one main character (the titular Gaunt) and a whole swathe of supporting characters, on both sides of the conflict of differing importance. We know them, we recognize them as distinct, but they aren't the main character. Whether it's the warmaster himself, or the arch-nemesis - they are named, given life but aren't main characters. They don't need a backstory beyond what the story itself demands.



                  Likewise, the biggest reason not to include it, is no one cares. The reader does not care that the main characters trusty companion once had his ice-cream stolen by a goose and his mothers favourite colour was cyan - unless it is directly related to the current story.



                  In the ever-so brief readthrough of your character backstory, I can't remember a single interesting, relevant fact. It's great for YOU to have these notes, as it helps YOU, as the author, build the characters - but it is entirely irrelevant for the reader.



                  All the reader cares about and needs to know is that the Knight's of the Round Table are a brotherhood of knights opposed to the secretive, evil Cabal. Unless it brings some kind of personal conflict to the current story, then we don't need to know why each individual is opposed (I'm guessing there were a lot of lost heirs/burned villages/slaughtered family etc) just that they are, collectively, opposed.



                  Likewise, we don't need to know the backstory of why the villains are doing what they are doing, or some unrelated campaign 10 years ago.



                  So in summary, make as many notes as you need to give the characters life. But keep them for yourself - they don't need to be in the story itself - unless it is directly relevant to the story currently being told.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



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                  answered 5 hours ago









                  Thomo

                  3,598622




                  3,598622






















                      up vote
                      10
                      down vote













                      It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story



                      In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are tightly-plotted stories which attempt to resolve and give closure to every thread the author introduces. (The Westing Game comes to mind.) This is great.



                      On the other hand, there are stories with incredibly sophisticated backgrounds (like Lord of the Rings), where the author has volumes of supporting material which could not fit into the actual story. This is also great.



                      I suspect that, even in the tightly-plotted cases, a good author may have material which did not directly show up.



                      In the real world, there are endless subtle influences on your behavior which need not be explicitly included in a story, even if their unseen mass affects the orbital paths of those characters featured. I don't need to tell you how the size of my family as I grew up, or the relative wealth of my family, still influences my decisions at the grocery store - although knowing what kind of situation your character grew up in will help you generate a more interesting "shopping list," or whatever is needed in your story.



                      Let your larger universe add hidden texture to the few characters that fit into each tale, and don't worry that there isn't time or room to fit everything in right now






                      share|improve this answer

















                      • 1




                        This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                        – Matthew Dave
                        13 hours ago






                      • 2




                        I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                        – hszmv
                        9 hours ago















                      up vote
                      10
                      down vote













                      It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story



                      In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are tightly-plotted stories which attempt to resolve and give closure to every thread the author introduces. (The Westing Game comes to mind.) This is great.



                      On the other hand, there are stories with incredibly sophisticated backgrounds (like Lord of the Rings), where the author has volumes of supporting material which could not fit into the actual story. This is also great.



                      I suspect that, even in the tightly-plotted cases, a good author may have material which did not directly show up.



                      In the real world, there are endless subtle influences on your behavior which need not be explicitly included in a story, even if their unseen mass affects the orbital paths of those characters featured. I don't need to tell you how the size of my family as I grew up, or the relative wealth of my family, still influences my decisions at the grocery store - although knowing what kind of situation your character grew up in will help you generate a more interesting "shopping list," or whatever is needed in your story.



                      Let your larger universe add hidden texture to the few characters that fit into each tale, and don't worry that there isn't time or room to fit everything in right now






                      share|improve this answer

















                      • 1




                        This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                        – Matthew Dave
                        13 hours ago






                      • 2




                        I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                        – hszmv
                        9 hours ago













                      up vote
                      10
                      down vote










                      up vote
                      10
                      down vote









                      It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story



                      In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are tightly-plotted stories which attempt to resolve and give closure to every thread the author introduces. (The Westing Game comes to mind.) This is great.



                      On the other hand, there are stories with incredibly sophisticated backgrounds (like Lord of the Rings), where the author has volumes of supporting material which could not fit into the actual story. This is also great.



                      I suspect that, even in the tightly-plotted cases, a good author may have material which did not directly show up.



                      In the real world, there are endless subtle influences on your behavior which need not be explicitly included in a story, even if their unseen mass affects the orbital paths of those characters featured. I don't need to tell you how the size of my family as I grew up, or the relative wealth of my family, still influences my decisions at the grocery store - although knowing what kind of situation your character grew up in will help you generate a more interesting "shopping list," or whatever is needed in your story.



                      Let your larger universe add hidden texture to the few characters that fit into each tale, and don't worry that there isn't time or room to fit everything in right now






                      share|improve this answer












                      It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story



                      In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are tightly-plotted stories which attempt to resolve and give closure to every thread the author introduces. (The Westing Game comes to mind.) This is great.



                      On the other hand, there are stories with incredibly sophisticated backgrounds (like Lord of the Rings), where the author has volumes of supporting material which could not fit into the actual story. This is also great.



                      I suspect that, even in the tightly-plotted cases, a good author may have material which did not directly show up.



                      In the real world, there are endless subtle influences on your behavior which need not be explicitly included in a story, even if their unseen mass affects the orbital paths of those characters featured. I don't need to tell you how the size of my family as I grew up, or the relative wealth of my family, still influences my decisions at the grocery store - although knowing what kind of situation your character grew up in will help you generate a more interesting "shopping list," or whatever is needed in your story.



                      Let your larger universe add hidden texture to the few characters that fit into each tale, and don't worry that there isn't time or room to fit everything in right now







                      share|improve this answer












                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer










                      answered 13 hours ago









                      Jedediah

                      64616




                      64616








                      • 1




                        This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                        – Matthew Dave
                        13 hours ago






                      • 2




                        I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                        – hszmv
                        9 hours ago














                      • 1




                        This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                        – Matthew Dave
                        13 hours ago






                      • 2




                        I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                        – hszmv
                        9 hours ago








                      1




                      1




                      This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                      – Matthew Dave
                      13 hours ago




                      This is the Iceberg Technique, and I freaking love it
                      – Matthew Dave
                      13 hours ago




                      2




                      2




                      I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                      – hszmv
                      9 hours ago




                      I call it the "Scruffy Nerf-Herder" after the line from Star Wars. We are never, in the film, told what a Nerf is or why hearding them is such a demeaning task... never the less, given the context of the line's delivery "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf Herder" and the response "Who are you calling Scruffy-looking" convey everything we need to know about the line to do the job: Namely that in the tirade of insults Leia hurls, Scruffy-Looking was the one that most offended Han, despite it being it's fairly tamed by all other insults.
                      – hszmv
                      9 hours ago










                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote













                      You don't. You reduce the importance of some characters to reinforce the importance of the ones critical to the plot.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.


















                      • Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                        – Thomo
                        5 hours ago















                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote













                      You don't. You reduce the importance of some characters to reinforce the importance of the ones critical to the plot.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.


















                      • Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                        – Thomo
                        5 hours ago













                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote










                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote









                      You don't. You reduce the importance of some characters to reinforce the importance of the ones critical to the plot.






                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                      You don't. You reduce the importance of some characters to reinforce the importance of the ones critical to the plot.







                      share|improve this answer








                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer






                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                      answered 13 hours ago









                      Jimi

                      311




                      311




                      New contributor




                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.





                      New contributor





                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.






                      Jimi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                      Check out our Code of Conduct.












                      • Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                        – Thomo
                        5 hours ago


















                      • Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                        – Thomo
                        5 hours ago
















                      Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                      – Thomo
                      5 hours ago




                      Succinct, but a valid point. It might be great if you could expand it a little
                      – Thomo
                      5 hours ago










                      up vote
                      3
                      down vote













                      Do you remember hearing a fairy tale as a 5-minute bedtime story in your childhood, then seeing Disney make it a 90-minute musical? How did they do that? Well, in many cases that story has a novel-length original source. For example, de Villeneuve gave us Beauty and the Beast in 1740, and it was quite long, only to be gradually trimmed to the version you heard before you went to sleep



                      What does this have to do with your question? I want you to imagine how dear Villeneuve wrote the original. Presumably, she had a rough story idea about as detailed as the shortest version you've heard, then gradually wrote it. But here's the crucial detail: when you have enough of an idea to write a novel, you don't have to write a novel. Oftentimes what you should really do is keep certain things in your head, then draw on them when working on what really deserves a novel-length treatment. Hemingway likened it to most of an iceberg being invisibly submerged; most of the 50 novels' worth of ideas you have in your head should never, ever be such novels.



                      I'm sure you want an example of something that does it well. I recently rewatched the first two seasons of A Certain Magical Index because the third is airing now, and I also watched the two seasons of its spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun . It's a franchise with a huge cast of characters, and you very quickly get inside the heads of all of them. But only three of them, Touma, Misaka and someone known only by the codename Accelerator, have been protagonists in the franchise, and that last one doesn't have his own series; he's just the guest protagonist in several Index episodes. Index is one of the characters, and she doesn't even get to lead what's named after her! So the author has had to be very selective about what stories are told and from which perspectives. I can't recommend it enough add an exercise in great writing for many reasons, including as building a world and its characters succinctly.



                      One of its tactics is a protagonist unexpectedly encountering new people and having to quickly learn and react. Another is to experiment with various characters interacting in new combinations in side scenes, allowing several to be developed simultaneously.






                      share|improve this answer



























                        up vote
                        3
                        down vote













                        Do you remember hearing a fairy tale as a 5-minute bedtime story in your childhood, then seeing Disney make it a 90-minute musical? How did they do that? Well, in many cases that story has a novel-length original source. For example, de Villeneuve gave us Beauty and the Beast in 1740, and it was quite long, only to be gradually trimmed to the version you heard before you went to sleep



                        What does this have to do with your question? I want you to imagine how dear Villeneuve wrote the original. Presumably, she had a rough story idea about as detailed as the shortest version you've heard, then gradually wrote it. But here's the crucial detail: when you have enough of an idea to write a novel, you don't have to write a novel. Oftentimes what you should really do is keep certain things in your head, then draw on them when working on what really deserves a novel-length treatment. Hemingway likened it to most of an iceberg being invisibly submerged; most of the 50 novels' worth of ideas you have in your head should never, ever be such novels.



                        I'm sure you want an example of something that does it well. I recently rewatched the first two seasons of A Certain Magical Index because the third is airing now, and I also watched the two seasons of its spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun . It's a franchise with a huge cast of characters, and you very quickly get inside the heads of all of them. But only three of them, Touma, Misaka and someone known only by the codename Accelerator, have been protagonists in the franchise, and that last one doesn't have his own series; he's just the guest protagonist in several Index episodes. Index is one of the characters, and she doesn't even get to lead what's named after her! So the author has had to be very selective about what stories are told and from which perspectives. I can't recommend it enough add an exercise in great writing for many reasons, including as building a world and its characters succinctly.



                        One of its tactics is a protagonist unexpectedly encountering new people and having to quickly learn and react. Another is to experiment with various characters interacting in new combinations in side scenes, allowing several to be developed simultaneously.






                        share|improve this answer

























                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote










                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote









                          Do you remember hearing a fairy tale as a 5-minute bedtime story in your childhood, then seeing Disney make it a 90-minute musical? How did they do that? Well, in many cases that story has a novel-length original source. For example, de Villeneuve gave us Beauty and the Beast in 1740, and it was quite long, only to be gradually trimmed to the version you heard before you went to sleep



                          What does this have to do with your question? I want you to imagine how dear Villeneuve wrote the original. Presumably, she had a rough story idea about as detailed as the shortest version you've heard, then gradually wrote it. But here's the crucial detail: when you have enough of an idea to write a novel, you don't have to write a novel. Oftentimes what you should really do is keep certain things in your head, then draw on them when working on what really deserves a novel-length treatment. Hemingway likened it to most of an iceberg being invisibly submerged; most of the 50 novels' worth of ideas you have in your head should never, ever be such novels.



                          I'm sure you want an example of something that does it well. I recently rewatched the first two seasons of A Certain Magical Index because the third is airing now, and I also watched the two seasons of its spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun . It's a franchise with a huge cast of characters, and you very quickly get inside the heads of all of them. But only three of them, Touma, Misaka and someone known only by the codename Accelerator, have been protagonists in the franchise, and that last one doesn't have his own series; he's just the guest protagonist in several Index episodes. Index is one of the characters, and she doesn't even get to lead what's named after her! So the author has had to be very selective about what stories are told and from which perspectives. I can't recommend it enough add an exercise in great writing for many reasons, including as building a world and its characters succinctly.



                          One of its tactics is a protagonist unexpectedly encountering new people and having to quickly learn and react. Another is to experiment with various characters interacting in new combinations in side scenes, allowing several to be developed simultaneously.






                          share|improve this answer














                          Do you remember hearing a fairy tale as a 5-minute bedtime story in your childhood, then seeing Disney make it a 90-minute musical? How did they do that? Well, in many cases that story has a novel-length original source. For example, de Villeneuve gave us Beauty and the Beast in 1740, and it was quite long, only to be gradually trimmed to the version you heard before you went to sleep



                          What does this have to do with your question? I want you to imagine how dear Villeneuve wrote the original. Presumably, she had a rough story idea about as detailed as the shortest version you've heard, then gradually wrote it. But here's the crucial detail: when you have enough of an idea to write a novel, you don't have to write a novel. Oftentimes what you should really do is keep certain things in your head, then draw on them when working on what really deserves a novel-length treatment. Hemingway likened it to most of an iceberg being invisibly submerged; most of the 50 novels' worth of ideas you have in your head should never, ever be such novels.



                          I'm sure you want an example of something that does it well. I recently rewatched the first two seasons of A Certain Magical Index because the third is airing now, and I also watched the two seasons of its spinoff, A Certain Scientific Railgun . It's a franchise with a huge cast of characters, and you very quickly get inside the heads of all of them. But only three of them, Touma, Misaka and someone known only by the codename Accelerator, have been protagonists in the franchise, and that last one doesn't have his own series; he's just the guest protagonist in several Index episodes. Index is one of the characters, and she doesn't even get to lead what's named after her! So the author has had to be very selective about what stories are told and from which perspectives. I can't recommend it enough add an exercise in great writing for many reasons, including as building a world and its characters succinctly.



                          One of its tactics is a protagonist unexpectedly encountering new people and having to quickly learn and react. Another is to experiment with various characters interacting in new combinations in side scenes, allowing several to be developed simultaneously.







                          share|improve this answer














                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer








                          edited 11 hours ago

























                          answered 13 hours ago









                          J.G.

                          5,22711325




                          5,22711325






























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