tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post1595840668339686634..comments2023-10-15T04:48:05.528-04:00Comments on Free the Princess: Condense Your Cast of CharactersMatthew Delmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-15488246321414413762010-02-19T12:20:42.049-05:002010-02-19T12:20:42.049-05:00Just combined two characters this week during my r...Just combined two characters this week during my revisions. It means I've got to go back and fix every chapter before now, but I think it will be worth it in the end.Susan R. Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578747592345750650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-40927953452795470582010-02-19T10:06:34.264-05:002010-02-19T10:06:34.264-05:00Susan --
I think it was the "tattered peasan...Susan --<br /><br />I think it was the "tattered peasant clothes of the day" bit that got me. <br /><br />Re Running the evil empire on a skeleton crew: it's just so hard to find good help these days!<br /><br />Iapetus --<br /><br />Good points, sir. This is why I always try to at least mention there are other people around even if I don't name them. I.e. random longshoremen at the dockside, merchants in the marketplace, that kind of thing.Matthew Delmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-79465292366009093402010-02-18T21:31:42.151-05:002010-02-18T21:31:42.151-05:00@Iapetus
...through the marketplace and created a...@Iapetus <br />...through the marketplace and created a river of Samson's, Moriah's, and Hetup's that Sky Goddess Amelia looked upon with disdain.<br /><br />I'm beginning to see the potential here. Give flavor with names. Nice.Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-15180014217767383882010-02-18T21:00:02.065-05:002010-02-18T21:00:02.065-05:00@Susan One small correction
...through the marketp...@Susan One small correction<br />...through the marketplace and created a river of Tom's, Sue's, and Betsy's that Queen Amelia had to swim through.<br />You want to name that swath to give it proper importance. ;)<br /><br />BTW I have a Sky Goddess named Amelia in one of my WIP's.Andrew Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09215333688753781447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-81774486856640729792010-02-18T20:15:53.129-05:002010-02-18T20:15:53.129-05:00Iapetus - I HATE it when I have to run the evil em...Iapetus - I HATE it when I have to run the evil empire on a skeleton crew! Sourcing just doesn't appreciate what it takes to get the job done! :)<br /><br />Seriously, I've heard of "furniture" characters before, but I think we need one level beneath that. "Wall decor" characters, perhaps? And how to best describe them? The same as you normally describe the environment?<br /><br />...and then a swath of humanity, dressed in the tattered peasant clothes of the day, surged through the marketplace and created a human river Queen Amelia had to swim through . . .Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-41518131314503564792010-02-18T19:54:05.434-05:002010-02-18T19:54:05.434-05:00Your post reminds me of the movie The Proposal. In...Your post reminds me of the movie The Proposal. In it, there is a "Stevckie" type character played by the Hispanic actor in the Office sitcom on NBC. This character plays everything from store clerk, waiter, exotic dancer, and the minister. It was pretty funny.Anita Saxenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12444339735834716979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-86598561519026405102010-02-18T19:33:42.711-05:002010-02-18T19:33:42.711-05:00That was one thing that bugged me about the Left B...That was one thing that bugged me about the Left Behind series. There were like 100 characters and they were <i>all the same</i>. When you have to have a Cast of Characters section just to help the reader keep everyone straight, you know you're doing it wrong.Adam Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-19977370243584550472010-02-18T19:09:36.175-05:002010-02-18T19:09:36.175-05:00Agree with what's said...but there is somethin...Agree with what's said...but there is something that bothers me about the subject and it's that sometimes fiction can be really sparse with characters so that their world is strangely empty. Like when they storm the castle, there's like a guard or two then they're in the Inner Sanctum. Heck, most Secret Lairs probably employ a couple dozen cooks alone.<br /><br />Yes, a lot of these characters are really more background setting, and in screenplays you can't just cast a thousand people to run the castle, but still...evil empires are really hard to run and it takes tons of people to get the job done.Andrew Rosenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09215333688753781447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-30323396241784828142010-02-18T17:51:23.191-05:002010-02-18T17:51:23.191-05:00Great post. Sometimes I really want to name rando...Great post. Sometimes I really want to name random people that my characters run into... and it's so hard to resist. On the other hand, I hate name dumps in some books that leave you flipping back pages. Must find happy medium.Wendy Sparrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06240583852940769313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-5689706048702373422010-02-18T15:08:18.067-05:002010-02-18T15:08:18.067-05:00Also: you need to go here!!!
http://steampunkworl...Also: you need to go here!!!<br /><br />http://steampunkworldsfair.com/L. T. Hosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12448176940211118898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-80333730070106130002010-02-18T14:10:59.544-05:002010-02-18T14:10:59.544-05:00My character cast tends to start out really small....My character cast tends to start out really small. Then I'm like "Wait, doesn't this character have parents??". Not sure if that's good or bad, but a rich backstory does make the characters that make it to the page have a lot more going for them.Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-62043611838407509462010-02-18T13:36:59.060-05:002010-02-18T13:36:59.060-05:00I think I'm pretty good about this. I only put...I think I'm pretty good about this. I only put people in the story that need to be there, for some reason. And I do mean NEED. <br /><br />But I only *think* I'm pretty good about this. As usual, I am too close to it to know for sure.L. T. Hosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12448176940211118898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-29919408595359456062010-02-18T12:54:23.465-05:002010-02-18T12:54:23.465-05:00I had to cut some characters, myself. The other ch...I had to cut some characters, myself. The other characters held it against me for a couple of days, but then the wounds healed and they moved on with their lives...Amalia Dillinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13005039978668326144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-12669118642827241932010-02-18T11:30:00.439-05:002010-02-18T11:30:00.439-05:00I've only condensed two characters in Hatsheps...I've only condensed two characters in Hatshepsut. There were other characters I thought were important, but then decided they weren't so they lost their names.Stephanie Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437077559099315853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-52808614192725070592010-02-18T09:01:13.846-05:002010-02-18T09:01:13.846-05:00Rick --
If you're taking the time to write a ...Rick --<br /><br />If you're taking the time to write a backstory for each side character, then you're pretty much already condensing your cast into the smallest possible number.<br /><br />J.K. Rowling once said she wrote out backstories for all 40 of Harry's yearmates.Matthew Delmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452378192874048547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5927870683677181756.post-80301335137127248052010-02-18T08:58:46.379-05:002010-02-18T08:58:46.379-05:00Many side characters have back-stories. One thing...Many side characters have back-stories. One thing I do in first drafts is write a lot of these back-stories into the narrative. In my revisions I cut the back-stories.<br /><br />I need to air them out as part of the creative process, and for me as the writer it is important to know and understand where they come from and what motivates them. It takes judicious editing to realize what elements are crucial for the reader to enjoy / understand the story, and which parts are simply guideposts for me...kind of like braces that support the walls of a house before you put the roof on, but once the rafters are in place, the braces are no longer needed.Rick Daleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05173516899130463413noreply@blogger.com